I got slid on today

[Glenn]

Inch an hour at bridger today. Patrol was doing their best to keep things open. Ridge closed shortly after I started hiking up. Went way out where the snow was easily 2+ feet deep with wind loading. Dropped a 20ish foot cliff landed, tried to turn but it was super heavy. Finally got my board turned but lost all my speed and got cemented with my board at least 10 inches under the snow. A riding partner behind thinks I've cleared the zone and rides up a spine behind me. Both sides of the spine drop 8 inch slabs which hit the main pitch which I'm on. The whole slope moves. Probably 50+ feet wide at least 4 probably more like 6 feet deep moving snow. I think I've started a massive sluff from the impact of the cliff and it's just now catching up with me. I'm facing downhill with snow moving all around me, left right uphill, downhill and underneath my board. It's coming up over my shoulders and I swim butterfly style on my back looking down the hill to stay near the surface. Things come to a rest and I'm super spooked. I come to realize how heavy this snow really is, how useless my turning is, and how easy it would be to get buried. I beater my way down some easy meadows thankfully make it down to the bar where I collect myself.

[Timeless]

glad you're safe, that kind of thing makes you realize just how vulnerable you are out there.

[moe ghoul]

Sobering experience, Glenn. Glad to hear you handled it. Stories like this are good to read for lesser mortals wanting to venture farther and deeper. Do you use an avalung?

[AngryHugo]

glad you made it out alright. really scary shit.

[nick malozzi]

Dude, scary shit. When you said on facebook that you triggered some sluff I was picturing MUCH smaller and MUCH less active. Wow, glad you're ok. Wet slabs/slides are scary (not that any slide is not, but wet seems especially bad). Wet slabs/slides are what is sketching me a bit about Berthoud right now. Mainly because I slacked off reading the reports and feel like I'm a little out of touch. How long do you think it will take for the Ridge up there to re-stabalize?

[Glenn]

Dude, scary shit. When you said on facebook that you triggered some sluff I was picturing MUCH smaller and MUCH less active. Wow, glad you're ok. Wet slabs/slides are scary (not that any slide is not, but wet seems especially bad). Wet slabs/slides are what is sketching me a bit about Berthoud right now. Mainly because I slacked off reading the reports and feel like I'm a little out of touch. How long do you think it will take for the Ridge up there to re-stabalize?

 

This wasn't a wet slab. The snow was dense but I would still probably classify it as a dry loose slab since it was pretty much all powder snow. It didn't snow or blow hard last night, so patrol has a good chance getting everything open today with a lot of bombing a some choice ski cuts. We had noticed some reactive snow earlier in the day but we also saw control work being done all day, so more or less we thought we were good. The zone where the slide occurred we had ridden earlier in the day and it was the best/deepest run, so after some in between laps of not as deep we went back to find much much more snow than we anticipated.

 

Sobering experience, Glenn. Glad to hear you handled it. Stories like this are good to read for lesser mortals wanting to venture farther and deeper. Do you use an avalung?

 

No avalung. I think I've experienced 2 or 3 days ever where I wanted one. Yesterday was one of those days. Someday I will have an extra hundo sitting around for one.

 

were you with a partner? How was visibility? Sounds sketch..

 

anyway some days aren't meant for hucking your meat..good to hear you're gettng dumped on!!!!

 

I had a partner he kicked off the slide onto me. Visibility about 20 yards, sometimes worse depending on how iced up your goggles were. Hucking was great all day, and had it just been a huck I wouldn't have had a story to tell. I got stuck in a slide zone from snow that was too heavy, and my partner didn't know I wasn't clear of a potentially bad spot and skiied on top of me.

[nick malozzi]

right on... must have read your original post wrong (hadn't had my coffee yet). glad that in the end it was still a great day. sometimes the close calls make for great experiences. unfortunately, they also have the makings for the bad stories.

