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Thread: Bear Creek-Telluride
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02-23-2019, 10:12 AM #76
Yeah, I was tracking with you. Is there a FS office in T-Ride?
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02-23-2019, 10:25 AM #77
These days? I kind of doubt it.
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02-23-2019, 11:01 AM #78
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03-20-2019, 03:24 PM #79
Full report is up: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...inv&acc_id=705
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03-20-2019, 04:39 PM #80
Jesus, the poor guy wasn’t even slowly skinning uphill, just happened to be skiing across the path at the exact wrong time. So sad.
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03-21-2019, 10:49 AM #81
The victim was separated from his pack and skis, it's definitely a possibility that he was skiing down with his pack waistbelt and sternum strap not buckled and he got cleaned out. But I think it's probably more likely that he was transitioning or stopped and having a picnic or something. No way for us to really know.
Super sad. Highlights the importance of knowing what is above and below you, especially when traveling in popular areas.
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03-21-2019, 11:27 AM #82
I hadn’t considered that he might have been in the midst of transitioning, that’s more likely. I was picturing the deposit area being midtrail/not in a logical transition area, but that’s just something I invented, never having skied that line or even being familiar with that trail in winter.
I could completely see myself making the same decisions that guy did, aside from the fact that I would’ve been wearing a beacon which wouldn’t have changed anything except making the extraction shorter. Yes, you’re traveling through avalanche terrain, but the chances of being caught in a slide on a day like that are very low. And aside from being below avy terrain it’s a perfect place to get outside for some very mellow exercise without having to get in a car. And the familiarity heuristic is definitely a thing here.
Which makes me think I should re-evaluate my decision-making process.
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03-21-2019, 05:39 PM #83
Fuck. Just read the report. Brutal
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03-22-2019, 08:35 AM #84Registered User
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Horrible.
I wonder what kind of legal implications the 3 snowboarders face? They triggered an avalanche that killed a person.....I believe a similar incident happened recently in Europe where some people were skiing above someone else, triggered a slide that killed the person below. They were actually indicted of manslaughter or something similar.
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03-22-2019, 09:40 AM #85
There was a lawsuit a few years ago regarding an incident in Bear Creek where two parties met at the top of the line, and one agreed to wait until the other was clear before descending. The second party didn't wait long enough, triggered an avalanche, and knocked one of the members of the first party off her rappel and she was injured. The court found that the second party was liable for her medical bills because they had agreed to wait, which created a legal obligation for them to do so. In other words, they may not have been found liable had they been unaware of people below them. But I don't know of any cases that have tested this.
To my knowledge, the snowboarders have not been charged with any crime.
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03-22-2019, 10:27 AM #86
^^^ I feel like radios are pretty much required bc gear these days, and that goes double in Bear Creek. How would that group know how long the rap was taking without a radio?
As for the snowboarders, they even did a beacon search. Doubtful it would have changed anything, but they would have found him sooner if he had a beacon on at least. I don't ski solo much, but I've always thrown one on if for no other reason to be found sooner/ easier.
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03-23-2019, 08:15 AM #87Registered User
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What's protocol for going out the gates and causing a slide to the valley floor onto a winter trail/run-out?
Their situation and that style of gate access leading to terrain hidden from chairlifts, patrol shack, highway visibility is foreign to me, but after a few readings, I gotta be honest, the probing for an hour and never making a call to ski patrol or 911 bothers me. I feel out of sheer goodwill towards fellow skiers/riders who might be going through the upper gates after you and valley travellers, you need to notify ski patrol or the ski area once you are safe or can make contact. It's right next door to patrol shacks at a large ski area. Unless they were afraid of reporting it, but it is a legal gate and was open at the time, right?
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03-23-2019, 08:36 AM #88
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03-23-2019, 08:47 AM #89Registered User
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03-23-2019, 08:49 AM #90
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03-24-2019, 07:52 PM #91
a Rider took out someone at Snowbird the same way a few years back.. though she was traversing on Baldy Bird side, and they or he or she(I don't remember) released a slide above her ….I'd be interested to see what happened legally that time.. hint hint internet experts
that was a real heavy wind load day ,in a year with a bad ice base layer..very suspect conditions on wind loaded slopes that day,I rememberski paintingshttp://michael-cuozzo.fineartamerica.com" horror has a face; you must make a friend of horror...horror and moral terror.. are your friends...if not, they are enemies to be feared...the horror"....col Kurtz
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03-25-2019, 01:28 AM #92
I would disagree and say this incident was very black and white, meaning straightforward to explain and easy to assess.
If I'm wrong, please correct me, because I'm used to avalanche incidents which are very very complicated.
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03-25-2019, 07:11 AM #93Yes, access to the chute is officially closed from the ski area.
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03-25-2019, 09:52 AM #94
In court, one can just imagine the dramatic courtroom questions:
Mr director of snow safety, why did you put a rope there? Is it because it is just too... Tempting? Slides to the valley floor? Crosses the summer trail much closer to town than higher lines? Has no visibility of who might be below?
Mr snowboarder, if you are so knowledgeable about the BC travel, why did you choose to violate that rope? Were you wrong? It slid, did it not? Why do you think that there was a closure? Is your knowledge of breaking the rules and getting it wrong why you didn't report the slide and instead of calling SAR when there was a track into the debris that prompted your beacon search? Is that why the poor departed father had to be reported missing by his wife, because avoiding consequences was more important than potentially saving a life?
Will it be a plaintiffs attorney asking or a prosecutor, we'll see... IANAL
ETA DCNB deleted his post which was before MTM's post 2 above which prompted MTM, NB, and my responses. I guess he changed his mind.Originally Posted by blurred
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03-25-2019, 10:08 AM #95Registered User
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From the picture in that last link. It looks like more than just a rope that could be easily ducked. More like a plastic fence, which would take slightly more effort. And a clear warning sign saying the area is closed. Not sure how much more Telluride could be expected to do.
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03-25-2019, 10:11 AM #96
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03-25-2019, 02:10 PM #97
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03-25-2019, 02:20 PM #98
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03-25-2019, 02:53 PM #99
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03-25-2019, 03:25 PM #100
Somebody fill the the blanks and help me out here. The way I understand it (could be wrong), In Colorado there are two types of ski area boundaries.
One is a permanent Forest Service closure where you can only exist via gate and violation is punishable by law.
The other kind is just a regular ski area boundary and you can duck the rope wherever. You are not supposed to ride the lifts again that day although my understanding is that is not regularly enforced.
I know Winter Park. For example, ducking the rope into Zero Creek is the permanent closure type. Skiing The Highway/40 gate/gate 8 is the OK kind. This WP map shows the distinction.
http://assets.winterparkresort.com/P...650.1536262304
A assume, dangerously, that where the boundary was crossed in the Telluride incident is the permanent closure type due to the presence of access gates.
https://www.tellurideskiresort.com/u..._1819_2000.jpg
I have no idea what if any responsibility a ski area/patrol has to alter the authorities. It is also my understanding and personal experience that ropes are ducked at T-Ride regularly without consequence.
Not of this will bring back the dead guy but I feel that it is important to get the facts straight.
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