Sheenmai avalanche 18.01.2018

Wed, 21/11/2018 - 7:53pm by brian
Location Name: 
Top of Sheenmai Bowl 18/01/2018
Region: 
Gulmarg
Name: 
Brian Newman
Publish this observation on the website?: 
Yes
Share this observation on the website's social media pages, email subscriptions, and RSS feeds?: 
Yes
Observation made by: 
Forecaster
Location: 
Observation Date and Time or Estimated Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Thursday, 18 January, 2018 - 4:30am
Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
Yes

Conditions Alerts:

  • Avalanche Activity
    Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing)
    • Shooting Cracks
    • Collapsing / whumpfing noises
    Persistent Problem
    Recent Loading
    • Blowing Snow

Tabs

Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

The avalanche occurred at 3889 m in the southern path of Sheenmai bowl outside of the Gulmarg ski area. The crown was approximately 30 meters wide (measured on Google Earth) and 20-60 cm deep. The slope of the starting zone ranged from 38-45° with a north to northeast aspect (30°-60°). The avalanche ran 1370 linear meters and 700 vertical meters with a runout angle of 25°. The avalanche is classified SS-ASu-R2-D2-I.

Weather Summary

Snow depth, precipitation, wind speed and direction data were collected from the

Gulmarg Ski Patrol SNOTEL site and the Indian department of meteorology

(IDM) AWS located at 3075m on the Kangdoori plateau, approximately 2

kilometers north of the avalanche site.

The morning of the avalanche the Gulmarg Ski Patrol SNOTEL site measured

7cm of new snow with a 4mm snow/water equivalence. Winds measured at the

IDM AWS Gulmarg increased from 19 km/hr at 17:30 to 28 km/hr at 03:30 then

became calm before rising again to 28 km/hr at 05:30. Winds were consistently

from the South. Temperatures over the 24 hours leading up to the incident

ranged from a minimum of -5.2 C to a maximum 5.3 C. Between 13:00 and

14:00 the temperature range was recorded as minimum -4.4 C to a maximum

-2.5 C.

Snowpack Summary

At the time of the incident the Gulmarg region was experiencing an exceptionally

dry winter. The first recorded snowfall on November 16, 2017 measured 20 cm.

On 18 December 2017, 85cm accumulated over two days. The next measured

precipitation was the morning of January 18, 2018 as detailed above.

Snowpack analysis indicates the most likely failure within the snowpack was the

new storm slab, which formed from wind transportation of storm snow. Southerly

winds introduced friction to reduce large storm snow particles to small particles

forming a dense, deep and brittle slab on North and East aspects particularly at

the uppermost, exposed ridgetops. This relatively dense layer (slab) failed due

to a new and poor bond to a crust, which had formed previously on the old snow

surface. This crust also provided the initial sliding surface for the avalanche.

The most recent weather and avalanche advisory was issued Wednesday,

January 18: “A weak Northerly brought moderate winds and 10cm today. Expect a single

skier to trigger small avalanches within the storm slab on N through E aspects at ridgetops

above 3500 meters. Although this new load is not expected to stress deep persistent weak

layers, remain alert for whumphing especially where winds have created deeper pockets of

snow load. The alpine advisory is Moderate. Treeline and below remains Low.”

 

Accident Summary

The two men (24 yrs) checked into their hotel in Gulmarg village on Jan 15th. On Jan 18th the two men rode the Gulmarg gondola to the top station and exited the ski area boundary following another group of guided skiers. The two decided to enter Sheenmai bowl and skied into the top of the bowl together. They stopped together in the top of the bowl to have a discussion including possible route selection. At this moment the two men triggered the avalanche which collapsed underneath their skis. The first victim was caught near the edge of the avalanche where the depth of the slab was thin. He was able to immediately escape the shallow slab to the left side of the avalanche (green arrow).

The second victim was caught closer to the center of the avalanche where the storm slab was much thicker (red arrow). He was quickly carried into the steep gully and out of view of his partner. The first victim began a beacon search on skis, descending the long narrow gully.

He eventually located the victim at the base of the gully using his beacon, probe and with additional help shoveling by other skiers and guides. The second victim was buried approximately 1 meter in depth. Rescue breathing and CPR were given. A snowmobile was recruited from a tour group and used to transport both victims to the Gulmarg Ski Patrol base where a doctor was awaiting their arrival. After continued CPR for approximately 30 minutes the second victim was pronounced dead.

The second victim was wearing an avalanche beacon. His pack contained a shovel and probe. He was wearing an airbag pack but it was not deployed. The airbag pack did no contain a pressurized cylinder nor a handle to deploy the airbag. It was decided by the two victims before their departure from Sweden to not bring the cylinders or handles because their airline had informed them that these items were forbidden for transport and would be refused checked luggage. Victim 2 was not wearing a helmet.

Rescue Summary

At 13:30, a witness arrived by snowmobile at the Gulmarg Ski Patrol base. After a brief interview, the Snow Safety Officer (SSO), 4 Ski Patrollers with rescue equipment and the witness were towed by 3 snowmobiles towards the base of Sheenmai bowl and the site of the avalanche debris. The snowmobile transporting the two victims crossed this team heading at high speed towards the Ski Patrol Base.

The Gulmarg Gondola second phase was closed at 13:30 and additional teams of Ski Patrollers were sent to the top station. A beacon search of the adjacent Hapat Khued bowl and the avalanche debris at the base of both paths was conducted by Ski Patrol teams departing from the top station. The incident was cleared by 15:00.

N

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Comments

The onsite investigation was conducted on January 19, 2018 by Brian Newman of Gulmarg Avalanche Center (SSO of Gulmarg Ski Patrol), Mhmd. Anwar Sheik, Mehraj ud. din Dar, Mhmd. Ashraf Bhat, and Mhmd Ashraf Ali. of the Gulmarg Ski Patrol.

Thanks to Colorado Avalanche Information Center and Åre Lavincenter for their support.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack Details
Total Snow Depth: 
75cm
Terrain
Terrain: elevations: 
Above Treeline
Terrain: aspects: 
N
NE
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Type: 
Storm Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
New/old snow interface
Trigger
Trigger: 
Skier
Trigger Modifier: 
Accidentally Triggered
Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
40degrees
Aspect: 
Northeast
Starting Elevation: 
3889 m
Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R3 Medium
Crown Height: 
5 ft
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
100ft.
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
2300ft.
People Involved
Number of people caught: 
2
Number of partial burials: 
1
Number of full burials: 
1
Weather Details
Elevation of Observation: 
3000 m
Blowing Snow: 
Moderate
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Sky Cover: 
Few - Mostly Clear - up to 2/8 covered
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Professional Assesment
Today's Assessed Stability Above Treeline: 
Fair
Today's Assessed Stability Near Treeline: 
Good
Today's Assessed Stability Below Treeline: 
Very Good