Jackson Hole 2019-2020 - & The 'Ghee, The King, Kelly Canyon, Pebble Creek

[AdironRider]

Nothing like a good pun to lighten the mood.

I agree and I don't think it is a responsibility I could mentally stomach personally also. Just felt poorly worded today IMO.

[gtid]

Today's avi report was kinda absurd IMO. Putting up low, low, & moderate ratings seems like they are asking for trouble when the other side of their mouth is saying stay away given the past 24-48 hours.

I defer to the experts but they basically have conflicting statements today.

I completely agree. While I have not seen any instabilities on the slopes I was skiing I was also on mellow terrain. When this much snow is added to the pack with the addition of wind and density I am seeing a lot of red flags which should warrant a Considerable rating for high elevation and at least Moderate for mid elevations, not too mention the fact that they are asking the public to tone it down due the SAR resources and the COVID crisis. There was the slide on Taylor, Ski Lake and Pyramid, that doesn't look like Moderate and low to me. Sorry but human nature is that when they see Low they think go!

[Core Shot]

Well, I don’t think they should have lied or omitted information, either.
It’s ....wait for it...







A slippery slope

Oh no you dinint.
Oh you did. Snap.

Vibes to the dude buried. And his family and friends.
And hugs for all the sars peeps working the probe line.

[snapt]

Avy dogs from the village made the find. Beacon off. I pass no judgement. RIP.

[peace_coast]

I knew the deceased and spent many days in the BC with him. He was an extremely competent partner had both extensive experience and formal avalanche education.

The places we chose to spend our lives are dangerous and can be unforgiving of stupid mistakes. It could happen to any of us.

Be safe out there and cherish the days you get and the people you spend them with.

[Core Shot]

Yeesh. Sucks. Report said beacon was off. Could be a malfunction.
Or a failed trailhead check.

Sorry mang.

Respect. And vibes

[Djongo Unchained]

So terrible any time, and especially now. Makes me so sad (and mad too).

Agree 110%


Damn, such mixed emotions on this.

Ours is a risky sport/lifestyle, and we do our level best to lessen that risk.
And always with varying degrees of success.
Some folks, it's hard to believe they're gone. Others, you're amazed they're still alive.

Positive Vibes to you Peace Coast, Sad here for the loss of your friend.
It's a tough row to hoe; I've taken that lap more than I'd like.

And a stark reminder of how shit can go south for us if we miss a detail, have a malfunction, or just bad luck.

Let's all get Safe.

[skibrd]

Im pretty good about figuring out how I feel and I’m all over the place on this. Mostly sad, really really sad. Sorry Peace Coast, really sucks.


I’m not trying to place blame on anyone with the following observation.

I really think the BT Avi report has been saying its way safer then it has been since about mid-Feb. We have been blessed with a fairly stable snowpack. A few friends have noticed this and mentioned it. Proves you can’t trust the Avi report and need to do your own research.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Expriest Tobin]

Very sad. A pall against the April sunshine and a fresh view of the peaks. You evaluate each slope in light of and sometimes despite the report, which is based on snow science and expertise above my abilities and can't cover every scenario. Moderate does mean possible, and slabs are slabs, but probably Considerable sits in your head and scares you away from lines you'd otherwise take. No judgment on anybody. The report is what it is, and the decision to drop is the same. My heart goes out.

[mmmm...pow!]

Not sure exactly why his beacon was off, but...
My old Ortovox M2 has a harness that clips directly into the power switch. If you were wearing the beacon in the harness, it was on. Idiot proof. Don't know why this isn't a standard feature on every beacon on the market. Again, don't know if maybe he had it in a pocket not turned on, or if there was a malfunction, so don't know if that feature would have helped, but something to think about.
I'm not in the area and don't know the specifics other than what's in the news, so not judging, but a good reminder at the very least to do a beacon check each lap.

[skibrd]

My roommates and I had a pretty lengthy discussion about pocket v harness beacon carry. We have been proponents of the pocket beacon (on our right thigh), for years, but wonder if having it in the harness (on your stomach) allows for more give. The idea that our guts are softer and will absorb any impact better and our thighs are pretty firm/hard so the beacon will be damaged easier.

I had a beacon (in my right thigh pocket) break a few years back when I crashed going into Corbets. The thought the beacon should of been somewhere else didn’t cross my mind until now. I am going to dig my harness out and giving it a shot again. See if I feel different about it.

Hopefully this will get people to beacon check more diligently in the future. We always do one to start the day, and if someone new joins the group we re-do it. Sometimes it’s a slightly abridged quick check of the new person, we need to work on being better with that.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[rideit]

A few details in here.

https://jacksonholeradio.com/2020/04...oarder-was-28/

[gtid]

So sad, thoughts and prayers to his family and friends, could happen to any of us. I was out this evening and it reminded me why we do this.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Djongo Unchained]

^^^^^^^^
Wow, that shot of the big Wall is great. dream conditions on that right now. Ballsy coupla lines considering...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't like to rely on a cellphone as my goto for a rescue. But I don't think I'd ski dangerous terrain without it now. It's another safety tool these days, not just a convenience. And ya never know where it will/won't work.

A failure to turn on your transceiver, and check those around you is by all standards a critical mistake, and sadly here is the lethal example.

Some of you may be interested in an event where the transceiver broke in the slide.
I always consider that a possibility as well.

My first attempt at a link http://www.jhavalanche.org/fatalArticles/article/Haas

He was the real deal, considered the King of the ski bums back then, by everyone, Doug and all His AF brothers included. Pioneered so many lines taken for granted today.

