Vermont Snowboarder Triggers Large Avalanche

Ella Boyd
·2 min read
1

Although the East Coast is not as known for its avalanches as, say, Alaska or the West Coast, they are certainly possible.

Snowboarder John Stafford not only proves this, but documents it, posting a video to Instagram a day ago showing "lots of red flags out there today, crazy how things changed overnight, just goes to show you, high precipitation rates will change things fast."

Watch the slide below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by John Stafford (@_j_staff)

"We heard this whole area settle and crack and we were in a safe spot to watch it go."

East Coast skier and photographer Brooks Curran wrote, "Rip to anyone on the bootpack," because had there been anyone ascending this trail, they surely would have gotten caught in the slide.

Luckily, John reported that he "went down to the bottom and checked for tracks in and didn’t see any but pretty scary nonetheless!"

While the East Coast only makes up a small percentage of avalanche fatalities country-wide, it is still possible for East Coast avalanches to be deadly.

Go East of Eastern Mountain Sports reports that in 2018, Aaron Rice (the skier who famously climbed and skied 2.5 million vertical feet in 2016), triggered an avalanche in Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch.

Just days later, six soldiers in the Vermont National Guard were caught in a slide. In February of that same year, a skier was buried up to their waist in an avalanche on Wright Peak in the Adirondacks.

Basically, just because you're skiing the east coast of America, and it may often be icy, does not mean you are immune from avalanches.

When venturing into the backcountry, bring a friend, beacon, probe, and shovel, and research your conditions before setting out on your expedition.

It's always better to be safe than sorry.

Related: Mountain Stripped Bare By Powerful Avalanche

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