On Sunday, one snowmobiler in a group of four was caught and killed in a small avalanche on Ski Hill at the south end of Lionhead Ridge. He was on a 45-degree slope when it released and partially buried him against a tree. The slide was only 4"-11" deep, 75 feet wide and ran 300 feet vertical. His head was a foot under the snow. The avalanche was not witnessed and the victim was buried an estimated 15-25 minutes before he was uncovered. Rescue efforts were not successful. The group was familiar with the area and had rescue gear. The shallow, steep slide ended in trees, a terrain trap . Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the rider. 

A detailed report can be read here.

This morning while ascending a line on Sawtooth Mountain (Lower Novocain) we triggered an avalanche (ASu-SS-R2-D2-O)  that caught and carried my partner an estimated 180M and partially buried him. His leg and hand were unburied and excavation of the head was done in less than 2 minutes of the incident. The avalanche only involved new snow from the last 48hrs and was triggered on a MF crust/facet combo 30cm down(formed 1/30/22). The avalanche was 30cm at its deepest and 20-30M wide and ran 250M. We were lucky to find both skis and poles a little ways downslope. No injuries were sustained.

We both agree that we were trying to outsmart the instability that was present on steeper S facing terrain and should have turned around much sooner, we were very lucky. There was 30+cm HST in favored areas and the high winds from 1/31/22 formed some sensitive windslabs in specific areas.