1/31/21 - Glidden Ridge

Skier triggered soft slab avalanche on 1/31/21. Party of two descending a NE aspect after skiing a few laps on an E aspect bowl without signs of instabilities with the exception of small naturals on very steep slopes. Ski plan was to avoid very obvious wind loaded rollover at top of the lines and enter the line from a safer point, then ski from safe spot to safe spot. Skiers took note of ~ 10cm of new snow on top of the surafce hoar that had develped in the 2nd half of January after the ice crust formed on 1/12 & 1/13. First skier descended in to the line with a plan to ski to safety in a stand of trees to skier right. After a few turns from the top, the skier noticed that a soft slab avalanche has been triggered by his ski turns. The skier quickly took notice and skied hard right out of the moving slide to safety in the first identified safe spot. Although the slab was not very large, there was higher consequences due to terrain traps and length of avy path it followed + entrained snow. Having an escape plan in mind while skiing in to the line was the tool that helped keep the party safe in this scenario. After looking back on the incident, it became more clear that the spot where the avy was triggered is susceptible to wind loading and had recieved just enough loading to create the soft slab that was initiated by the skiers turns. Another point to mention is that there was slight warming occuring at that point in day (1:00pm) with mostly sunny skies.