Squaw today was filled with deep turns and a pretty big scare for everyone with a large avalanche triggered above the fingers. Everyone enjoyed an early KT opening, with some very, very deep and bottomless powder and Red Dog/Squaw Creek remained ripping well into the afternoon.
The conditions:
Red Dog/Squaw Creek
- Bottomless pow
- Moderate crowds but lines moved well
- Near zero visibility in the afternoon
- Along with exceptional rates of snowfall
The Avalanche on KT-22
- Crown height appeared to be around 3 feet
- Triggered by two snowboarders cutting into closed terrain
- 1 Big Mountain team member was pulled from the KT chair (due to wind vacuum caused by the cascade of snow)
- Patrol was amazingly quick to respond, on scene in under one minute
- 1 injury and fortunately no deaths
- The area had been bombed earlier that morning
We are extremely fortunate that no one was lost in the incident. A huge thanks to the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol for their hard work in getting everything open, and for their exceptionally quick response (on scene in under a minute, avalanche rescue dogs on scene in under 5 minutes) as well as a huge thanks to the Squaw Valley Ski Team who turned out in mass to help with the coarse search. Please remember folks, when patrol puts up a closed sign its there for a reason…to protect you and those around you. This is a valuable less that we must not forget, peoples lives were jeopardized today as a result of poaching a closed zone. If see a closure, especially in the midst of a storm, its there for a reason.
On a happier note, things are expected to go blue tomorrow! That’s right, with well over 3 feet of storm totals we are going to have a powder bonanza tomorrow for Christmas Eve. The skiing is schedule to be deep, soft, and epic! Bring out the big sticks ladies and gents, things are going to be DEEP!!
