TR: The Day the Mountain Got the Best of Me 2.2.05

[iskibc]

TR: The Day the Mountain Got the Best of Me 2.2.05
Milli, iskibc, SheRa
RadioBeacon Peak 12,072’




I’m very hesitant to post this, but I’m hoping people won’t revert to the usual “You’re a moron”, “You should have known considering the conditions”, or the “What kind of idiot…..” type of responses. I’m hoping this will turn into another educational thread that will help those who may encounter similar circumstances.

The few pics we took today:








It started as an epic day in the making. Bluebird sky with no wind, seasonable temps, and fresh snow blanketing the peaks from right to left on the Front Range. Met up with SheRa in Rollinsville mid-morning. After a quick gear transfer we were off down the tall snow-banked road towards the East Portal. Several miles later we found ourselves at the trailhead with a couple other vehicles. One of the Winter Park passenger trains passed through the portal, a few waves were exchanged, and shortly afterwards we were on our way along the trail. The new snow was sparkling in the morning sunlight and milli was enjoying it as much as we were:

The trail was lightly traveled and the massive amount of snow on the trees indicated the area got blessed with some deepness over the past couple of days. After a half mile or so we started to bushwhack north along the frozen stream. New snow at 9,200’ ranged from about 19” to 25”. Gotta love the upslope goodness here in Colorado. We broke trail up a fairly steep slope for about 500 vertical feet before joining the traditional trail to the Forest Lakes area. We continued along the lightly trodden trail until we reached the Lakes. At 10,000 feet the new snow depths ranged between 12” and 18”. A little less than down below, but still some nice powder. Bluebird sky and mild temps brought our moods higher. We were able to get a glimpse of RadioBeacon and the rest of Rollins Pass. Lot’s of new snow and some wind-loading. We continued to break trail up to the ridge of RadioBeacon. We made it up and past the lower lake and then made the ridge. Once we got up on the ridge we noticed a sizeable slab on the east facing slope of RadioBeacon:



Couloir off RadioBeacon:



Plans were quickly changed to access the peak just south of RadioBeacon and then make a summit attempt. The ridge looked very basic. From our vantage point, it was very straightforward and easy. Maybe over a thousand feet of vertical to reach the summit. We reached tree line and the wind began to pick up a little. Nothing to be of concern, but noticeable. About 250’ below the summit, the winds began to whip hard in our faces. The typical North-Northwest winds after a storm were prominent:



Quite obvious signs of wind-loading:



Snow was being blown all over the place. We ended up boot-packing up to the summit as the ground became exposed.


SheRa:



Even though it was a beautiful day, the winds drove us off the summit within minutes, so we pulled the skins off quickly and clicked into our skis without catching a breath. Within a few minutes we were traversing across the ridge towards the west, but were quickly turned around as there wasn’t enough coverage for us to ski down to the valley below. We traversed back towards the way we came up and found a south facing slope with adequate coverage for us to make it down to tree-line.

Looking over at "Frosty Bowl":



Milli moments before our descent:

[iskibc]

The slope was about 75 feet wide and slightly convexed where we stood. There were many anchors surrounding the intended slope to be skied, and the snow pack was rock solid, with no new snow loading present. I decided to go first and made three ski cuts across the slope with no activity. My edges barely sunk into the snow and there were no indications of an unstable slope present. I probed around a few times and examined the intended slope that I would ski. Nothing out of the ordinary. There were plenty of rock outcroppings and small trees lining the slope that served as good anchors. After the third cut I decided everything would be fine and made my cut into the gut of the slope……..

All of a sudden the world changed, my mind switched gears, and the “epic day” theme rotted. As soon as I made a turn onto the slope, I knew something was wrong. I first noticed the snow was a completely different texture and consistency. What happened to be a bomb-proof snow pack turned into super soft and deep snow. I sunk up past my knees in fresh wind-loaded snow upon my first turn. Soon after that I noticed the snow directly in front of me buckling up in a violent way. Not a second past and I heard Miriam yell, “Go, Go, Go, it’s sliding!!!!!”.

This is where things quickly changed for the worse. Time is a blur by now, but within moments my mind was completely focused on finding a safe zone down slope and aiming my skis for it. My tunnel of vision was so narrow all I could see was that point my skis were aiming for. Within a short period of time I was in a straight-line down this 40+ degree slope for a safety ridge. I didn’t think of anything else. My mind was completely focused on the task at hand. I don’t think I have ever been so focused on one task in my entire life. All I remember is the slope buckling up in front of me and then pointing my skis towards the ridge far below the slope. I remember looking over to my side about halfway down the slope and seeing a bunch of snow billowing up beside me. I didn’t panic. I didn’t freak out and make a wrong move. I didn’t turn or try to avoid any rocks in my way. I’m pretty sure I just ran over those rocks on my way down. It’s amazing what adrenaline will do to the body. I reached the safe zone which I had my eyes set upon and quickly changed gears. I almost immediately got that awful feeling that something horrible was about to happen……..Milli.


