TR: Mount Edith Avy SAR incident

[sfotex]

This is an unofficial report that only talks about what I saw/experienced. I'm sure I didn't get the whole story/heard facts that were wrong/etc., as is typical in an emergency situation. I'm a member of Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue(LCSAR) team. I'll try to get some photos up later this week to include, I was using the Sheriff Department's camera when I was on scene so I didn't get any pics on my personal camera. My purpose of writing this is to maybe give some insight into how painfully slow rescue activities can be, how much work and time they take, and provide yet another example of how powerful avys can be. Hopefully this is among one of the worst trip report you read this year.

I got up Saturday morning and met up with my friend Dave and we headed down to Big Sky for some skiing. It was Dave's turn to drive, so we took his truck. I had my avy gear with me, sometimes we do some slack country when we're out depending on conditions, etc. It was an gorgeous day, sunny, calm wind down low for the most part, and the snow was pretty good (but wind effected). Montana had just gotten a lot of snow earlier in the week and then there was a big wind event the day before. I was worried it was going to be a bad weekend for Avys and sadly I was right. I had a great day skiing and we sat in the sun after the lifts closed and enjoyed the sun. About 45mins from home at 6:30 pm I got a call on my cell phone from my SAR unit’s incident commander. There had been an avalanche north of Townsend in the Edith Lake/Baldy mountain area and there were multiple victims buried. The slide had happened around 12:30 noon but wasn’t reported until 6:30pm Saturday as it took the survivor an hour and a half to dig himself out, look for his friends, dig his sled out, sled back to the road, and get to his cell phone. The Broadwater County sheriff had called us to provide mutual aid. We were deploying a hasty team of snowmobilers and avy people to go in. Since I wasn't driving I didn't have my SAR crash packs, but I had all my avy gear and warm clothes, so I had my friend Dave drop me in Townsend and I was picked up by another LCSAR member. I had enough time to run into a gas station and get a meatloaf sandwich, cashews, power aid, and a red bull. The only other shoes I had besides my tele boots were a pair of Birkenstock clogs, so I ended up wearing my boots.

When we got to the staging area at 8:00pm it was a zoo. Word had gotten out in Townsend that there were two well known guys buried in an avy and the whole town had turned out with their sleds. Since we were providing mutual aid we weren’t in control of the scene. The area where the victims were buried was a long (8+ miles), tough sled ride in and you pretty much needed a 1000cc sled to make it in with the snow conditions. We were also concerned about hang fire from the avy, crossing loaded sloped getting in, etc. Stuff we couldn’t see in the dark that might hurt/kill a rescuer. We deployed a hasty team on the better sleds to try and make it in. We were going to see how close we could get and use extreme caution. As I don’t have much sled experience, I stayed back at the staging area to provide communication support. The families were also at the staging area. The families were miserable and not having a good time. I pray I never have to put a loved thru that. About midnight we got word that the sleder’s friends had found the first body. Our sled team had not been able to make it to the site and was trying to find an alternative route, with the thought of finding a way to get the bodies out with a sled. At 1:30am we got word that the 2nd body had been found. The bodies were located by probing. We called our sled teams back and got some rest at the staging area in preparation for the body recovery. We weren’t sure if we could get a helicopter or not, or if a heli would be able to fly in the wind, etc. Even if we could get a heli we would probably have to have some people on the ground to hook up a short line or clear out and pack down a landing zone. We were able to get 2 high end sled from a team members friends. We hunkered down in the trucks at the staging area and got a few hours of sleep. My buddy Kirk had an extra MRE he gave me for a late dinner. I got chicken stew and I warmed it up with out SAR trucks window defroster. Yummy.

