Avalanche — Southern Coos, New Hampshire

2021-02-01 · Southern Coos, New Hampshire

Event narrative

The Mount Washington Avalanche Center reported on February 3, a backcountry skier traveling alone was caught, buried and killed in an avalanche on Feb 1st. Search and Rescue teams recovered the body on the evening of Feb 2nd. The avalanche buried the skier more than 12 feet deep in a terrain trap. The incident occurred in the White Mountain National Forest in Ammonoosuc Ravine slide path, north of Mount Monroe. The skier was traveling alone and most likely triggered a pocket of unstable snow on a hard wind crust from the previous weak. The avalanche danger was reported to be low that day. The skier was carried down the ravine slide path were he was buried in a terrain trap. A storm moved in on the night on Feb 1st and lasted through the 2nd. A second slide most likely occurred in this storm cycle due to the strong east winds on Feb 2nd, which led to such a deep burial. An avalanche watch was issued for the Presidential Mountains on Feb 2nd, but the storm wasn't a factor for the original slide and burial.

Wider weather episode

On Monday, 2/1/2021, the day that the subject went skiing, the level of avalanche danger for the area was rated as Low. The skier triggered an unstable pocket of snow and was carried into a bowl-like depression in Ammonoosuc Ravine slide path, where the snow was stopped by an overhanging cliff that was angled upslope. The debris pile here was deep, but fairly narrow, fanning out from a 10' strip to about 25' wide by 40' long. The skier was skiing alone and was buried on Feb 1st, but not recovered until late on Feb 2nd under 4 meters of snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 931716. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.