Believe it or not, but a fairly large avalanche occurred at private ski resort Holimont Ski Club in Ellicottville, NY yesterday morning. All we have is
Wow, this is scary. A snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche off Crown Butte in Cooke City, MT. This is a zone that I’m very familiar with. I’ve ridden and skied this many times over the years. He had an airbag which was not deployed and no transceiver. Very sad.
Interesting thread, I'm glad the OP is ok. I'm going to push back against RA and saying that familiarity can take the place of digging pits, here is a report of the La Traviata Avalanche in 2003 at SME.
I skied with Reudi in the 90's, and this is in his backyard, where he skis a million vertical feet every year. I also like reading avalanche reports, here is one from a few years back when Tyson Bradley killed my good friend Doug. Doug did everything right, hired a world-famous guide, had an airbag, etc etc. The danger was Considerable on that slope.
The one common thread I've noticed when there are fatalities is that the folks in the group either didn't read, or ignored the avi report. Of course hindsight is 20/20, but the forecasters usually get the conditions right. Then there was that tragedy a few years back when the poor guy was killed taking an Avi 2 course.
After Doug was killed, it took a lot of the fun out of skiing dangerous terrain. It seems to me, that if you ski this stuff, sooner or later you, or one of your good friends will die. I guess it's just not worth it to me, skiing low angle terrain is good enough now, unless it's Low danger. Then there was the Lincoln Lynx on Mt. Washington a few years ago, and the list goes on......
They’re a good tool in your bag but it’s not the golden ticket that the inexperienced believe it is. Special variability is real and things change from aspect to aspect and day to day.
Digging one pit has nothing on seasonal familiarity for an experienced and aware back country skier imo.
If you’re out in it 5+ days a week all season you’re feeling it every day. You see its adaptions and reactions. You’re watching the wind, the transport and the releases. You almost become one with it and can often predict what will happen next if x,y or z occur. Of course, this can be dangerous too.
Digging pits is a fine tool and I might like to do one early in the year after the first big system/s but after that I haven’t found it very helpful or enlightening to continually do throughout the season.
They’re a good tool in your bag but it’s not the golden ticket that the inexperienced believe it is. Special variability is real and things change from aspect to aspect and day to day.
Digging one pit has nothing on seasonal familiarity for an experienced and aware back country skier imo.
If you’re out in it 5+ days a week all season you’re feeling it every day. You see its adaptions and reactions. You’re watching the wind, the transport and the releases. You almost become one with it and can often predict what will happen next if x,y or z occur. Of course, this can be dangerous too.
Digging pits is a fine tool and I might like to do one early in the year after the first big system/s but after that I haven’t found it very helpful or enlightening to continually do throughout the season.
It's all about how much risk you are comfortable with isn't it? And there is no golden ticket either, unless you can carry a howitzer in your pack. Stay safe out there RA, and I'm looking forward to some great TR's. Let's go skiing.
I’m sorry Mike for the loss of your friends Doug and Ian. I’ve lost many friends as well and am with you 100% on low angle fun. As Gorgonzola mentioned in another thread ‘XCD schwacking is all I want anymore’.
They’re a good tool in your bag but it’s not the golden ticket that the inexperienced believe it is. Special variability is real and things change from aspect to aspect and day to day.
Digging one pit has nothing on seasonal familiarity for an experienced and aware back country skier imo.
No doubt. In Chamonix you rely on seasonal familiarity and local knowledge more than anything. Digging pits on all aspects you are going to ski is not realistic when the descents are 9,000 vertical feet and might face every point of the compass in a single run. There’s just too much variability. You either go or you don’t and when you do you better ski fast.
I’m sorry Mike for the loss of your friends Doug and Ian. I’ve lost many friends as well and am with you 100% on low angle fun. As Gorgonzola mentioned in another thread ‘XCD schwacking is all I want anymore’.
No doubt. In Chamonix you rely on seasonal familiarity and local knowledge more than anything. Digging pits on all aspects you are going to ski is not realistic when the descents are 9,000 vertical feet and might face every point of the compass in a single run. There’s just too much variability. You either go or you don’t and when you do you better ski fast.
Thanks Ripper. I love my Fischer S-Bounds 112's, and got the Fischer Transnordic boots last year which are wonderful. We are enjoying exploring the Adirondack Park to our south, please be in touch if you get this way, and everyone else. But, well, there is Mines....I'm glad I got some of this stuff when I was younger......
It's all about how much risk you are comfortable with isn't it? And there is no golden ticket either, unless you can carry a howitzer in your pack. Stay safe out there RA, and I'm looking forward to some great TR's. Let's go skiing.
I suppose but I don't take risks. Or I don't ski something unless I'm 99% positive it's not going to slide or at least slide really big. Small pockets are generally manageable as long as you see them before stepping out on em. Seeing that takes experience and digging data pits ain't going to get you that.
Over the years I've gotten a lot of flack from people saying that I'm unsafe or I'm going to die blah blah blah. I've often heard "You didn't dig a pit?" and that's what irks me about em. That statement comes from people with very little experience or zero risk tolerance. I get it, my behavior scares them, they don't understand the process. It's been 20 years since I took an Avie 1 but I'm under the impression that the focus is mainly on digging pits to analyze snowpacks. That makes sense for a never ever right? I mean you can dissect and look at the snowpack and talk about the layers and changing weather events that formed it. It helps a never ever gain a grasp on the basics of snow science but often, that never ever walks away thinking the pit is the holy grail. It really isn't and unless you like spending your days digging holes instead of skiing they aren't super effective for understanding a complex snowpack over large areas. It's a tool but not the only one pros use when trying to figure out pack conditions. It's never been my main tool when traveling in my home turf where I'm familiar with the seasons weather and conditions throughout. It's generally not even necessary and a waste of my time when I could be skiing.
Over the years I've gotten a lot of flack from people saying that I'm unsafe or I'm going to die blah blah blah. I've often heard "You didn't dig a pit?" and that's what irks me about em. That statement comes from people with very little experience or zero risk tolerance. I get it, my behavior scares them, they don't understand the process.
I've shared this before, but I think it's worth mentioning again. My buddy 14 was a pro motor cross/snow cross racer. Back when he was racing I called him crazy. He told me it's not being crazy at all. It's weighing in your head, talent vs risk, and he felt his talent would always win.
You guys are simply wired differently than most. It's hard for some people to understand that, or accept it.
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utahavalanchecenter.org
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