A Whistler ski patroller was fatally injured near Pemberton on Thursday, then another guy heli skiing near Revy was killed on Friday. Conditions have really been iffy out here with this warmer weather. I read somewhere that the Pemberton slide carried the guy 1800m down the mountain, that's one hell of a ride.
I fear what will happen when Ullr finally cranks it up around here. This snowpack is nothing but facets. There were some avy incidents after a "storm" dropped between 1-4" and that got pushed around by wind. If a storm comes through and dumps significant new snow on top of this shit, it's gonna get ugly. All these mags are gonna get infected with powder fever and I'm legitimately afraid of what might happen.
Heard about this one in the Village, tho people were saying that it wasn't actually an avy :dunno: although, I could easily be mistaken. Tragedy none the less.
Someone got busted up pretty decently in Second Creek on Berthoud Pass over the weekend. From the pics of the slide looks like they were a ridge over from Bride of Frankenstein. Not sure what that path is called, but I have no idea why you would choose an alpine line like that with the crappy snow pack structure we have. The potential for it to go big is very real as this rider learned. Sounds like he got some broken ribs and a compound fracture of his arm for his efforts. He did get to live though. Basically, anything that has snow and looks fun to ride, isn't safe right now. Even the below treeline stuff is going to have it's dangers when (if) the snow starts to fly around here. It's going to be touchy as these accidents over the weekend are proving. Time to dial it waaaay back for a good while. Especially when he snow starts to pile up. Give the pack time to adjust.
Nasty start to the season, the guy in Revy actually worked as VP of something-or-other at the same company as my wife. She tells me he was on a trip with & paid for by one of their customers. Seems odd, from a corporate risk management perspective, to take vendor/client employees on such an excursion but what do I know.
Wow my work would never let that fly. I think we are not able to accept gifts over 50 bones from a supplier.
The CAIC video is crazy. Looks like some super fun terrain though for sure. I am excited if I get to come out that way this year. If it ever snows enough to have a spring season.
I have been following the canadian avalanche center pretty closely for my trip this weekend. It appears they have more snow but they also have some problems in their snowpack as well on Rogers Pass. Hopefully this next storm comes in and nukes it and everything settles quickly.
Two Montana men killed in avalanches near Cooke City last weekend knew the avalanche danger in the area was high, and one didn't heed a warning from two other skiers who had turned back after triggering a snow slide that buried one of them up to their waist, investigators said.
"We see it time and again," said Mark Staples with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. "It's rare that things are subtle. We see the clues, but we choose to ignore them. I've been guilty of it, too."
The report on the death of Dave Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, said he and his wife, Kerry, had followed the tracks of two other backcountry skiers out of Cooke City on the morning of Dec. 31. About 1.5 miles into their trip, the Gaillards encountered the other skiers who said they turned around at the Wyoming border after triggering a slide on a steep hill.
The Gaillards continued to the end of the other skiers' tracks at the border, where they turned on their avalanche transceivers.
Kerry Corcoran Gaillard told investigators they were nervous because the snow kept collapsing as they skied, the report said. She said they were looking for a place to eat lunch when the avalanche hit at 2:20 p.m., burying her husband.
Kerry Gaillard turned her transceiver to "receive," but the unit's batteries were weak and she was unable to locate him. She went back to Cooke City to report the avalanche at about 5 p.m.
Besides for continuing on with plenty of warnings, sometimes that just happens...
The batteries were weak? They turned on their beacons after they reached the end of the ski track? Talk about bad mistakes. Your beacon should be "on at the car, off at the bar", end of story. Included in that should be a beacon check to make sure you have enough battery power. Talk about setting yourself up for failure. Batteries are not expensive people, keep them fresh in your beacon, and turn the damn thing on as soon as you step out of the car...
the hayden creek incident is the same as the one posted by lonerider, their dog was also buried and thought dead, then showed up at their hotel in cooke four days later. Things arn't looking good here in montana, 26in base at the ski area, backcounrty is super sketchy, with a week of dry weather in the forecast. Lets hope for safer decisions when the snow falls again. Two avy deaths in montana all of last year, and two in the same day this year.
Treat it like you are dealing with a continental (which you are) snow pack this year and you'll do ago. For a good portion of the west, I got a hunch the trophy lines won't go down until the spring freeze thaw sets in.
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