[Johnny Law]

No avalung. I think I've experienced 2 or 3 days ever where I wanted one. Yesterday was one of those days. Someday I will have an extra hundo sitting around for one.

 

First and foremost good to here everything went ok for you and your back in one piece. Certainly a good lesson for everyone about partner safety and human factors concerning riding in avy terrain.

 

I may have a line on a cheap new lung, a buddy had and may still have BD proforms. I'll check and let you know.

 

Were you beeping ?

 

I strongly believe anyone riding in avy terrain should take at least avy 1, even EC dudes who want to run a little slack out west or whatever need to know what the fuck is going on at a basic level. Avy 1 is cheap and fun, shit even Avy 2 is cheap and fun.

 

EDIT: The last paragraph wasn't meant for you Glenn, I know you have knowledge and skills just a more general statement on the lack of knowledge by riders.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Johnny Law

[Glenn]

Were you beeping ?

 

Everyone hiking the ridge must have a beacon and it must be turned on. We had a group of 3 all with probe shovel (partners and packs not required). My partner saw the whole thing happen while standing on the spine. I'm pretty confident with how everything was moving even if I got buried he could have immediately started probing and/or just pulled me out with his hands. Who knows, it didn't come down to that.

 

JL thanks for the look, but I need about $1500 worth of new gear before I can even start thinking about an avalung.

 

Concerning education, it's a little scary that at least one shop in town and the hill itself rents out beacons. The hill has a sign to scare people away that says it is to find your dead body. I think they go for $15, but as of now most people don't even know that is an option.

[nick malozzi]

First and foremost good to here everything went ok for you and your back in one piece. Certainly a good lesson for everyone about partner safety and human factors concerning riding in avy terrain.

 

I may have a line on a cheap new lung, a buddy had and may still have BD proforms. I'll check and let you know.

 

Were you beeping ?

 

I strongly believe anyone riding in avy terrain should take at least avy 1, even EC dudes who want to run a little slack out west or whatever need to know what the fuck is going on at a basic level. Avy 1 is cheap and fun, shit even Avy 2 is cheap and fun.

 

EDIT: The last paragraph wasn't meant for you Glenn, I know you have knowledge and skills just a more general statement on the lack of knowledge by riders.

Glenn may not want to take advantage of the proform, but I'd be willing

 

I had a buddy with one, but like the proform scenario goes most time. He's lost it at this point, haha.

 

fyi: i'm extremely serious about getting one. i'm foregoing a pass this year in favor of a splitboard. so i'll be out there a lot. i have not taken Avy1, but there is a great organization out here that offers a course that is ALMOST the equivalent of Avy1. I've taken it twice, and plan to take Avy1 before next season. Also, in real life i'm not even REMOTELY as big of an asshole as I may come across on this forum, haha. just ask around.

Edited March 23, 2011 by nick malozzi

[nick malozzi]

I want an avalung..maybe I'll get one for my BDAY..

30 something with no gf/wife/kids... you should ski nothing BUT bc terrain. not too many people to upset if you go missing. a little dark yes, but it's the truth.

[Johnny Law]

Everyone hiking the ridge must have a beacon and it must be turned on.

 

That's what I was wondering, lots of places have a rule but nobody has them on. The Pioneer gate at Brighton has crazy amounts of young kids running laps out there yet you turn you beacon to search and all you get is your partner.......thanks for the reminder time to check the batteries when I get home.

 

I want an avalung..maybe I'll get one for my BDAY..

 

If you blow into it right it sounds alot like a moose call, plus you could probably turn it into some kind of bong...lulz

[Glenn]

That's what I was wondering, lots of places have a rule but nobody has them on. The Pioneer gate at Brighton has crazy amounts of young kids running laps out there yet you turn you beacon to search and all you get is your partner.......thanks for the reminder time to check the batteries when I get home.

 

Bridger has a beeper, with ski patrol right there, or on slachsmans a liftie. Most days the ski patrol don't even pay attention, but I imagine yesterday they were pretty on it.

