Grizzly Gulch Slide 12/9/13

[babybear]

^I would say that's just inexperience? not knowing what to do so just becoming petrified. If someone is not with it enough to know that their partner ought to carry avi gear, then they probably haven't thought thru the process of how to react if an avalanche does happen. Aside from pulling the cord that is

[My Pet Powder Goat]

something about this whole thing still strikes me as odd. There isnt even an attempt to keep skiing. As soon as the slide breaks skier stops. No point it down, no keep going skiers right. Just seems weird...

I just think she "got the picture" and was stopping in the slide zone at the bottom of the steep pitch and didn't realize the avy was already on top of her.

She was probably going to take her skis off and start bootpacking up that slope to set up for another photo opportunity ....I say in half jest...

Made the weather channel.

I'm going to vomit if these idiots start telling their "tale of survival" to the media

[babybear]

true- since the slide came after her.
Also can't tell from the photo is she was wearing the crotch strap on the ABS? It stayed on but I guess she wasn't carried that far

[Hott Butt Mud]

Rachel Burks?

[babybear]

no there were yellow pigtails- rachel has dark hair

[PNWbrit]

Also can't tell from the photo is she was wearing the crotch strap on the ABS?

I always find the crotch strap affects my decision making.

[The Gnarwhale]

goddamn, dudes. just read the UAC report instead of making up scenarios.

Accident and Rescue Summary:
We were skinning up michigan city on the north side of grizzly gulch. We saw an old skier triggered avalanche across the way. We had our camera out taking pictures of that to write up a report. Then we saw a guy taking pictures and a girl drop in. We looked at each other and said "ready to do a rescue?". She took a hard turn on the slope and a large piece pulled out and then the whole slope released. She pulled her airbag immediately and then got dragged to the bottom of the gully. See the video and pictures. I skied down and yelled across the way to Rusty, who skied down from the other side. While Joe called Alta Central. At the bottom, the guy who had been taking pictures had no beacon shovel or probe. I switched my beacon got it down to .3m and then hit her with a probe about a foot deep luckily. While I did the search the guy took the shovel out of my bag. Rusty, the guy, and I took turns digging with the 2 shovels. We had her out in less then 5 minutes. If she had not pulled the airbag she easily could have been 1.5-2m deep.

Comments:
FROM ANOTHER PERSONS PERSPECTIVE THAT WAS ON THE SCENE:
Just wanted to clarify the events from the burial today as I was on the scene and am getting a lot of questions as to what was going on and the logistics of the parties.

There were 3 parties involved:

Party 1 - Skiing into the Gulch
Skier 1
Skier 2

Photographer
Party 2 - Skinning across the flats, 50m above the houses
Myself (RM)
KL

Party 3 - Skinning up the Michigan City road
AR
JC

Photographer skied down to mid slope for a good angle on the shot. Skier 1 skied down right past Party 2 to gain momentum before dropping into the slope. Slope fractures, Skier 1 pulls airbag, is swept into the gulch and fully buried. Party 3 calls across to Party 2, and AR and RM descend into the gulch, to assist photographer. JC and KL both call Alta Central, Skier 2 descends to KL wondering what is going on. Probe strikes airbag at .5m depth. Full recovery, no injuries. Left ski was still on, right ski was lost in the pile.

In retrospect, my biggest takeaway is the importance of communication. In this event, there were 3 people involved in the rescue, from 3 different parties. None of us had ever met, and we all arrived at different times. It was imperative that we communicate and work together so that we didn't get in each other's way, or duplicate the steps. Everything said, I think we all are feeling lucky today that everything went so smooth.

FORECASTER COMMENTS: -Brett Kobernik

I spoke with the female that was caught and buried in the avalanche. She described the day to me and it is a common scenario that other people have had happen to them before. It’s a scenario that could easily happen to many of us in the future.


The group of three (herself, another female and a male photographer) were shooting photos within the Alta Ski Area during the day. It was one of those days with beautiful snow, great weather and everything was just coming together for them. The invigorating conditions and bliss of the day is what clouded their judgement, in her opinion. Again, this is a common theme that can happen to anyone.


They were not intending to go into the backcountry on this day, hence why some of the party did not have all of their normal avalanche gear. However, as the day went on, it was decided that they would make the very short journey to a popular slope for photographing skiers and snowboarders. They had read the avalanche advisory for that day and understood it. Human triggered avalanches were likely on such slopes. The awesome day that was in progress, the familiarity with the slope, as well as the perception of the slope being so small and not dangerous overrode their knowledge of the avalanche conditions.


It was decided that the victim would go first since she was carrying all of her normal avalanche gear. Once she was on the slope and realized she had triggered the avalanche, she immediately deployed her avalanche airbag and started the ride downhill. She was on the surface and was purposely swimming for a group of trees which she managed to get to and grab a hold of, stopping herself briefly. The second portion of the avalanche that released sympathetically overcame her and she was not able to hold on. She was carried to the bottom and the rescue played out as described by the people who were there.


