3/1/14 Terminal Cancer Avalanche

[ryan14410]

My friend posted his account here http://splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16685

It's embarrassing to have been caught in an avalanche.

3/1/14 Terminal Cancer Avalanche
This is my account of the 3/1/14 Terminal Cancer avalanche in the Ruby Mountains outside of Elko, NV. I am telling this as it unfolded from my perspective.

LJ, SW and myself drove out to the Ruby Mtns Friday night, 2/28/14, and slept in the car at the end of the plowed section of road in Lamoille Canyon. It was snowing through the night, and I knew from checking the weather throughout the previous days that it will be snowing the day we head up Terminal Cancer. New snow always gets me questioning the snowpack, so I figured we will see how the snow is as we make our way up. I’ve turned around plenty of times.
We start skinning. LJ is in the lead, SW is in front of me. There’s not much snow at the creek crossing and the flats below the apron. Even on the apron, there wasn’t anything to worry about as far as the snow goes, only that there is a couloir that empties out right here. LJ is farther ahead, and SW and I are close enough to each other to talk in a slightly raised voice. There was some wet slide debris on the apron. The wind was blowing generally upslope, with strong gusts. The top of the couloir looked to be shrouded in clouds.
(I’m already anxious and shaky as I’m typing this.)
The new snow is soft and loose with no sloughing. A party of 4 starts up the apron far behind us. Entering the bottom of the couloir, we are still feeling good about the snow. The strong gusts of wind blow up slope. About halfway up the couloir, maybe only a third of the way up, SW is in front of me and mentions that the snow is so sugary. When I get on it, I notice is all graupel that is pooling in this area. As I kick my boots in, I can see the new snow collapses onto my boot from kicking my boot in underneath it. The snow is soft and only the snow directly above my boot breaks. I mention to SW that this will be big sloughing, that we’ll definitely have to manage it. He agrees, but we’re not alarmed.
I can see the upper portion of the couloir is hard to see due to blowing wind. What looked like clouds from down low, is now looking like blowing snow. We’re still well below the upper portion, I’m starting to suspect that the upper portion may be loaded and that I may not be riding the upper portion; we’ll see what the snow is doing as we get closer.
Around 2/3 of the way up, it’s obvious that the upper portion is not in the clouds, but it’s graupel that is being blown downslope so thick that it looks like clouds and completely hides the upper portion from view and the gusts come through frequently. We notice there is now a soft wind slab and another soft slab, each about 2-3”. LJ switched from booting to skinning in the upper most alcove and is now in the upper portion. SW makes it to the alcove, and I’m still coming up. I hear LJ yell to SW that he got a crack across the couloir, that it’s a shallow slab, and yells to me to move to a safe spot. I yell that I have nowhere to go, so I try to get to the alcove with SW as quickly as possible. I see LJ continuing skinning slowly as I’m still making my way to the alcove.
I reach the alcove and am now with SW. The party of 4 is still well below, but well in the couloir now. SW and I discuss the snow, and we mention that we wish LJ wasn’t so far ahead because it’s so hard to yell back and forth and have a conversation about what’s going on. I watch SW do a hand pit; two soft slabs, the top one about 2” and SW says the bottom one directly beneath the top soft slab is more like 6”. I tell SW that with the full width crack that LJ got, I’m not sure if I’m going to be going any higher. The party of 4 seems to have stopped at an alcove, and it looks like one of their members keeps poking out to look up, just as I keep poking out to look down and up. The plan is to ascend one at a time, SW has his split-skis on the snow getting ready to strap in, and I’m still thinking about my final decision since I’m now hesitating about continuing.
LJ screams, then yells “Avy!”, I turn my head and yell “avalanche!” for the party below us, turn my head back upslope, see loose snow in the air, then brushing my left shoulder. My hands and feet are in the snow holding on (hands may be holding the poles, I have no recollection about what my hands were holding). For the first half second or so after LJ’s scream, I’m thinking it’s just a small loose slough. As I see the snow coming, I can’t believe it’s happening, and the snow rapidly pulls harder on me, and I’m pulled into it.