[skifishbum]

^^^^^^^^
Wow, that shot of the big Wall is great. dream conditions on that right now. Ballsy coupla lines considering...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't like to rely on a cellphone as my goto for a rescue. But I don't think I'd ski dangerous terrain without it now. It's another safety tool these days, not just a convenience. And ya never know where it will/won't work.

A failure to turn on your transceiver, and check those around you is by all standards a critical mistake, and sadly here is the lethal example.

Some of you may be interested in an event where the transceiver broke in the slide.
I always consider that a possibility as well.

My first attempt at a link http://www.jhavalanche.org/fatalArticles/article/Haas

He was the real deal, considered the King of the ski bums back then, by everyone, Doug and all His AF brothers included. Pioneered so many lines taken for granted today.

thanks that was a good read
peace coast i pass no judgement and offer vibes for yours and others friends and fams loss
Ill never understand the level of significance some people place in someone elses single word descriptive adjective to describe the potential dangers, uncertainty, spatial variability and ever changing snow structures, in their decision making.
it seems to me now to be such a small part of the big picture yet so many dont seem to see it that way.
stay safe and keep healin the knee
stoked to see ya before shit got way to fuckin real

[new yabyum]

Special thanks to TCSAR, their work over 2 days got the recovery done, forty members answered the bell. Next time you see them, thank 'em. Next time they pass the hat, throw down a few.

[haysman16]

really not wanting to armchair quarterback, but this is not the avy centers fault. Moderate or Considerable is not going to make a difference if you are dropping the skiers right side of the South Face at 3pm in April (not going to even touch the beacon issue).

Dude made a poor decision and not only did it cost him big time but it also exposed 50 people to each other who should be home and just gives more ammo to the higher ups to just close access during all this. Decisions don’t just effect you and your partners these days.

[jackstraw]

My first attempt at a link http://www.jhavalanche.org/fatalArticles/article/Haas

He was the real deal, considered the King of the ski bums back then, by everyone, Doug and all His AF brothers included. Pioneered so many lines taken for granted today.

Yeah, for some reason I think of this one from time to time. Still sucks after all these years.

Just recently tgr posted somebody (smoothy?) ripping a pillow line and getting taken out by his avi sluff and slamming hard. The slam broke his beacon, but they found him quickly and thankfully via probe. Shit can happen. Nothing is foolproof.

Vibes to the fam and friends of Trace. RIP.

[wstdeep]

[QUOTE=Djongo Unchained;5947526]Agree 110%




Ours is a risky sport/lifestyle, and we do our level best to lessen that risk.
And always with varying degrees of success.
Some folks, it's hard to believe they're gone. Others, you're amazed they're still alive.


Agree 100%, When you head out you make your own decisions and in the end you live (or you don't) with them. Bummer for all involved.

[skibrd]

Yeah, for some reason I think of this one from time to time. Still sucks after all these years.

Just recently tgr posted somebody (smoothy?) ripping a pillow line and getting taken out by his avi sluff and slamming hard. The slam broke his beacon, but they found him quickly and thankfully via probe. Shit can happen. Nothing is foolproof.

Vibes to the fam and friends of Trace. RIP.

McNutt about a month ago in BC


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[east or bust]

McNutt about a month ago in BC


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

You happen to know where was he wearing the beacon?

[SirVicSmasher]

You happen to know where was he wearing the beacon?

He got slammed into a bunch of trees I don't think where he was wearing it had much to do with it

Sent from my I3123 using Tapatalk

[Norseman]

vibes to the people..

So sad, thoughts and prayers to his family and friends, could happen to any of us. I was out this evening and it reminded me why we do this.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Wow, sweet

[Norseman]

McNutt about a month ago in BC


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

You happen to know where was he wearing the beacon?

He got slammed into a bunch of trees I don't think where he was wearing it had much to do with it

Sent from my I3123 using Tapatalk

Tree slam broke his arm... my guess would be torso-worn, but could've broken on the leg, too, I 'spose.

[Bronic]

Vibes to everyone involved here. Always heartbreaking when anyone is lost to accidents like these.

I just wanted to echo what Haysman said, BTAC wasn't out of line here IMO. They called Moderate danger on that slope yesterday, and the other slopes that saw activity for that matter.

SWAG Manual says:
Moderate Danger
"Heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully; identify features of concern.

Natural avalanches unlikely; human-triggered avalanches possible.

Small avalanches in specific areas; or large avalanches in isolated areas."


Excerpt from BTAC's forecast from the morning of the 1st: "Wind slabs have formed in steep leeward terrain above 8000 feet. The potential exists for these slabs to be human triggered today. Do not travel in areas where wind loading is suspected. In an effort to minimize the potential for backcountry rescue, evacuation, or the need for medical treatment, make very conservative terrain choices and avoid all steep avalanche paths at this time."

This slide was reported to be on average 6"-8" deep, a small avalanche in the elevation band/aspect that was highlighted as a problem in the forecast. I pass no judgement onto the victim, as I've made my fair share of mistakes in my skiing career. Simply wanted to reject the notion that BTAC was out of line here. Trace wasn't the only one making mistakes on that day either, there were many of reports of skier/machine triggered events. Many parties chose to ignore the pleas of officials and the avy center to dial it back. Poor Trace just didn't get away with it, like so many others did.

We're so lucky right now to still have the oppurtunity to be recreating despite the NPS closure, let's not take that for granted

One love y'all