Prominent professional skiers were at Steven Pass Ski Area during February, 2012. Several small groups of locals and visitors decided to ski fresh snow on the back side of Cowboy Mountain (Seventh Heaven). Coming together in a large group of fifteen no one blew the whistle on all going at the same time.
They triggered an avalanche that caught five of them. One escaped. One had a deployable balloon on her back that prevented her from being completely buried. Three were buried and killed.
John Branch of the New York Times provides a very detailed account. Each page has a graphic and some are animated, especially the later one showing the descent slope from top to bottom.
See also Outside Magazine.
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