[toast21602]

wild.

[Johnny Law]

Glenn may not want to take advantage of the proform, but I'd be willing

 

I had a buddy with one, but like the proform scenario goes most time. He's lost it at this point, haha.

 

fyi: i'm extremely serious about getting one. i'm foregoing a pass this year in favor of a splitboard. so i'll be out there a lot. i have not taken Avy1, but there is a great organization out here that offers a course that is ALMOST the equivalent of Avy1. I've taken it twice, and plan to take Avy1 before next season. Also, in real life i'm not even REMOTELY as big of an asshole as I may come across on this forum, haha. just ask around.

 

lulz I've generally found that we all play assholes on the internet but in real life the vast majority of the time people are cool.

 

If he still has the proform I let you know, I think BD forms also had trekker beacons but I'm not sure I'm remembering that right.

 

I thought Avy 1 and 2 were a ton of fun, you get to learn about snow and tour. Certainly in your neck of the woods its probably even better, we got Mt. W which is cool but I've been there alot and it has a very unique snowpack. I thought about 3 but that's probably not of any real use for me and they no longer offer in on the east coast as the field work had to be mostly theoretical. lulz on the EC snowpack

Edited March 23, 2011 by Johnny Law

[AngryHugo]

Also, in real life i'm not even REMOTELY as big of an asshole as I may come across on this forum, haha. just ask around.

 

 

30 something with no gf/wife/kids... you should ski nothing BUT bc terrain. not too many people to upset if you go missing. a little dark yes, but it's the truth.

 

after quotes like that, it's hard to defend you not being an asshole.

[nick malozzi]

I know it's hard to imagine hugoboss, but there is this new thing, a fad perhaps, that's sweeping the interwebs. It's quite amazing, and predicted to be be bigger than facebook and twitter combined! They are calling it sarcasm. Check it out! It's even free to try!

[Glenn]

Dude, scary shit. When you said on facebook that you triggered some sluff I was picturing MUCH smaller and MUCH less active. Wow, glad you're ok. Wet slabs/slides are scary (not that any slide is not, but wet seems especially bad). Wet slabs/slides are what is sketching me a bit about Berthoud right now. Mainly because I slacked off reading the reports and feel like I'm a little out of touch. How long do you think it will take for the Ridge up there to re-stabalize?

 

I just wanted to add though, that wet slabs are so easy to mitigate. Get out early enough, get the good corn, when things turn mushy leave. If you are doing a big mission definitely make sure you start early enough or abort before it you get into a position where you are making bad decisions. James peak was smart we ducked out when we did. Not just because of our pit results, but because of timing. Granted we didn't know that until we were at the bottom. I forgot we were dealing with west facing pitches that would cook much faster. If you are on a small pitches, leave 1 lap before you need to and you will be fine.

 

In any case, wet slabs move really slow, and if they don't rip to the ground, you will walk away from them more often than not.

[Glenn]

I like lifts..I like groomers..I like bumps..I like playful terrain..I like steeps..I like chutes..I like getting air..and I want to live to be at least 60...hopefully like 80...and ski my whole life..so why I don't huck 20 footers in low vis in avalanche conditions..is cause I wanna one day get gold in Nastar in geezer league...

 

You don't ever huck 20 footers (not that anyone dies from cliffs that small), you gave me shit for NOT riding in low vis weather earlier this year and we thought at the time we were picking a relatively safe route down the hill. All our previous runs of the day indicated this would have been the safest place to be, and the too deep conditions we experienced on that run alone were not an issue on previous runs. Mountain conditions change fast and it's easy to arm chair quarterback and say I was reckless. However, our group was talking about conditions, stability and safe routes all day. It didn't stop with talk; we followed though. The route we choose was less steep, it had better visibility. Also we saw some signs of instability during the day, but only on small pillows. Ski patrol and the avalanche center did not find anything that was actually releasing and the only real long term instabilities in the range have been very localized. No widespread issues. The slope I was on was likely the only thing to go that day.