Milli follows me wherever I go. Whether it is the bathroom or up a steep couloir on bulletproof summer-ice, she follows me no matter what. I knew for sure she was somewhere in that slide. Before I took the chance to look back at it, I hoped it wasn’t anything big. It was big. Even after a couple seconds after stopping it was still running its course down the slope only 50 or so feet in front of my eyes. It was a slow moving slide. I was grateful for that. The slide was just passing me as I stopped and I couldn’t see my dog. I started screaming her name hoping she would hear my voice and try to scramble out of the slide and come towards me. Yeah right! Hopeful dreaming. 60-75 feet wide and that sucker wasn’t stopping anytime soon. It had some momentum by the time it passed me. The only sound I could hear was the swishing and rushing of the snow. Creepy and bone chilling. Somewhere in that pile is my dog.

After a quick second I noticed a yellow head bob up from the moving snow. A sense of hope flushed my heart and I began to move towards the slide path as it began to slow down. A second later the head disappeared again and she was gone. That feeling was quickly replaced by the opposite. The slide came to a stop and I started rushing toward the debris. Within seconds Milli popped her head out of the debris and began digging her way out. I stopped in shock and watched. She got herself out and began to make her way over to me. I looked back up the slope to make sure there wasn’t a secondary slide and to make sure SheRa was safe. All was well. A sudden relief took over my body. I yelled up to SheRa that everything was alright and she started to make her way down. She skied the bed surface and made it down safely. The rush of adrenaline was overwhelming. I picked up my 75 pound dog and hugged her as hard as I could. I couldn’t believe she made it through all of that. It was a miracle.

Blue arrow=entrance, Green=exit, Red=approximate dog location:



The slide ran about 200 yards and ranged between 50 feet and 80 feet wide. The crown was 2-3 feet deep and started about 35 feet above my last ski cut. It was a soft slab, which looked like mostly a wind-loaded layer.

Another pic:



I found it kind of weird that I never worried about my own safety. Even when the slide started, I didn’t panic about my own safety. I freaked out more about my dog. A pet. An animal. If it were I that was caught, things would have been much better in my opinion. It became clear to me at that instant that I would much rather be the victim than be the person searching. It’s sad, but true.

After looking at the slope from a distance it was quite apparent that it was a classic wind-loaded convex trap. The crown broke right around the rollover and luckily it stopped at the large anchors across the slope. The slope angle ranged from 38 degrees to 43 degrees. Even though we took many precautions in skiing this slope a major element was left out. Our decision making was heavily skewed. We reached the summit to bone chilling temperatures and wind howling from every direction. We quickly made the decision to head down without really thinking about where to ski. We skied the first slope that was skiable and didn’t spend enough time examining the potential dangers. I admit that I had the “let’s hurry up and get down” attitude going on before dropping in. The cold was getting to me and the wind was biting hard. From our vantage point, the slope didn’t look all that bad. We weren’t able to see the bowl shaped and convex shaped angles of the slope. I had a false sense of security in making three hard ski cuts with no action and bomb-proof snow. Little did I know that the wind-loaded layer was lurking at that next turn. I learned today how powerful the wind is in factoring in slope stability. I have never seen such a drastic change in stability. It was quite apparent that the slide ran from this past storm’s wind deposits on that slope. There was probably little to no snow on that slope a week ago. I'm disappointed in what went on today and I have feelings of uncertainty in several things. It's a mind scrambler.

Go ahead, flame away.

[Blurred]

That slide was pussy compared to this one that you were in.

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24468

Glad you guys are okay.

[crashnburn'd]

Not sure why anyone would flame, glad to hear all involved are safe. Thanks for the info.

[nealric]

wow, thats quite sobering....

I am planning on heading over to that region this weekend. Im thinking I should stay on ultra mellow stuff and be extra extra paranoid.

Great report...

We can always learn from the mistakes of others- lord knows I have done dumber things in my life.

[Mcwop]

No flame from me.

First off, thanks for sharing the experience. Nice for a Blatimore guy to be able to feel your experience from behind the safety of a computer screen.

BC skiing is dangerous, and shit will happen. Seems like you were taking precautions. Not sure if your dog has a beacon, but might be a good idea for the future.

