Suicide by Avalanche = Suislide

[Micol]

Nobody wants to talk about it, but....
I know many solo incidents described by press as "backcountry expert caught in slide" , "experienced backcountry skier caught in slide", "experienced backcountry boarder caught in slide (are there experienced backcountry boarders? jk ) , etc., etc. blah blah blah

maybe the slide is better than the trigger

maybe going out, getting caught "doing what he loved", was planned

maybe peeps are ready to check out



what say ye

[Rip'nStick]

Bad way to go

[Micol]

Bad way to go

\
damn fast response bro. glad you're here like me



honorable way out, or pussies way to go?

[Micol]

Suislide

[DasBlunt]

any form of suicide is a pussy way out, dude.

[klar]

I know one person who definitely counts as an "expert" who has said he plans to do exactly that if his body/ mind start failing, and for the reasons mentioned by the OP. Hope he doesn't.

[Micol]

I know if this is guiding MO you're going to get epic lines
think about it. balls out no danger rose, all for naught on every line, any condition
last run will hurt, or maybe not, depends on location and condtions

[Gepeto]

Agreed; not the way to go. If you just have to have death by skiing, point your head at a tree and crank up the speed if you want certainty with brevity. A helmet may actually help. Reduce the amount of deflection. Keeping you centered so that your cervical vertebra make it through your brain.

Freezing to death would be much less of a torture. I've had hypothermia and there is a distinct buzz/high once you can't feel your extremities. The world seems to slow down a little bit at a time.

I think why you need to die dictates how a suicidal person makes a distinction one way or another.


If you want help turning this into a healthier question?

Why do we risk life and limb to ski in places with inherent hazards regardless of your skill sets. Is it the enjoyment of using gravity to your advantage? To cover great distances in minutes instead of hours, over pristine yet a constantly changing surface that's made of H2O, just like a substantial part of my body. Is the need to control the energy such an intoxicant that the danger is merited?

More than a few will die this coming winter. Someone's friend, or parent. A sister, brother, niece or nephew, an aunt, an uncle or a spouse, or the very worst, your child.

Today it is inevitable, regardless of intuition, experience or the practiced rituals that is the current technology to keep us safe. It is still unavoidable to loose a few very good people.

Will skiing in avalanche prone terrain ever be safe enough (from avalanches) to have a year without a skier/snowboarder/sledneck dying? I would think a technology for mitigation will be in your backpack or pocket eventually. A device you deploy and retrieve before skiing a pitch. Snow science can only go so far or at least it feels like that right now.

But until such a time, those that choose to, will assume the risk. Our ability and guile will determine the extent we wish to expose ourselves. On your own or pushing the responsibility on people we're suppose to trust with our lives. The choice to risk it is still the same, only who is responsible for keeping you safe has changed.

[Micol]

^ thoughtful post

[~mikey b]

I know peeps that ski that way but they aren't doing it consciously as a way to die. They don't know they might die. Or they "know" but they don't know.

I've never known a truly suicidal backcountry skier who is actively trying to kill them self.

[~mikey b]

Can we help this person?

[Micol]

ftr ^I speak in generalities. I have no first hand knowledge of anyone trying to do this

[Micol]

perhaps narsids should be considered too

[summit]

You could say: Suicide by Avalanche? Slow and painful? Why not suicide by sticking your toe in a meat grinder? But people who are considering suicide are rarely in a rational state of mind.

I think that there are probably BC users who take excessive risks because they believe that a deadly outcome is "not all that bad" because of a depressed mental state.

No rational person would aim for suicide by avalanche. It would be one of the least reliable methods to commit suicide. Huge chance of no slide or a nonfatal slide...

[BigDaddy]

^ thoughtful post

Agreed... good stuff G.

MiCol, I hope you're not thinking about it, but pretty sure you're good?

[Micol]

Agreed... good stuff G.

MiCol, I hope you're not thinking about it, but pretty sure you're good?

I'm not headed that direction

[Grape_Ape]

This reminds me of the guy in his late 50s/early 60s who went hiking above treeline in winter in the Whites aiming to freeze to death. It was about a decade ago. I was thinking that would be a good way to go. You essentially fall asleep and don't wake up. Avalanches essentially suffocate you. Seems more painful.

I am in midst of seeing my aunt through some end-of-life stuff and this after seeing my parents go. If I am stuck in a nursing home with no power to take myself out, I am going to be a pissed off old fucker. This is just me.

[cat in january]

Except for the people who need to carry his body down.

[mall walker]

I dunno. If you gotta go... I could think of / have seen a great many worse ways. I saw an old lady die in Wal-mart one time. I don't want that in my obit.

[Phill]

Avalanches don't happen in a vacuum. Assuming you don't knock the mountain down on top of some poor fuck below you, you're still going to put a lot of first responders in danger.

[strawjack]

I have honestly thought of offing myself by skiing if I was ever in say a stage 4 cancer situation or something similar. I've seen too many people go thru it and it's just not right. We put dogs down because it's the 'humane' thing to do...People can suffer because why exactly? ...different thread.

My plan would be to ski line after line (if I make the first one ) of absolute no fall zone lines until I finally do fall.

Here's the problem and why it would never happen -

I'm the best fucking skier on the mtn, so I'd never fall
Like mentioned above...first responders having to deal with my mess of a carcass.
Most likely not strong enough to ski because I'd be fighting the whatever I had 'til the point that I was too weak.

So, it's a great thought, but not reality. Really, I just want ski rowdy lines.

[Altaholic]

Being caught in a slide once a few years back, that would be a brutal way to go. Still scares me thinking about it.

[gonzo_lives]

Scuba diving rapid ascent for those unable to pull the trigger,eat the pills,jump, or hit the bridge abutment

[Trace Hardslab]

The best part is you'd probably ski more than a few tasty lines before you finally got nailed.

Also, don't forget the go-pro!

[neck beard]

Our ability and guile will determine the extent we wish to expose ourselves.

I'd say our ability, guile and hubris determines the extent we wish to expose ourselves