All the stories of trauma enter my mind. I’m going to break limbs, crush my chest, bend legs in unimaginable positions, and be bent completely in half backwards. I’m tumbling. A flash of the rock wall. Snow is shoved into my mouth all the way to the back of my throat, and I can get zero oxygen and realize I’m going to die slowly by asphyxiation. I can breathe. I tumble. A flash of rock and I stick my arm out to avoid being pushed against it. Head buried in snow. Snow packs my mouth again, and again I’m going to asphyxiate. I can breathe again. I manage to get my avalung in my mouth. I swim. Somehow I am rapidly on top, feet first sitting up sliding with the snow and it comes to a stop.
The snow has stopped moving. Up and down I see no one. I yell “Hello! Is anybody there!” It feels like I’ve been screaming all day – the back of my throat is raw. I yell again, and again no response. I have 6 people who are dying. Beacon on search. Where do I start? Point of last known; point of last known is about 800’ up. I have no beacon signals. It is not possible to search up 800’ and still save anyone.
I see a person standing up and moving in a red jacket; SW. I see a person next to him in dark clothing; LJ. I yell we need to do a search, we’re missing the party of 4, I’m not getting any signals. I see someone down low; a member from the party of 4. I yell, asking where is the rest of him team; I don’t get an answer to that, maybe because he’s yelling something at me. SW and LJ up above still don’t respond to my yells even though they are moving; maybe they can’t hear me. My right knee feels like it’s been scraped, and I start moving down with no glove on my left hand. I’m going to get frostbite and lose my fingers. I can’t stop, I need to search, there’s no time to take my pack off and fumble for a glove, don’t take the avalung out of my mouth. The guy down low from the party of 4 asks if everyone is accounted for; I yell back “yes!” I’m searching downslope; I can search downslope faster and might be able to save only one person. Three people are missing. The guy down low yells he needs me to come down, that his head is bleeding and he broke his arm. I yell we need to search.
The guy down low says something to me that gets me really confused, so I ask who he is. He responds LJ, that he was with SW and I. I get close to him and say that we need to search, we’re missing 3 people. We’re essentially at the toe, and search, but don’t get any signals. After seeing the two people above me, on my way down I’m assuming they are searching. I don’t know what the timeframe is, but SW and a member of the party of 4 are now close enough, and we learn that the party of 4 was all up there, all OK, with SW. Somehow, everyone is accounted for. Somehow, the party of 4 was in an alcove and did not get pulled into the slide.
LJ says “I really need medical attention,” and I notice he is nervous and getting anxious. I worry that his head injury may be affecting his behavior, but after some quick questions and directions, he is fully aware of what is going on. Since he is fully aware and capable of moving under his own power, I direct him that we need to keep moving down slope and to a safer area before I treat his arm and bleeding forehead. I determined his injuries could wait; I was worried that the debris isn’t stable.
Two more guys are headed up the apron. LJ yells to them that it just ripped pretty big. I yell that we need first aid. We reach them, and we move downslope to a safer spot where we changed on the way up from skinning to booting. I send the two guys to head down and get a snowmobile up to get LJ to the car. I determine LJ’s worst injury is his elbow, and wrap his elbow and get it in a sling, then wrap his forehead. He has calmed down now compared to when I noticed he was getting anxious. His condition does not worsen.
I start down again, and shortly after I have to stop, plop on the ground and cry. Logan is ok. Heavy sobs. A deep breath, and I continue. I can’t believe no one was buried. Cried a few more times that evening. Cried today when I told my coworkers. Still a lot to process. Still not able to comprehend all that happened.
LJ was carried about 1200’, I was carried about 600’ maybe as a rough estimate, and SW was carried around 200-300’.

