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Avalanche: Monte Cristo

Observer Name
Andy
Observation Date
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Avalanche Date
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Monte Cristo
Location Name or Route
Directissimo
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
South
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Avalanche Problem
Wet Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow
Depth
Unknown
Width
Unknown
Comments
My partner and I decided to ski the directissimo line on Monte Cristo today. We knew it was supposed to be warm, so we started skinning from snowbird at 6am and we able to submit superior by 8:15. While on the ridge traverse between superior and Monte Cristo, we heard a massive whoomp, which caused us to bail on our plan of skiing edge of the world. The snow in the actual directissimo chute was still cold, so we figured that it was safe to ski from the superior/Monte Cristo saddle. It was not. While my partner was about half way down the first rapel, I heard her scream "AVALANCHE". I was at the second rap station when this happened. Within 1 second a 10 ft cloud engulfed my partner. Thankfully, she was able to hold on to the rope and was not injured. She finished the rappell after the slide passed and was able to tie into to the second rap station before the next slide cam billowing down the directissimo chute. We ended up having to wait out two more slides before I performed the fastest rappel of my life. Thankfully, both of us were able to come home uninjured from this incident, and we'll definitely think twice before doing a large, high consequence south facing line in late April again.
Coordinates