Skier triggered Soft Slab Avalanche in Goose Creek

Goose Creek
Cooke City
Code
SS-ASu-R2-D1.5-O
Latitude
45.09230
Longitude
-109.95100
Notes

From Obs: "A group of six of us were sled-skiing in Goose Creek today and I triggered a soft-slab avalanche on a wind loaded slope. We had skied 3-4 runs in the trees before lunch and had seen little to no signs of instability. We'd come to this area three days earlier to dig pits and found the PWL noted in avalanche report for Cooke City. There was an older crown about ~5 days old clearly visible in the bowl we decided to ski after lunch. I dropped in and skied off a cliff just to lookers left of the crown "triangle" and when I landed I triggered the avalanche. It broke roughly 60 feet wide with a crown depth of 12-16". I was able to self arrest less than 20 seconds after the avalanche started and the snow slid around me. I lost a ski but was otherwise unharmed. I also had an airbag but did not need to pull it." 

Number of slides
1
Number caught
1
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Skier
Trigger Modifier
u-An unintentional release
R size
2
D size
1.5
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Thickness
16.0 inches
Slab Width
60.00ft
Weak Layer Grain type
Faceted Crystals
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year