[cat in january]

That is quite a story. Glad you were here to tell it.

[LightRanger]

Jesus. Your buddy's head injury is pretty sobering.

Glad y'all made it out. Thanks for sharing.

[totaliboard]

Gripping. Don't be embarassed though, the lessons and perspective gained through this incident are unqualified. You have a new lease on life. Your second chance..

[Lindahl]

Wild. Glad everyone was alright. Surprised another group was heading up while you guys were in there. That just seems crazy to me? You're effectively putting your group in the hands of an unknown group's decision making.

[userA]

another lucky outcome from an avoidable accident, the party of 4 too.
hope you heal and learn, nice write-up.
b

[mtl_ripper]

Thanks for writing this up. I also read your buddy's account.

The scattered and confused thoughts are part of your experience and account - I appreciate that, as shock and adrenaline combine to disorient. I guess training and practice can help a bit with that, but when Bad Stuff goes down, we're all only human.

Take care and, I hope your next turns are on soft stable snow!

[m5980]

We, CA, DP, JW, and JM, are writing this to follow up on both RC’s and LJ’s account of the TC avalanche.

First, we should not have been there. Given the weak faceted snow on the slopes surrounding TC, the new snow and the wind, we should have spent the day drinking in Elko. However, hindsight is 20/20. At the time, the risk of a slide occurring in the coulior seemed unlikely and the new snow appeared to be bonding well in the apron. However, as RC stated, about halfway up TC the graupel was accumulating to depths of approximately 30 cm. This on top of what we found to be a sheet of ice, was concerning.

From the beginning of TC, we were somewhere between 150 to 200 meters back of RC, LJ, and SW (collectively, the “Party”). Our plan was to get to an opening in TC and get to the side to allow the Party to descend. In hindsight, we should have stopped much sooner, or not even gone up TC while the Party was above us.

Unfortunately, shortly after reaching the halfway point and noticing the change in snow conditions, we already passed the best, for lack of a better word, turnout. So, we kept going. About two-thirds of the way up, the graupel was getting deeper (approximately 50 cm). We discussed turning around, but were concerned about the potential of a slide coming down on us as we descended. Roughly the same time we were discussing this, LJ, who was approximately 30 meters from the top of TC, yelled out that he was witnessing signs of cracking. This made us very concerned. We were stuck in TC, there was no turnout in sight except one about 10 meters above us (the “Safe Spot”). After briefly discussing our situation, we decided that the best thing to do was to push up to the Safe Spot as soon as possible. Once we made it there, three of us immediately took off our packs to be able to get further into the Safe Spot (our skis/split board were on our packs). CA was in the process of taking off his pack, but still looking up TC to look out for an avalanche. After about a minute in the Safe Spot, CA saw the avalanche triggered by LJ and alerted us. Initially, the avalanche seemed small, but it grew as it descended. Though cheesy, it looked like the “Nothing” from Never Ending Story as it approached. We packed into the Safe Spot the best that we could. JM was the furthest in, JW beside him, then CA and lastly DP. As the avalanche passed, DP was getting covered with snow and began to slip when CA grabbed him. We estimate that the depth of the avalanche was between 1.5 and 2 meters when it passed us. CA is 6’2’’ and snow was filling his mouth and hitting him in the face.

Initially, JW saw LJ cartwheeling down TC caught in the slide. We did not see RC pass, and SW came last. As SW passed, the avalanche reduced in size and we reached out to grab him, but could not. When the slide stopped, SW came to rest approximately 3 meters below us.

After the avalanche came to rest, the five of us (DP, CA, JW, JM and SW of the Party) switched our beacons to search mode. We took a moment to assess the situation and check in with SW. SW was visibly shaken, but did not seem to be injured. He said there were three in his party and that they were all wearing beacons. Though we did not have a signal, we did not immediately commence searching for LJ and RC because we were concerned that the debris would slide again. This was when RC surfaced approximately 20 meters down TC. We yelled down to see if he could see LJ or to see if he was picking up LJ’s signal. Communicating was difficult because we could not hear what RC was yelling and RC could not hear what we were yelling. This is when LJ appeared approximately 40 meters down TC. Perhaps the wind carried LJ’s voice, because we heard him yell that his head was injured and his arm was likely broken.

Knowing that all seven of us were accounted for, we discussed the best approach for getting down TC without triggering another slide on top of RC and LJ. We decided to boot pack down, with large spacing between us. SW descended first, then DP, JW, CA and JM, respectively.

Two additional people were coming up TC when LJ and RC reached them. They flagged down a snowmobile. By the time we reached the parking lot, the Party was on their way to the hospital. We called RMH to report the slide and headed back to Elko.

We are extremely grateful that more harm did not come from this incident and wish LJ a full and speedy recovery.

[Tye 1on]

Thanks for the additional info. Heal well-

[icelanticskier]

First, we should not have been there. Given the weak faceted snow on the slopes surrounding TC, the new snow and the wind, we should have spent the day drinking in Elko.

