Tuesday the 7th of December there was unidentified snowboarder buried on Cody Peak. With only his fingers sticking out of the snow, he was able to walk away with minor injuries. The incident occurred in the zone of Four Shadows and No Shadows where the snowboarder was the fourth person on that slope.
The avalanche started as a shallow slab, but with that snow moving, it triggered the cornice to drop. The cornice falling allowed the avalanche to step down and brought much of the snow on the face to a pile on the bottom. At the time of the incident the avalanche hazard was rated as ‘moderate’ by the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center.
Unfortunately there was a rider caught in this slide, but it is a reminder for all of us. Even though the hazard was ‘Moderate’ and there has been very little activity, there is always a chance that something like this could happen. So get out there and enjoy this amazing start to the year. Just keep in mind the snowpack may be great, but not perfect.