On Sunday, warm and wet weather resulted in an unstable snowpack in the Pacific Northwest. This resulted saw multiple avalanches in Washington state, which included one at Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort.
The Northwest Avalanche Center reports that the human-triggered slide at Mission Ridge happened on the Nentz trail. The 2-foot-deep, 200-foot-wide avalanche resulted in two people getting caught, and one skiing out of it. No severe injuries were reported, but one person had some cracked ribs and a sprained knee.
Here is the official description of the slide from the Northwest Avalanche Center:
“Deep slush snow, possibly all way to ground was observed prior. Weather was unseasonably warm. Concerned about wet loose problems, we headed down and right to return to low angle terrain. Not soon enough.”
The Mission Ridge Ski Patrol issued the following statement to the Northwest Avalanche Center:
“The area of the avalanche is accessed via the Wenatchee Express chairlift, which is also referred to as Chair 2. Three guests were in the area of the slide, but none were buried. A thorough search of the area has been conducted out of an abundance of caution, including utilizing Recco devices and an avalanche rescue dog from Stevens Pass.”
Click here to read other recent observations from the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Image Credits: Northwest Avalanche Center, Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort
