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Now that would be a useful suggestion for the next engineer classes project survey
How to start Backcountry Riding.
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neni, on a bit more serious note RE "detecting" avalanches, I was in a BC zone this past Sunday in the next valley over from the ski area we rode with you & your hubby at the SBF gathering a few years back and I heard these huge crashing sounds. It was pretty freaky and I was wondering if I was hearing natural avalanches from the cornices far above me (I was well out of any run-out zone thankfully). It was very spooky. I was later able to determine this was just avalanche control work related to the ski area itself, but wow was it spooky to hear that being where I was. I had to climb quite a way up the next mountain over to be able to see what had actually happened.
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Since this thread has pretty well been answered & is now veering a bit off the rails,... :laugh:
I've been curious about these avalanche control efforts. Can you even ride in, on, over, thru, the debris field after they've set off a slide??
The few debris fields I've seen, It looks to me like an un-ridable field of blocks & bumps. Does it set up like hardpack? Do you wait for ma nature to cover the bumps n blocks with snow?
Does setting off a controlled slide ruin the slope for riding after? Inquiring NooBs wanna know!!
:shrug:
I've been curious about these avalanche control efforts. Can you even ride in, on, over, thru, the debris field after they've set off a slide??
The few debris fields I've seen, It looks to me like an un-ridable field of blocks & bumps. Does it set up like hardpack? Do you wait for ma nature to cover the bumps n blocks with snow?
Does setting off a controlled slide ruin the slope for riding after? Inquiring NooBs wanna know!!
:shrug:
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My experiences: it depends. In the springtime if the avy chunder has melted a bit, it's somewhat rideable, but still bumpy. I've seen the blocks from a hard-slab avalanche in "dry" winter snow and there is no way to ride through that.Since this thread has pretty well been answered & is now veering a bit off the rails,... :laugh:
I've been curious about these avalanche control efforts. Can you even ride in, on, over, thru, the debris field after they've set off a slide??
The few debris fields I've seen, It looks to me like an un-ridable field of blocks & bumps. Does it set up like hardpack? Do you wait for ma nature to cover the bumps n blocks with snow?
Does setting off a controlled slide ruin the slope for riding after? Inquiring NooBs wanna know!!
This Vid shows a wet slide debris field around 2:20 that is easy to discern from the "regular" snow. The video doesn't show it but that snow was HORRIBLE to try to ride through. It wanted to suck me down. Killclimbz had ridden down before I did and you can see his track up to that point. I rode past him and never saw where he pulled over to wait, but judging by the absence of his track below where the debris started, I think he went left where I went right. Starting at about 2:35, I'm in the wet, semi-melted chunder and it is very "sticky" and difficult to ride through. At about 2:52, I get out of it back into regular snow and it's so much better. Notice how the partially melted wet slide snow doesn't have those blocks.
FYI: we ride stuff like this one-at-a-time and use radios to communicate. You only want to expose one person at a time to terrain like this and keep eyes on them as long as possible. The thing with this run is that once the rider drops in about 20 feet, they go over a roll and you can't see them until they emerge out of the bottom of the chute where it opens up... kinda spooky. YMMV
There is also dryer avalanche debris that has been wind affected a bit and partially obscured by new snow drifting in. That stuff is rideable if smoothed over enough..
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As Deagol said, it depends. Here is a vid of my wife "riding" down through some refrozen, wet avalanche debris. As you can tell, it was horrible. (This was in Austria with a guide.)Since this thread has pretty well been answered & is now veering a bit off the rails,... :laugh:
I've been curious about these avalanche control efforts. Can you even ride in, on, over, thru, the debris field after they've set off a slide??
The few debris fields I've seen, It looks to me like an un-ridable field of blocks & bumps. Does it set up like hardpack? Do you wait for ma nature to cover the bumps n blocks with snow?
Does setting off a controlled slide ruin the slope for riding after? Inquiring NooBs wanna know!!
[ame]https://vimeo.com/308490695[/ame]
Generally speaking avy debris is going to be very dense (the reason you are essentially encased on concrete if you get buried) so it is no bueno.
As for riding the slide path, it all depends on how deep it went and what it slid on. If it went to the ground, well, it is the ground. If it is some hard crust layer, that layer is often still there and would suck to ride. Perhaps if it slid on loose facets it would be okay.
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^^^HAHAHA! OMG that looks terrible! The bs you deal with to do the backcountry thing.