Nice pics.

[Sierra Cement]

No flaming from me, iski. We've all skied lines we weren't 100% sure of and cruised through them w/o an incident. Today was different for you. No one but you and Shera know what the circumstances were on that mountain at that moment. You've made lots of good decisions in the past, and you'll make even better ones after this "fortunate" event. Be glad it was just a terrifying warning.

[Chronic]

No flame here, thanks for sharing - very eductional. Just glad to hear that everyone (humans and dog) was ok!

[Trackhead]

When you posted that pic of Milli, I thought she had died.

I am soooo friggin glad this turned out to be ok for everyone involved. Too many people, and dogs, have been buried this year.

I enjoy your TR's, especially since Milli is in all of them. Thank you for sharing this. We, of course, all learn from it.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Glad you're OK.
Be Carefull.
We all learn from each other's mistakes.

[Trackhead]

Milli, humble rager.

[Lone Star]

I'm glad to see you wrote about your experience on this forum. I know the first instinct might be embarrassment and a lack of willingness to tell everyone about it, but this is what I-indeed, all of us who spend time in the backcountry- need to read about. Thanks for sharing with us all and I'm glad you, milli, and Shera are all alive and kickin' this evening.

[Samwich]

No flame from me.

First off, thanks for sharing the experience. Nice for a Blatimore guy to be able to feel your experience from behind the safety of a computer screen.

BC skiing is dangerous, and shit will happen. Seems like you were taking precautions. Not sure if your dog has a beacon, but might be a good idea for the future.

Nice pics.

Consider this:

multiple burial scenario. iski and dog buried. Shera whips out her beacon and quickly locks onto a signal. As she is the only person there to dig, she starts digging with the intent to locate the second burial victim afterwards. She gets to the first victim, and it's the dog. She clears enough space for the dog to breathe, and then starts looking for iski. She finds him, but not in time.

The question is, would you rather see the dog survive, or iski?

[Bum Z]

Consider this:

multiple burial scenario. iski and dog buried. Shera whips out her beacon and quickly locks onto a signal. As she is the only person there to dig, she starts digging with the intent to locate the second burial victim afterwards. She gets to the first victim, and it's the dog. She clears enough space for the dog to breathe, and then starts looking for iski. She finds him, but not in time.

The question is, would you rather see the dog survive, or iski?

Just to add to this - If the dog isn't buried, the searcher has to switch the dog's beacon to receive, which may take awhile.

[Blurred]

Consider this:

multiple burial scenario. iski and dog buried. Shera whips out her beacon and quickly locks onto a signal. As she is the only person there to dig, she starts digging with the intent to locate the second burial victim afterwards. She gets to the first victim, and it's the dog. She clears enough space for the dog to breathe, and then starts looking for iski. She finds him, but not in time.

The question is, would you rather see the dog survive, or iski?

I think this was already covered when Duph dug out his dog with a beacon. Good point though.

[PowderPig]

Phew!
I'm glad you all are OK!

[telechuck]

Wow, Glad you, Mir and Milli are ok.

I too, thought bad things happened to Milli when you posted her picture. Glad all worke d out well.

Thanks for posting about the decision making process. I know we have been in the "lets just get down" situation. I will now try to take a moment to think things through.

[ak_powder_monkey]

wow glad you and your dog are ok seeing as I plan to go into the BC this weekend this is the swift kick in the ass I needed to remind me that I'm not invincable. Oh and the first couple of pics look like you manged to make the best of a scary day no?

[backpack]

The question is, would you rather see the dog survive, or iski?

Isn't there a brand of doggy-beacon that uses a different frequency so it wouldn't get picked up by a human beacon on recieve?

[Son1cdeth]

Wow.

Glad you and your pup are OK!

[Tresckow]

I'm relieved all of you made it out safely.

[snowfire]

When you posted that pic of Milli, I thought she had died.

Yep, me too. Wow... glad you and Mir, and Milli, are ok. Too many scary things have been happening in the bc this year.

[bcrider]

Glad you and your pup are ok !skibc.

[seldon]

I'm very glad you're here to tell us about it, and you're pup is there to lick your knee while you type this. Too many close calls this season for the community...

[freshie247]

Hey Dave,

I'm glad you guys are alright.No flame throwing from here.Maybe you should teach Millie to stay until you are farther down the slope.I'd say the mountain Tried to get the best of you,but your still telling the tale.Adrenaline is an amazing thing,both good & bad.

On a lighter note, if that's Milli,are you Vanilli ? Oh Yeah,you still owe me a ride to the mtns!