Or you coulda simply chosen terrain that woulda been more suitable for the conditions. Then drank in elko after a nice day of skiing. Line fever is what this was. Climbing what you intend to ski isn't always the best option. Putting that many folks in a low viz snow loading terrain trap is recipe for disaster, but you knew that. Seeing the line that the op "dawn patrolled" in the satch in the wasatch tr has me wondering if he really thinks at all about his terrain choices on a given day.

Glad all made it out with yer lives. Thank you for sharing.

rog

[meter-man]

Thanks for sharing - always good to learn from others' experience. Subjecting yourself to monday morning QBs takes balls - don't listen to the haters - they are more comfortable judging people from the comfort of their keyboard.

Here's to hoping you go back and get it in stable conditions.

[skifishbum]

thanks for sharin

don't mind roj
he's "that cunt"
stay safe n stoked

[ryan14410]

m5980, I agree that TC should have off the agenda. It's also good to see that it sounds like we were on the same page about the snow. Obviously, unfortunately, there's no escape in a couloir. Both parties should have communicated with each other. I wish you all well.

I appreciate everyone's comments and criticisms, and accept them all no matter what the tone. They all make you re-evaluate your decisions, which is the point of posting this incident.

Couloirs and lines like Tanner's are always terrain traps, always a red flag for terrain; they will never change. Some will never ski/ride them because of that and those traps aren't in their acceptable level of risk, and I don't blame them. My partners and I felt comfortable with the snow conditions in Tanner's that day (moderate for daytime heating). As for TC, I wish I knew about RMH before leaving to take our friend to the hospital, as I would have called to get their opinion on the snow, and likely would have bailed on TC (hard to speculate).

RMH had called back our friend and told him the crown was a wind slab, 40-50cm. They also told us that the group of two that I sent to get a snowmobiler kicked off a slide later that day in the Rubys.

[icelanticskier]

Thanks for sharing - always good to learn from others' experience. Subjecting yourself to monday morning QBs takes balls - don't listen to the haters - they are more comfortable judging people from the comfort of their keyboard.

Hater? Lol. Ok, i guess we can just send our vibes and nothing will be learned/ taken from this.

Mmqb? Were there no mistakes made that shouldn't be discussed? Lol again.

rog

[userA]

beck to ecrc for you and no dinner.
b

[TEXASS]

Thanks for the write up Ryan and m5980. I have ridden with LJ in Rogers pass and He isnt a cowboy. We all make mistakes. I did in Wyoming in 2009. Back side of Angle Mountain Togwootee pass. Group of five caught with two buried but self extracted. No injuries. Yes, it hurts your pride and you do ask yourself over and over if I would have done something different.
Well, as you can see the draw of a big line and fresh snow are hard to resist.

But, so is armchair experting. Same thing happened when we were caught.

I think given the situation you guys handeled it well. You were quick to go to search mode and got LJ down out of the danger zone before bandages.


So, stop kicking yourself about all the wrong things and look at the right things.
You really cant armchair untill you have stood on snow that starts moving, and watch your friends slide out of sight. Thats when the true shit hits the fan and the real test begins.

it was an incident. The only way to be 100 percent sure it wont happen again is to never go near snow.
Bu thats not going to happen and shouldnt.

Even the best make mistakes. I remember a pro forecaster with the Utah Avy center got taken by an avalanche.

Thanks for writing this up , all of you.


Edit to add: "Climbing what you intend to ski isn't always the best option"

^^^^Really? Not climbing what you intend to ski can kill you just as easy. At least by climbing your intended route you have a complete story of the snow. when is 45 degrees and rock hard and is gonna stay that way I like to know that on the way up, not the second I drop

[userA]

Well, as you can see the draw of a big line and fresh snow are hard to resist.

I think given the situation you guys handeled it well. You were quick to go to search mode and got LJ down out of the danger zone before bandages.


So, stop kicking yourself about all the wrong things and look at the right things.
You really cant armchair untill you have stood on snow that starts moving, and watch your friends slide out of sight. Thats when the true shit hits the fan and the real test begins.

