This was the first avalanche reported to the Center since the 28th. The group was well equipped with beacons , shovels and probes, but lacked luck. The riders triggered the slide from below as they traversed across a bench beneath a steep slope.
Hard slabs are tricky beasts.
The hard- slab snow is very strong, but it is not necessarily stable. The potential of a hard slab avalanche is tricky to predict, so its best to leave steep hard slabs alone.