Avalanche on New Zealand's North Island Buries Four with Casualties Avoided

All Images: Courtesy of New Zealand Avalanche Advisory

A large avalanche was triggered by skiers on July 18th in Tongariro National Park on New Zealand’s North Island. The party involved consisted of six skiers in total, with four of the riders being partially buried. The public observation report mentions that of those four, one had only an arm and face above the snow, and one was, “completely buried with only their hand protruding.”

Rescue operations were conducted swiftly, however, and all members were recovered within 10 minutes. It’s not mentioned whether or not emergency personnel were called to assist, but given the short time frame, it’s likely that the group was able to conduct the rescue on their own.

No injuries were reported, though the roughly 50-meter-long wind slab certainly presented high levels of danger. The full observation reads, “Avalanche triggered whilst skinning. Four members of party partially buried. One member buried with only face and arm free. One member completely buried with only hand protruding. Buried member had an airway excavated within two minutes. Everyone fully excavated within ten minutes.”

The large “skier-triggered wind slab” avalanche released as the party was skinning up the mountain

In a follow-up post on Instagram, the NZ Avalanche Advisory commended the group for their rescue efforts and for the detail and timeliness of their observation report. “Sharing information of this nature is crucial to help improve everyone in the alpine community’s safety, trip planning, and decision making in the backcountry,” read the caption. “A huge thanks to the group for sharing a timely report.”

The avalanche occurred on a north-facing aspect in a wind-loaded bowl, not far from Whakapapa Ski Area. In the images above, you can even see snow flying off the ridge line, likely settling on the unstable area below.

Just two weeks ago, the NZ Avy Advisory pointed out a layer of surface hoar that had formed. The granulated, sugary snow can be very dangerous as more storms arrive and it becomes buried between snowpack layers. This could have contributed to the aggressive wind slab, as it released just 40 cm deep (15.7 in), implying that this was relatively recent snow.

To help backcountry users stay informed and educated, the NZ Avy Advisory has launched a mini-series on their Instagram page, delivering bite-sized videos diving into many different parts of avalanche awareness and general winter mountain travel knowledge. Whether you’re in New Zealand or enjoying summer in North America, this information is great to digest at all times of the year and will help you practice and refine your avalanche knowledge year-round.

As always, check with your local forecaster and do your own preemptive research when heading into unmitigated terrain. And if you’re scoring turns this July, get after it!