Details

• Date: 2020/02/23

• Observer: Public

Location

• BC Zone: Vail & Summit County
• Area Description: apron below the Coin Slot on Mt Royal in Frisco. The aspect was NW, and we were almost back to the bike path at just 9,300’.

Avalanches

• Avalanche Description: As we were nearing the bottom of the apron we were heading towards a gully with a steeper convexity at the entrance that we didn’t like, so we went right in to some trees, which put us above/on the trigger, which wasn’t as obvious from a distance. My partner entered first, and I skied down to meet him. It was clear as I got to him that just below us was bad news, but with the new snow it was not obvious that we were already in such a thin an touchy spot. My partner had gone just past the trigger point to a flat spot, and when I came through to meet him there it went. He was completely out of harms way and was telling me that he could see me throughout the event. Within seconds of the last of the debris passing me he was next to me before I could even let him know I was fine.

	Date	Location/Path	#	Elev	Asp	Type	Trig	SizeR	SizeD
	2020/02/23	10-mile Range	1	<TL	NW	SS	AS / u	R2	D1.5
Date: 2020/02/23 Time: 2:00 PM (Estimated) Area Description: Apron below the Coin Slot on Mt Royal in Frisco Landmark: 10-mile Range Elevation: 9300 ft Sliding Surface: G - At Ground/Ice/Firm Average Width: 50 ft Average Vertical: 100 ft Maximum Vertical: 150 ft Comments: The slide started in a thin area above a small rock rollover and then propagated to roughly 50’ across below that. I was knocked off my feet and was carried about 60’ on top of the slide before grabbing a tree after going over the rock. The snowpack was 6”-18” of new snow over a thin but stiff slab over facets over rock. I’d estimate that the whole slide ran 100’-150’ from the top to bottom, but the largest crown was about 1/3 of the way down.

Media

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