Cedar Basin Avalanche Fatality

On Tuesday, January 19^th, two on-duty Yellowstone Club (YC) Ski Patrollers were helping two MSU (Montana State University) graduate students collect snow science research data. They were on private land within Yellowstone Club, in an uncontrolled backcountry setting when, skiing back in-bounds to the YC ski area, one of the patrollers triggered an avalanche by jumping off a cornice onto a steep (39-42°) wind-loaded slope which released on his second turn. The slide broke 2-4 feet deep, 300 feet wide and carried him through a terrain trap of thick trees. He was partially buried 300 vertical feet below in the toe of the debris. His partners reached him within three minutes, but the trauma was fatal. The avalanche is classified SS-ASu-R2-D2.5-O with a runout angle of 32°.