Day broke and we sent out the sled teams, the high end ‘fire belcher 1000’ turbo sleds were going to go for it and the other sleds were going to go as far as possible and snowshoe in. I was going to meet the helicopter in Townsend and fly into the site and coordinate operations with the ground crew if we couldn’t land. The sheriff and I went by the parents house of one of the victims to find out where they wanted the body transported too, and we also met up with Doug Chabot and a volunteer from the Gallatin Avy center and gave them directions to the staging area. I told Doug he probably wanted to wait until someone was available to show them the way in as it was a rough ride. We then headed over to the airport and waited for the bird to come in from Bozeman. A little after 9am the bird landed and I got in. It was my first time up in a helicopter, so that was pretty cool. The ground crews were able to find us an LZ and cut down some smaller trees and branches and pack down the snow for us. They also moved the bodies closer to the LZ . We got out of the heli and I helped put the victims in body bags. There faces were pretty beat up and covered in snow and ice. Other then that I didn’t see any other signs of massive trauma (broken limbs, etc.) but they were so stiff it was hard to tell. One of the guys had a small pack on that wouldn’t fit in the body bag, so I had to bend his arms around maneuver the pack off. The body bags were kind of crappy and kept tearing, but we got them zipped up. We then unpacked the short rope and net and put the bodies in the net. The heli lifted off with only the pilot and the bodies, and left me and the crew chief there at the sight. I walked up and took a few photos of the slide and the holes that they found the bodies in for the sheriff, but I didn’t want to around the slope because there was a lot of hang fire still up there. The victims had been swept thru some medium sized trees and their sleds were beat to hell. One was buried about 3 feet and the other 4-5 feet. I don’t know how the bodies were oriented when they were dug out.
The heli came back and picked us up and dropped me off at the staging area. Doug Chabot took a ride in the heli to check out the site and helped load up sleds. We left the staging area around noon and went to get a late breakfast/dinner/lunch in town. I got back to my car at 2:00pm and finally took off my ski boots.

http://helenair.com/articles/2007/02...1021907_01.txt

[~mikey b]

thanks for that

[stomp]

yikes. +++vibes to family and friends.

[killclimbz]

Thanks for the report. This was a very sad and sobering weekend. My condolences go out to all of the friends and family members who lost loved ones this past weekend.

[powstash]

heavy, thanks for the report. The feeling of our fragile mortality has been quite present of late.

Be safe out there, everyone (sledders included)

[Magnoe]

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I'm so appreciative of SAR and others who also make risks with their own lives for we, the public.

It's sobering to read but also useful. My prayers go out to the families.

[hutash]

Wow, powerful report, hope you or anybody doesn't have to go through that again.

[uglymoney]

Sounds like one very long and grim day. Thanks for sharing.

[sfotex]

Still working on the photos. I marked up the avy centers with some more info:



Write up from Gallatin avy center:

On Saturday, February 17th at approximately 12:30pm 3 snowmobilers were on a 35-40 degree southeast facing slope at 8800’ in the Big Belt Mountains northeast of Townsend when they triggered an avalanche. All 3 were caught, but one was luckily near the surface and able to extricate himself. The others were completely buried. No one had rescue gear. The slide was approximately 300 feet wide, 400 feet vertical and slid on weak, faceted snow near the ground. New snow with high winds over the last week came close to doubling the snowpack in this area which put enormous stress on these basal layers. The crown line was 3-4 feet deep and piled debris 6-10 feet deep at the bottom. Family members, friends and rescuers located the bodies Saturday night with probes. We’re saddened by these deaths and want to extend our condolences to the families.

[mtnbikerskierchick]

Wow, that's a bummer. My deepest condolences go out to these folks friends and families.

[Pow4Brains]

softex - I posted this in the Slide Zone just to keep it on the first page somewhere. I also posted the text over at Snowest to try and help spread awareness.

[Below Zero]

Wow, this is so sad. Please, please, please people buy the proper gear and learn about backcountry safety. I hate reading stuff like this.

[MarsB]

Body retrieval is never fun. Thanks for what you do, sfotex.

[sfotex]

Accident report from Gallatin Avalanche Center:

BIG BELT MOUNTAINS AVALANCHE FATALITIES

17 February 2007


SYNOPSIS:


Three snowmobilers were caught and buried in an avalanche resulting in two fatalities in the Big Belt Mountains northeast of Townsend, MT. The avalanche released on a southeast facing, wind-loaded slope. The slope angle was approximately 35-40 degrees, with the crown face averaging 3 feet deep. The avalanche was estimated to be 300 feet wide and 400 feet vertical with a runout angle of 24 degrees and debris 10-15 feet deep. The avalanche was triggered by the party on the slope. US classification of the avalanche is HS-AMu-D2-R3-O.


GPS Coordinates at the toe of debris:

N 46.42280

W 111.20307

Elevation: 8,330’


Maps of the accident site with red crosshairs denoting toe of debris:

(1:50,000)

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=...27&layer=DRG25


(1:200,000)

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=...ad27&layer=DRG


WEATHER:


The weather data for this incident is from the town of Townsend, approximately 15 miles to the southwest and from the Tizer Basin SNOTEL site located at 6,880’, approximately 25 miles west of the accident site in the Elkhorn Mountains.


