Two Wyoming Fatalities in One Week

[tBatt]

28 Year old snowboarder on Taylor Mountain and 46 year old snowmobiler near the sheep creek drainage. The Snowboarder was a former Utah Avalanche center intern. The snowmobiler was a sponsored rider for Arctic cat.

In both of last week’s fatalities, the victims were wearing transceivers, but tragically neither of their beacons were turned on. This a stark reminder to do full beacon checks before leaving the trailhead. For every person, verify their batteries are good, and their transceivers are both sending and receiving properly.

https://www.jhavalanche.org/eventDetail/event/39526

https://www.jhavalanche.org/eventDetail/event/39541

[hoarhey]

I don't see it mentioned in the avy report that the snowboarder on Taylor didn't have his beacon turned on.
Only mention is that his partner couldn't find a signal and neither could rescuers on day of event, and then a dog was used to locate the victim the following day after the site was bombed by heli.
RIP to the deceased and vibes to his family and friends, and especially to his partner that day.

[eagleskier]

The quote that the OP refers to isn't in the avalanche report, but it is in today's Teton area forecast as stated by the Avalanche Center. I would take that as credible, accurate information.

Condolences to the family and friends.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[hoarhey]

I see it there. Thanks for pointing me to that


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Core Shot]

Sad.
Some say the forecast was too low.
Could be the result of not having JHMR SP reporting results every morning on their bombing runs.

But wind and local conditions always create variability

Strange times.
Both guys were experienced and accepted the risks.
Not calling them out on beacon off. Shit happens. I’ve had older beacons that switch off too easily.
Otoh. Trailhead checks are a good idea. Always.

[snapt]

Rob replaced his batteries that morning at the trailhead and his group did a beacon check according to friends in the group. Either there was a malfunction or it was rendered inoperable in the slide.

[John_B]

Thanks snapt. I saw reference to Nick McNutt's avalanche where his beacon broke/was turned off. Itd be interesting to know how often this is occurring and if is specific type of beacon is more likely.

[Bunion 2020]

Rob replaced his batteries that morning at the trailhead and his group did a beacon check according to friends in the group. Either there was a malfunction or it was rendered inoperable in the slide.

Not trying to shit on anyone. With that out of the way, it is pretty important that people know the differences in both of theses cases as to why the beacons were not functioning. If you know for certain that the beacon was found with the on/off switch/device in the on position OK.

Otherwise I guess the report says what it says. Not activated, what ever that means.

Vibes.

[tBatt]

My personal Mammut Barryvox was making the noise in my pocket as if it was turning on after doing a beacon check at the trailhead two weeks ago. That was the second time it has happened in three years. The first time it was due to corroded battery terminals. I had new batteries stored in my pack. Battery life read 99% when I turned it on but it turned off in my pocket without me knowing. There was a party of five that was caught and carried a couple miles away that day. I haven't found a reason for the most recent time but I started using my work issued beacon for personal tours since. Shit happens. technology malfunctions. I'm curious to see if the beacon is looked into any more on the final report.

[glademaster]

I would be interested in learning more about what actually went on with the beacons that were used by these two.

I have a Barryvox too and while I haven't experienced any wonky behavior from it, I do feel like it's switch would be easy to accidentally turn off, even when you wear it in the harness. I'll wear mine in a pocket for resort riding, but I feel like that beacon design is too vulnerable to switching modes from incidental impact to feel comfortable touring with it anywhere except the harness.

Fast processor, great range, very user friendly, etc. I like the beacon over all, but I do wish that the power switch was more secure/better protected.

[mall walker]

at one of the checkpoints during the Grand Traverse maybe ~6 hours in (and ~0F temps) my Pieps DSP Sport was off somehow. the power switch was still in "transmit" mode, but the thing was off, not emitting a signal. I switched it off/back on and it turned on and stayed on. It's never happened to me during any other tour (200+++ days with this beacon including tours longer than 6 hours and colder than 0F), it's always still on when I get back to the car... dunno what happened. I never would've noticed if they hadn't been doing beacon checks at the checkpoint.

on cold or spooky days I occasionally glance at it during my tour to make sure it's still on...

[RonMexico]

I would be interested in learning more about what actually went on with the beacons that were used by these two.

I have a Barryvox too and while I haven't experienced any wonky behavior from it, I do feel like it's switch would be easy to accidentally turn off, even when you wear it in the harness. I'll wear mine in a pocket for resort riding, but I feel like that beacon design is too vulnerable to switching modes from incidental impact to feel comfortable touring with it anywhere except the harness.

Fast processor, great range, very user friendly, etc. I like the beacon over all, but I do wish that the power switch was more secure/better protected.

This is interesting as I bought a Barryvox this year in large part because I felt like it had one of the better/more secure switches of any beacon on the market. Definitely seemed better than the Pieps/BD and even the BCA with the knob on the far outer edge. While I always wear it in a harness, even if it were in a pocket I still think it would feel more secure that those others.

[Bunion 2020]

Main takeaway so far is that regular beacon checks while traveling in avalanche terrain are a good idea and that even experienced folks can always use that as a backup for personal/group safety.