21.1.18 CO Red Mountain Pass fatal avalanche

[Hacksaw]

I think the TGR culture is vibes threads in Ski & Snowboard, respectful honest analysis threads in Slide Zone. Perhaps this thread will be both.

I've come to believe that all analysis should be done with the ultimate goal of understanding for the purpose of future avoidance, not pillorying victims, lest victims keep their learning experiences secret for fear of a scarlet letter. I didn't always have that outlook, but I was wrong then.

Right now all we have to analyze is it's a tragedy and the guy hit up amazing places.

Well said.

[Alpinord]

Be careful everyone. This bums me out. Sam's Trees is pretty mellow overall by San Juan standards.

Walking on the edge of vibes and insights, here is a blog post by a splitboarder who crossed paths with the skiers and the aftermath. You can hear the rotten snow under the powder in the tough to watch video. I'm not sure it's appropriate to embed it in this thread.

Personally, I didn't know Abel, but probably many who did. I opted out of a RMP mission Sunday to some low angle trees because it didn't 'feel right' with conditions, timing and other reasons. A friend was spooked out of Minnehaha/Cement Creek due to rotten snow. Smelly may have current insights into current conditions.

[summit]

http://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/ac...49&view=public

Preliminary report with pics, pit, Narrative is up.

[cmsummit]

http://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/ac...49&view=public

Preliminary report with pics, pit, Narrative is up.

The full report is up.
http://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/ac...inv&acc_id=649

RIP.

[toastybroski]

Interesting choice to start firing a .22 in the air. I usually try to avoid gunshots not go towards them. Otherwise seems like an extremely unfortunate situation for everyone.

[wooley12]

3 sounds is a universal distress signal. The survivor fired 3 shots. Good to remember.

[PNW_Skier206]

Interesting choice to start firing a .22 in the air. I usually try to avoid gunshots not go towards them. Otherwise seems like an extremely unfortunate situation for everyone.

As Wooley said, 3 shots is distress signal. Good for everyone to know.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[toastybroski]

I had no idea. Sounds like the guy did everything right. Would you guys suggest adding a small handgun to my pack for these situations?

[summit]

I had no idea. Sounds like the guy did everything right. Would you guys suggest adding a small handgun to my pack for these situations?

Everyone should have a stupid loud whistle. A Fox 40 is almost as loud as a .22... and much cheaper and lighter... also doesn't run out of ammo or have bullets that fall back down.

3+ long whistle blasts

[LHutz Esq]

Everyone should have a stupid loud whistle. A Fox 40 is almost as loud as a .22... and much cheaper and lighter... also doesn't run out of ammo or have bullets that fall back down.

3+ long whistle blasts

This would have me running in your direction automatically. 3 shots - maybe, if I heard all 3 perfectly. But with a whistle you can repeat the 3 blasts as often as you want.

[galibier_numero_un]

Rad pics. Would way rather see/hear about this dudes adventures than the armchair QBing every newly-minted lvl 1 wants to offer up.

Vibes Smiley.

RIP, but I'm with Summit on this.

What better respect to pay Abel than to see our own flaws reflected by his actions?

... Thom

[doebedoe]

RIP, but I'm with Summit on this.

What better respect to pay Abel than to see our own flaws reflected by his actions?

... Thom

That comment was made in the context of us not having the information of a full report. I'm not against discussion given we have sufficient information.

[Alpinord]

We stopped by to pay our respects and view the slide area on Saturday. It's especially sad to think that if his line had been maybe 20'/a few degrees or more to skiers right, he would have had a great run and gone home grinning from ear to ear.

[Kinnikinnick]

IMO a Personal Locator Beacon is much better than either the whistle or the gun. Those only help if someone is near enough to hear. Not that it seems like it would have made a difference here, but word would have been out at least 30-60 min sooner.

Sounds like his partner was on him as quick as he could given he got slid too.

But the bigger lesson for us all here is to constantly be on the watch for micro terrain and terrain traps. Creek beds and gullies are killers.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[ASmileyFace]

I think the TGR culture is vibes threads in Ski & Snowboard, respectful honest analysis threads in Slide Zone. Perhaps this thread will be both.

This thread can, and has been both in my opinion. I appreciate TGRs ability to talk about these accidents sometimes. Discussion is necessary, especially now that the full report has been released. Skier 1 and I have broke down the accident a few times over the past week. He knows that they made a mistake ending up in the terrain they did, but it is a mistake that almost everyone who travels in the backcountry has made before. There were a hundred different moments where they could have made a different decision and ended up no where near the gully. Sadly that didn't happen and wonderful man was taken from the world. I had discussed skiing with them on Sunday, but instead made plans to stay in Ouray for the day. I've gone over in my head 100 times what would have happened if I had been with them that day. I like to believe that I would have pushed to get us off that terrain, considering that gully has spooked me in the past, but I can't say for 100% certainty that the outcome would have been different. This whole thing has been so tragic and sad. I know I'm going to evaluate my terrain choices slightly differently in the future.

