Skiers 1 and 2 entered skiers right of the chute and stopped 50 feet below the top of the line in a perceived safe spot. Skier 3 traversed skiers left of chute to begin skiing and triggered a wind slab with a 12-24” crown that propogated the entire skiers left side of the chute. Skier 2 traversed over some rocks to the bed surface. Skiers 2 and 3 skied down the bed surface about halfway down the chute and stopped in a safe zone. Skier 1 was attempting to traverse out avoiding rocks and entered hang fire which slid and knocked skier 700’ down the slope. Skier 1 broke his patella and evac’d by flight for life.

North face of mt grizzly coming from Loveland pass side

The Grizzly Peak Snotel, located on Loveland Pass, recorded 0.7 inches of Snow Water Equivalent over the preceding two days. Arapahoe Basin reported 15 inches of snow. The weather station at Arapahoe Basin Summit at 12462 feet showed northwesterly winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts of 25mph for 10 hours preceding the accident.