Even the best make mistakes.
Thanks for writing this up , all of you.

pretty good, pardner, c'ept when we add LUCK to the equation it makes it more real.

b

[icelanticskier]

Edit to add: "Climbing what you intend to ski isn't always the best option"

^^^^Really? Not climbing what you intend to ski can kill you just as easy. At least by climbing your intended route you have a complete story of the snow. when is 45 degrees and rock hard and is gonna stay that way I like to know that on the way up, not the second I drop

Really. Climbing what you intend to ski in suspect conditions (not when its hard as a rock) puts you right in the line of fire. The snow may be MUCH different above you and yer not gonna know that till it's too late. Even if yer not yet up to the sketch, you make hit a weak spot and have it all come crashing down on you. At least by avoiding climbing a line and coming in from the top you have a chance to cut the top before committing to the line. Best to have everything below you from the get-go when things may be touchy. Easier to move on to safer slopes vs having to turn tail under the dragons lair and potentially upset him. So many well known mountain folk have died climbing an intended route where if they'd cut the top, they may have had a better day. Steve romeo is an example.

Imo climbing what you ski is more important and safer in spring/ summer when you need to view hazards like rock/ice chokes or other late season hazards.

rog

[COpow]

You really cant armchair untill you have stood on snow that starts moving, and watch your friends slide out of sight.

p

Um, yes we can.

[TEXASS]

I ride in the Eastern Sierra. All winter. I would rather know where the blue ice patch is on powerhouse and how wide it is before I ride into it. I want to know if there is crust if the snow has changed at altitude. I also want to know my safe zones.
Big lines are just like reading a book. Start from the cover. Intake information with every step. By the time your in the apron you will know how the stability is. But. That top 200 feet where the wind has either loaded the shit out of it or turned it to chalkboard. You won't know that from looking from above.
The only big line I dropped without climbing was the pinner. And we did hit Ice about half way down. Nothing major but we did have to dismount and down climb. If our front guy wasn't paying attention it could have been bad

No. For me it's from the bottom.

[userA]

only works till it doesn't.
b

[icelanticskier]

By the time your in the apron you will know how the stability is.

oh will you now? aprons can be/are deposition zones and deposition zones can feel a whole lot different than the gut or the wind loaded top few hundred feet of a line. so you get up onto the apron, maybe dig a pit to read the history chapter of that book. steep line? the apron prolly feels a bit more solid than what may be lurking a few hundred or more feet up. so yer feeling pretty good about what the pit told you, or like so many unfortunate souls yer decision for skiing the line is 95% made cuz you got the shovel out and played avy one class. so you head up. things feel ok at 1st. or at least that's what yer telling yerself. then you go a bit higher and things feel less than ideal. you could turn around which is prolly a good idea, but at that point you maybe coulda penetrated the slab enough to trigger yer doom from below.

That top 200 feet where the wind has either loaded the shit out of it or turned it to chalkboard. You won't know that from looking from above.

but you'd rather find the top 200 feet loaded to shit or turned to chalkboard after climbing yer way up for an hour or more? you can see a lot from the top by looking in from a safe spot at the sides where rock buttresses or outcroppings are. if firm, you can put on yer cramps and grab an axe or yer whippet and down climb a bit till you get a picture of what's going on. here in the whites we ski stuff that you really don't access from the bottom, so down climbing the top to poke about or dig a quick pit is how we do it. you can also rope up if yer worried about an ornery slab.

in many cases, imo taking a safer less exposed route is the way to go as yer taking 50% of the exposure out of the equation. and working yer way down from the top is a lot easier to manage snow as you can pounce and cut as you work yer way down. or quickly climb back out if things aren't to yer liking.

rog

[montanaskier]

Sobering

[teleee]

Thanks for sharing. I have climbed TC in similar conditions with similar nagging voices in the back of my head and turned back about where the party of 4 rode out the avy. Glad everyone is still with us. As i get older that little voice in the back of my head gets louder and louder.

[angrysasquatch]

Thanks for sharing guys.

M5980, I'm wondering what you thought might still avalanche. Are you talking about hangfire still at the top? Because your wording makes it sound like you thought it was the debris itself that is possibly unstable, which just doesn't make sense to me (esp. in a confined couloir). Can you elaborate on what you saw that made you think there was avy danger still ready to go?