 

After a day of reflection I've come up with a couple of take-aways:

1. More practice for my partner. I really don't know how good he is with the rescue gear. He's practiced a little, but I wasn't there and I don't know what "a little" means.

2. Radios. I keep trying to remember to bring mine out, but keep forgetting. They are cheap, easy to use, and make communication instant and easy without needing a cell signal.

3. Visibility should be a consideration in snow assessment not just line choice. If you can't see half the hill you don't know if it's all coming down. We didn't assess things incorrectly, we were actually right on the money where based on ski patrols observations and the avalanche centers rating for the day. Still, conditions could have been far worse and we may not have known the difference.

4. Making statements like "I can't believe ski patrol can keep up with all this new snow" should be a red flag rather than a moment with high fives on the lift that the ridge or other gated terrain is open for yet another lap.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Glenn

[nick malozzi]

Thanks for the advice. My apprehension at the moment is fueled a lot by the fact that I've been slacking off on reading the daily reports. I need to get back in the habit again, but works been kind of crazy. The warm weather on the front range though is also keeping me off the snow. For one, the snow is not stellar from the heat, and my mind is wandering in the direction of climbing/biking.

Edited March 24, 2011 by nick malozzi

[nick malozzi]

Step it up nick malozzi..check the reports...go riding...

FYI: I'm just done with you at this point. Try all you want, but bottom line is this...

 

You're a delusional tool that would be even worse off without mommy and daddy. Keep grabbing onto whatever fad gets you through the day, and let me know when you get a solid girlfriend so I can pull the money I invested in Fleshlights and KY. Enjoy your nachos, smoke one for me. You're ignored from here on out.

[Glenn]

You're ignored from here on out.

 

PASR gets so much better when you put him on ignore.

[nick malozzi]

PASR gets so much better when you put him on ignore.

I have no plans of giving him that satisfaction. If I use the ignore feature he knows he can say whatever he wants without me seeing it. I plan on just not acknowledging his presence. Besides, I do sort of enjoy watching him make a total ass out of himself.

[nick malozzi]

If he still has the proform I let you know, I think BD forms also had trekker beacons but I'm not sure I'm remembering that right.

Thanks Johnny, no worries if he can't hook it up. I know how coveted proforms are, and I understand that it can be weird to just hook up some random with it. Much appreciated though if he can make it happen.

 

I'm all set on all my other gear (beacon, probe, shovel). I could use a snow saw, but I'm not super stoked on the BD ones. They are nice if you get the shovel/saw combo, but I'm cool with the shovel I've got for now.

[Johnny Law]

 

I'm all set on all my other gear (beacon, probe, shovel). I could use a snow saw, but I'm not super stoked on the BD ones. They are nice if you get the shovel/saw combo, but I'm cool with the shovel I've got for now.

 

This is the saw you want - http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws/Folding-Straight_2/Silkys-BIGBOY-360mm-LG-Teeth-Hand-Saw

 

Blade length is nearly perfect for cutting columns for compression tests, particularly the ECT. The large teeth are really nice for denser snow or ice layers. Its sorta pricey I guess for a snow saw but its well constructed, mine fell down 400ft of King Ravine plunking off rocks and you couldn't tell anything even happened to it.

 

Its also big enough to use for more general wood cutting and such, I've cut up downed logs about 6" in diameter no problem, certainly if it was that large and green it might not work but that is more axe bow saw work. The handle is long enough that you can get a nice two handed grip if you really got to tear into a piece of wood.

 

I see they have a newer one called the Katana that has an even larger folding blade, the big boy however is the perfect size for a BD day pack so this would probably be too long.

 

So many snow saws are made by people who don't know anything about making saws and hence the saw is a piece of shit. Looking in your direction Life Link.