Mountaineer Carried 75 Meters Down Slope After Being Caught In An Avalanche On Alberta’s Mount Edith Cavell
Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park, Alberta – At around 4 PM on September 13, 2016 two mountaineers were descending Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park in Alberta when they triggered an avalanche that carried one of the climbers approximately 75 meters down the slope. Luckily both climbers survived and only suffered minor injuries.
The climbers descended the west ridge of Mount Edith Cavell then entered the SW bowl below the Mount Edith Cavel/Mount Sorrow Col – a bowl feature that they had ascended earlier in the day. The snow was heavy and snowballing with “many small avalanches in the area.”
The climbers were descending in two separate lines on the slope that was uniform in shape and 30 to 40 degrees steep, when the they both heard a whumph. A moist/wet slab fractured two meters above one of the climbers. It was 60cm deep, 15m wide, and ran roughly 1000m. One climber was caught and the other climber was not.
The climber who was caught in the avalanche swam through the debris and was able to self arrest approximately 75m down slope. They were not buried. The climbers were able to self rescue and reached the valley bottom at 2:30 AM.
The mountains in the area had recently seen 20cms + of storm snow above 3000m, with pockets of 60cm from wind. A “combination of the recent snow, afternoon temps hovering in the teens coupled with prolonged sun exposure has created prime avalanche conditions in the alpine” according to the ACMG report.
The above information is based on the avalanche report published on MountainConditions.com
Mount Edith Cavell is 3363 m / 11033′. It is located in the Athabasca River and Astoria River valleys of Jasper National Park in Alberta. It is the most prominent peak in Alerta. The peak is named after an English Nurse who was executed by Germans in WWII.
As far as we know, this is one of the first avalanche incidents of the 2016/2017 season. When the snow starts falling on the peaks, it’s time to be avalanche aware. Be safe out there.