Saturday, February 17th was a sunny day with air temperatures near 32F at 8,500’ (estimated). Over the past 8 days 1 inch of Snow Water Equivalency fell at the Tizer Basin site. Winds started to pick up later in the day on Thursday the 15th and blew hard on Friday the 16th. Speeds in Townsend averaged 25 mph with gusts reaching 65 mph from the west on Friday. From my observations at the scene (8,500’) I measured approximately 2 feet of new snow in a bowl that was obviously wind-loaded at the crown from westerly winds.


AVALANCHE:


JC (27) of Helena, Montana, KR (26) and BT (27) of Townsend, Montana were longtime friends and snowmobile partners. They were all expert riders with customized sleds. On the day of the accident JC and KR had shovels, but BT did not and none of the riders had avalanche transceivers or probe poles.


They met in Townsend at 0900 on Saturday, February 17th and were at the North Fork of Deep Creek Trailhead by 1000. They had set their minds to ride this specific bowl located southeast of Mount Edith in the Big Belt Mountains which they visited once before last winter. Riding into the bowl was difficult because the sleds would sink into the faceted, sugary snow at the ground. JC was the first to the bowl and waited for the others. He joked with them about how he waited because he wanted them around to dig him out in the event of a slide. They all knew they were in avalanche terrain and they also knew that the conditions might be hazardous from all the new snow and wind.


After a few low passes they met and discussed riding the slope that eventually slid. The last conversation all three had was about avalanches. They talked about taking a run up the hill and it was unspoken that they would all do it. The riding conditions were the best of the year with all the new snow.


BT took a run, turned to the right and got stuck. He was about 2/3 up the slope. JC rode to the left of him and got stuck too. KR was below, on the slope, watching them. JC saw BT take a few big lunges, but fall on his stomach in the deep, unconsolidated snow. This is when JC saw the avalanche, but he too was unable to move. The avalanche came over the top of him, tossed him violently and he thought he would die. His helmet was ripped from his head. He tried swimming and as the avalanche slowed he knew he should try and make an air pocket, but his arms were pinned. He saw a patch of light, then darkness before he came to rest. He was face down but was able to blow the snow out of his mouth. By arching his back he freed his neck and head. With wiggling he got his arms unstuck and dug himself out. He estimated he was under 6” of debris. He was 30 yards uphill of his sled. He saw BT’s sled to his right (the track was sticking out), and proceeded to search and dig for his friends. The time was approximately 12:30 pm. He estimates he spent 30-60 minutes looking for BT and KR, but was unable to locate them. He then spent about 1 ½ hours digging his sled out of the debris. He rode to within a few miles of the trailhead before it broke down. He then hiked out with a badly twisted ankle along the road to the vehicles, arriving about 5:30 pm.


SEACH AND RESCUE:


Family, friends and 3 search and rescue organizations went into the scene that evening to locate the bodies. BT was found first with probing. He was 50’ downhill of his sled under 2-3 feet of snow, face-down with his head downhill and his helmet missing. KR was also found by probing. He was located against a tree, on his side, 6-8’ deep. His helmet was still on and his sled was approximately 50 feet uphill. Gallatin County Search and Rescue flew to the scene the next morning where the two bodies were flown out.


SNOWPACK:


A large part of the upper slope did not avalanche. This hang-fire was a safety concern so I limited my snowpack investigation to the toe of the debris. Slope angles and dimensions of the slide mentioned in the Synopsis are estimates. I dug a quick pit in undisturbed snow near the toe of the avalanche (8,330’). I found 80 cm of large grained faceted snow of Fist Hardness underlying 60 cm of new snow of 4-Fingered Hardness. I did no stability tests but could see that the snowpack almost doubled with snowfall the previous 8 days. Given the new snow and recent winds it’s my professional opinion that the slope failed on the layer of faceted snow. Near the crown the avalanche gouged down to the ground in rocky areas. The weak, large grained faces could not handle the load placed on it over the last 8 days from new snow and wind deposited snow. The slope was triggered by the 3 snowmobilers on the slope simultaneously. Although the Big Belt Mountains are not in our forecast area, for comparison, in the Bridger Mountains 35 miles to the ssw of the accident, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center rated the avalanche danger HIGH on slopes steeper than 35 degrees.


Please contact me for more information or if you have questions. I can be reached at 406-587-6984 or dchabot@fs.fed.us.


Doug Chabot

Director

Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center

www.mtavalanche.com