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Show At 1448 hours the main party arrived with 20 men. Two doctors arrived at 1450. A new probe line was established and the. victim was located at 1510 hours, 50 minutes after the accident happened. She was 10 feet below the clump of trees, buried under three feet of snow, head downhill but face up. The victim was unconscious and not breathing. Mrs. T. was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed death due to suffocation. AVALANCHE DATA This slope is 66% ( 33- 5 ), and the dimensions of the avalanche were approximately 120' wide, running down the slope 90 feet. The slide was a soft slab 18 inches thick ( SS- AS- 2). Prior to 17 February, there had been no snow for 30 days, thus the old snow surface was a hard crust. The slab slid on this surface. This slope had been skied and part of the old track could be seen. It is not known when this was done, or if it was by the patrol or by another skier. COMMENTS There is no better example to illustrate the point that the small avalanches are often the killers. The snow ran only 90 feet -- yet it was able to bury the victim sufficiently to suffocate her. This accident graphically illustrates the need to check out all slopes within the protection boundary that are steep enough for snow to slide on -- no matter how small they may be. Those responsible for the safety of the public must keep up with the changing conditions -- a slope safe in the morning may be dangerous in the afternoon. Winds and changing temperatures can produce a serious hazard in a matter of hours. No. 61- 2 ARAPAHOE BASIN. COLORADO 24 November 1961 WEATHER FACTORS During the night of 23 November, temperatures dropped to below zero. Temperatures during the day of 24 November were estimated to abe around 35 degrees. At the time of the accident, this north slope would have been in the shadows from 30 to 45 minutes. Ski area personnel indicated they did not have snow and wind conditions like those at Berthoud Pass during the week, that is, high winds, drifting snow and light flurries. Normally the weather conditions at Berthoud and Arapahoe are quite similar. They did indicate that four inches of snow fell on 23 November. This could result in wind transported deposition of 12 to 24 inches of snow in the vicinity of the siide. 65 |