A note on airbags: While it has been shown that airbags are not all that effective in terrain traps like this one, I speculate that it was helpful in preventing a deeper burial. My guess is that it made it easier for her to swim toward the trees, which in turn slowed her progress to the bottom, and allowed more snow to move passed her before she came to a rest. More than likely, during the second part of the ride, she remain closer to the surface which also helped prevent a deeper burial. Just my two cents.

This scenario is a common theme and can happen to even the most experienced backcountry travelers. The lure of the deep Utah powder is strong and it can influence even the most experienced and cautious people. The victim was very candid when I spoke with her and I want to thank her for sharing her experience. It was a perfect outcome to a bad situation that we can all learn from.

[splat]

Someone should have broken her skis and thrown her boots in a fire.

[powder11]

goddamn, dudes. just read the UAC report instead of making up scenarios.

I did read it. If the other two parties were not there to dig her out, she would be dead right now... scenarios like this where stupidity prevailed, yet nobody died deserve every bit of a monday morning QB call out.

[babybear]

I hadn't read the 2nd part of the report after they had a chance to interview the parties- thnx for adding.
Glad to see that it seems like they learned a lesson without further injury or worse.

We have a joke that we say a lot- "Don't get enticed by the dark side of the pow" - kind of our way of stopping and asking ourselves if it's really worth it.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Was it Ashley Battersby?

[iceclimberx15]

Fuck buying an airbag . all you mags should be buying stock in companies that make them... The ultimate pub stunt.

[snapt]

Tremper on Airbags

[ate'em]

Fuck buying an airbag . all you mags should be buying stock in companies that make them... The ultimate pub stunt.

brilliant insight. maybe a little IRL action seeing airbags directly change the course of an accident would change your view. probably not, I suppose. but I have seen very different outcomes from several avy accidents, through using an airbag. not always, but sometimes is enough to justify their use, like airbags in cars.

airbags will become standard as beacons in the near future.
*you heard it here first*

[ate'em]

you must be a stud with stud friends.

thanks for noticing Hugh! really makes a guy feel special. wink.

[Shadam]

stopping where she did ???

she owes us naked pic"s n shit ...

[hop]

it's more polite than "several of my friends were caught in what I think would have been fatal slides, but they had a magical piece of technology that saved their lives. Maybe, but my take away is technology is awesome and anyone who doesn't think relying on crappy stuff made by the ski industry to save their life when they fuck up, instead of just not fucking up, is stupid"

As you know, the idea is not to rely on the airbag but to be aware that nobody (that includes you and rog) is capable of not fucking up 100% of the time. This just stacks the deck in the user's favor for the inevitable time when they do goof.

[ate'em]

"is stupid"

I'm sure you dont use your seatbelt either. Cause yer perfect baby.

They're called ACCIDENTS for a reason. They arent part of the plan. Lots of nice things like circuit breakers and fire extinguishers must be obsolete in your world too. Cause you never fuck up. Briliant thinking buddy.

[icelanticskier]

This just stacks the deck in the user's favor for the inevitable time when they do goof.

in a more perfect world^^^^^^^^^^^. the bag may lead many into terrain on elevated danger days where they may not have ventured without one. so ya a bag may keep them "safer", but not safer than if they'd traveled bag free and stuck to low angle slopes or their living room.

rog

[icelanticskier]

I'm sure you dont use your seatbelt either. Cause yer perfect baby.

They're called ACCIDENTS for a reason. They arent part of the plan.

oh but they ARE part of the plan. the master plan. everything happens for a reason. mistakes may have been made well before hitting the trailhead. a missed alarm. partner that showed up late. forgotten gear forcing improvisation. a speeding/traffic ticket while enroute. so many lil things.

rog

[Trace Hardslab]

There's been a couple bystander/eyewitness rescues the last few years in the Wasatch, no?

[ate'em]

oh but they ARE part of the plan. the master plan. everything happens for a reason.

ahhh, so zen. Like how I laid the path for you to come back to this thread. The plan.... so much bigger than we imagine.

And I suppose if we're talking on that level, I totally agree.

But I'm not driving drunk on an icy road with no brakepads, just to see if maybe it's in 'the plan'. Not me. I'd put my seatbealt on.

[My Pet Powder Goat]

goddamn, dudes. just read the UAC report instead of making up scenarios.

Still many pertinent questions remain for the average TGR armchair QB, like:
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Is she hot?
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Is she single??
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What's her favorite color!?! ...Seafoam?!!?!?!

[icelanticskier]

And I suppose if we're talking on that level, I totally agree.

that level as opposed to the onging redundant go nowhere fast discussions on here and other related forums. 30+ north American a year 6 feet under. pretty fucking good numbers i'd say. all told.

rog

[The Gnarwhale]

There's been a couple bystander/eyewitness rescues the last few years in the Wasatch, no?

Yeah, saw one go down in Silver Fork last year. A photog was trying for the across-the-valley long lens shot and it took him a few minutes to cross to the debris. UMA guide Todd Glew was closest and dug the victim out. The victim had stopped breathing and gone blue but recovered quickly and skinned back out to LCC under his own power. In total there were probably 15 witnesses in west bowl.

I guess that incident and this Griz one are instances where having a crowded backcounrty scene has been beneficial? Seems like either could have been much worse without the quick response of bystanders.