That is a great example. I've also ridden avalanche debris that is complete soft. Usually point release type stuff, or a soft storm slab that broke loose and didn't slide fast and far enough to melt and refreeze. It all depends. If the slide is large enough, it's probably going to be pretty awful to ride through. *See above...
That is a great example. I've also ridden avalanche debris that is complete soft. Usually point release type stuff, or a soft storm slab that broke loose and didn't slide fast and far enough to melt and refreeze. It all depends. If the slide is large enough, it's probably going to be pretty awful to ride through. *See above...
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Damn!! :blink:
Yeah, that's what I was curious about. Seems like if conditions get bad enough to warrant avy control measures,.. a lot of what could have been epic riding gets ruined.
Of course having that same slope slide on you if you try to ride it would really ruin things,.. so? :shrug:
I gotta say,.. I both envy & admire, and question the sanity of you folks who venture out into the BC. :laugh: >
Yeah, that's what I was curious about. Seems like if conditions get bad enough to warrant avy control measures,.. a lot of what could have been epic riding gets ruined.
Of course having that same slope slide on you if you try to ride it would really ruin things,.. so? :shrug:
I gotta say,.. I both envy & admire, and question the sanity of you folks who venture out into the BC.
:laugh: >
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Lol, yeah. We had to cross several frozen debris fields today to reach a short run of 400m pow in northern aspect, and then hop turn through a southern aspect minefield of grass n rocks to get out. A lot of work for a hand full sweet turns, but still worth it.
AND, less dangerous than riding groomers ATM, where holiday vacation crowds in constant mulled wine xmas-new year mood crash into eachother at too high speeds. (Rescue heli flew 5 times yesterday to evacuate injured groomer folks).
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Wow, that is horrible. Looks like there were several other slides coming down into that same valley. Must be "slack country" as she is on a solid board? Also, is that a Dupraz?
Amplid splitboard, Phantom Bindings, Atomic Blackland
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Yup BC is cheap compared to a heli ride to the ER...and not much joy to be had. Even an ambulance ride to the ER is going to be at least a 4 hour ordeal at our little hill.
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That was the funniest thing about riding in Austria. We watched a heli come to get a woman injured on a groomer 200 yards from the top of the main gondola in St. Anton. Rescue dude even flew up from the bottom suspended on a cable under the heli. Our guess was the lady took one look at how she was potentially getting down the hill and suddenly managed to walk her ass back up to the top of the gondi. That would never happen here - she’d get a ski patrol sled to the bottom or, in this case, maybe a snowmobile ride the 200 yards to the lift.
This photo is from the top of the lift.
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Yes, it was a very warm February (2016, Neni) and a ton of stuff slid. This is "European" backcountry. We were going between interconnected ski areas. Some hiking, lots of traversing, but no need for a split board, especially because most of the snow was so solid. Fortunately our guide managed to find us pockets of soft snow and we were also hitting things just as it warmed up before it was too soft and dangerous. That particular day we rode at 3-4 resorts (depending on how your define them) and ended up taking a bus back about 45 minutes to the area we started. The next day we ended up in another valley and took the train back to where we started. It's a wild and fun way to explore.
Yep, it's a Dupraz.
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Heli isn't that expensive. Actually quite cheap IMO. We only pay 40$ a year for Rega (Swiss Heli Rescue organisation) membership. That's it. If injured, they'd fetch us, w/o additional cost.
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Yeah, we saw how that worked. Have fun getting transported down the mountain 100 feet below on a cable dangling and swinging under the heli!!!
(Actually, I’d find that the best part of the experience.)
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Mmm... our Helis have inboard transportation. No cable. They transport goods to huts or cows with cable, tho.
https://www.zalp.ch/aktuell/suppen/suppe_2008_04_01/bilder/rega.jpg
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:surprise::surprise::surprise:
Without a comma I thought you meant "transport goods to huts or transport goods to cows" with the cable. Holy shit that cow must be mad!
Amplid splitboard, Phantom Bindings, Atomic Blackland
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I was going to say... I may need to get "rescued" from my hotel parking lot to a few summits!Does that include rescues from the flatland to the highland? >
Amplid splitboard, Phantom Bindings, Atomic Blackland
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@Extazy twas out yesterday scouted a little place where you hike out like 2 minutes, drop a short mellow line and then a short tour out...to lift assisted up (or not) and repeat. Definitely not an adventure but it would give you an idea of transitions and a wee bit touring. I'd never hit it before because it was so close.
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