February 7
Bowman trail-Cabin run-Gobblers Knob-Porter fork
Elevations, slope angles and aspects
6200-10200, angles over 35°, north and west facing aspects.
Snow conditions
2-4 '' dense recent snow over a variable old surface.
As usual, wind from the west had drifted and scoured upper elevations, aspect dependent.
Avalanche activity
My story and I'm sticking to it.
What a dumb ass!
Good visibility provided an excellent view of the Cabin run.Wind scouring to old tracks allowed safe passage on the up and down
. Pole probing indicated variability but, no overloaded drifting. Some very weak shallow snow was found, isolated collapsing. Skied both pitches to Baker spring.
Clouds moved in, obscuring the views on the second up and summit. Shouda taken the hint.
I'd skied the main face(dead snag) on January 30th. At that time, a good view suggested no load on the main face. Thought it could be skied safely.
Started down the face, one turn at a time, ski cutting and pole probing. A few turns in, I was questioning my sanity since, I was finding 2' or so over the nasties(hollow, probably depth hoar). Almost retreated. One ski cut above the last tree, watched the slope fracture, grabbed the tree. Hung on for a minute but, it musta broke up slope and I got stripped off. Down the hill I went.
Interesting ride. I was trying to arrest, watching large blocks of snow go by and moving with some speed. Dug in, no stopping. Instead got twisted and dislocated my shoulder, continuing the ride, a little slower.
Stopped, with my left arm wedged in the debris. Unaware I'd damaged the right one, I was trying to extricate the left one because I was worried my partner had also been caught. Slow going, he skied down and dug out the left arm. We gathered our wits, partner tightened my pack strap, making a sling for the broken wing and outta there.
Kinda sad the vis didn't allow snapshots of the slide and crown.
Guesstimate:
Probably rode the beast 1500' vertical.
Coupla hundred feet wide, coupla feet deep, running over 2000 vertical feet down the hill, with debris entering the main gully.
X marks the stopping point.
Weather
Partly cloudy to overcast skies, mild temperatures, light wind.
Evaluation
Best to pay attention to changed conditions.
Rather than an isolated lingering instability, would consider it localized, with serious consequences.
Thanks to Mother Nature for treating me kindly.
Much appreciated!
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