The Mount Washington Avalanche Center shared footage from an intense avalanche that occurred on March 3 in Dodge’s Drop. The avalanche itself isn’t very large, but a skier was trapped and carried down a steep section of the mountain.
Fortunately the skier was uninjured in the accident and was able to self arrest before falling onto rocks below. This incident does illustrate how even a small slide can be quite disastrous in steep terrain. Read MWAC’s explanation of the incident below.
Mt. Washington Avalanche Center:
“On March 3rd, a skier was caught and carried in a small avalanche in Dodge’s Drop. The skier was uninjured in the fall and was thankfully able to arrest the fall before continuing further into rocks and obstacles below.
This incident perfectly highlights something that we write about a lot in our forecasts: even a small avalanche can have serious consequences if it causes a fall in steep terrain with hazards below.
We are sharing this video as a way to show the potential consequences of accidents in Presidential Range ski mountaineering terrain. We hope this gets you thinking about terrain choices, consequence, and the potential for accidents even with a very small avalanche.“