Skier 1 and I have discussed the gun thing too. I mentioned a whistle would have probably have gotten the job done and he agreed. The only thing that was going through his head at the time was "make a LOUD noise," so he went for the gun. Maybe not the most rational choice, but considering the situation I give him a pass.

On the subject of the Horse Gulch Blogger, he is welcome to post his side of the story all he wants and his help in calling SaR was invaluable. Outside of the timeframe, his rendition seems to be accurate. He did call Skier 1 first thing the very next morning trying to get a candid interview for his blog. When Skier 1 told him he didn't want to be interviewed yet, Horse Gulch guy didn't like that. Apparently he accused my friend of asking for gag order (which didn't happen) and then ranted and preached about 1st amendment rights. I'd like to think that it is common courtesy to give some time, space, and understanding to someone who just went through the most traumatic day of their life, but clicks on your blog might be more important.

I wish I could comment on conditions in the San Juan's but I don't even have a day on skins this season yet. Bad snow year, being busy at work and Abel's tragic death have combined in a whirlwind of fuck you and kept me off skis for much of the season. Everything I've heard is that its been super touchy and spooky all season and probably won't change till spring.

This has been a crazy and devastating week but it has been cool to see this community come together and rally around each other. I fucking wish Abel could be here to see how many people he impacted in a positive way. Shred in peace buddy.

P.S. I don't know what TGRs policy is on gofundmes and I can remove it if neccessary. But this one was set up by the gym Abel worked at to help his family during this. They have already managed to reach their goal, but anything helps. https://www.gofundme.com/supportabelsfamily

EDIT:

IMO a Personal Locator Beacon is much better than either the whistle or the gun. Those only help if someone is near enough to hear. Not that it seems like it would have made a difference here, but word would have been out at least 30-60 min sooner.

A PLB would have been a huge help for sure. Unfortunately most of us are broke ass young adults trying to make a living in the Durango area so we typically carry another friend's if we are going a ways out. This was a good reminder that even only a quarter mile off the road you can still be hours away from service and help. I know getting another PLB will be going to the top of my purchase priority list.

[Alpinord]

ASmileyFace, this is not on you. It's probably hard to think otherwise. Again, I'm sorry about your loss and what you are dealing with in the middle of an already depressing winter. Hang in there. Just getting out on some snow for a mellow, reflective tour can do a world of good.

And yeah, not cool move by the blogger. I had the impression he was trying to make the tragedy about him, not Abel.

Regarding conditions, the day before the storm RM snotel and Swamp Angel were reporting around 23". After the storm 40ish, IIRC. Apparently, there was a lot of whomping on Monday. Saturday it settled back to 29". We were the first ones up Commodore on Saturday with few others. Tons were on RMP. The general drainage faces more northerly while Sam's is more easterly. We never experienced instability but also did not drop in from where we met a few years ago. It was wind blown and scoured on top. We skied back down the skin track to below and had surprisingly nice snow. Here some shots from Saturday.

[muted]

Crazy how getting just getting a little bit off-track in some trees can be the difference between life and death. RIP Abel.

[adrenalated]

I did not know 3 shots meant SOS. I was only familiar with morse code for SOS (3 short, 3 long, 3 short) but that only works with a whistle or similar. Thanks for learnin' me.

Any BC skier that says they haven't made a mistake and drifted off their intended line is lying.

Question - did the party have radios? If not, could radios have helped them get back out of trouble at the point where Skier 1 realized that Skier 2 had drifted too far left?

[auvgeek]

Question - did the party have radios? If not, could radios have helped them get back out of trouble at the point where Skier 1 realized that Skier 2 had drifted too far left?

Just read the report and wondered the exact same thing.

[cravenmorhead]

Can someone familiar with the terrain help me with this aspect: how wide was the rib they were planning to descend? I'm having trouble getting my head around how wide of a (relatively) safe hallway they had to descend/how much terrain they had to work with without straying into the steeper side slopes.

[N1CK.]

ASmileyFace: So sorry for the loss of your friend Abel.
Hang in there.

[Ermine]

Just read the report and wondered the exact same thing.

With what read like a stressful rescue, radios between #3 & #4 may have cut down on confusion and provided another for CPR. Those bubblepack radios are so cheap now, they're almost disposible.

[Kinnikinnick]

Smiley, sorry for the loss of your friend.

None of this discussion is meant to blame Abel or “skier#1”. We’re just trying to draw lessons.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[jacob_dbu]

Can someone familiar with the terrain help me with this aspect: how wide was the rib they were planning to descend? I'm having trouble getting my head around how wide of a (relatively) safe hallway they had to descend/how much terrain they had to work with without straying into the steeper side slopes.

I am also curious. This is a scary situation and it seems like they were well aware of the terrain and doing their best to stay in a safe zone.

On that note, how can one do a better job of recognizing where you are in the terrain? I am new to BC and even in the resort when I scope something out on the way up, I find it very hard to be able to go exactly back to that location.

[grskier]

Is that not the rib in Alpenords post?