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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
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    8,710

    Another Avalanche...Missing Snowmobiler in the Never Summers

    https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/ca...=784&accfm=rep

    Dog Team on site. Doesn't sound good.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Ten Mile Vistas
    Posts
    4,025
    Ugh.
    Old's Cool.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    beaverhead county
    Posts
    4,528
    fkna. +vibes to all affected. this is getting old.
    swing your fucking sword.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    8,710
    From the CAIC

    A snowmobiler is missing after an avalanche near Ruby Mountain southeast of Rand on Tuesday February 16, 2021. Other members of the rider's group searched for him before calling the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for help. Jackson County Search and Rescue reached the site last night, but could not find the missing rider. Jackson County will continue the search today with the help of other search and rescue volunteers and avalanche dogs. We will post updates when more information is available.
    The avalanche was on a northeast facing slope above 11,000 ft. Early reports describe the riders traveling across the slope more than once before the avalanche. Slopes at all elevations and all aspects are dangerous today. Avalanches are breaking much wider than people are used to. You can trigger avalanches from low-angle terrain below steep slopes. Two people lost their lives in avalanches on Sunday and now a third is missing. Please stick to slopes less than 30 degrees and avoid traveling under steeper slopes. Places you've traveled in previous years may not be safe today, or the rest of the winter.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Verdi NV
    Posts
    10,457
    Did they find the sled but not the rider?
    Or

    I was watching a YouTube testing this year's artic cat sled designed to move around in deep snow on steep terrain.
    I think we are going to see more and more of this
    Own your fail. ~Jer~

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Where the sheets have no stains
    Posts
    22,061
    Between the proliferation of sleds like this and Snowbikes I am surprised we are not seeing a lot more this year.
    I have been in this State for 30 years and I am willing to admit that I am part of the problem.

    "Happiest years of my life were earning < $8.00 and hour, collecting unemployment every spring and fall, no car, no debt and no responsibilities. 1984-1990 Park City UT"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    8,710
    Quote Originally Posted by Bunion 2020 View Post
    Between the proliferation of sleds like this and Snowbikes I am surprised we are not seeing a lot more this year.
    I don't want to get into the game of quantifying "a lot more" but I can think of 4 motorized fatalities including 2 close to my house in 3 days. Snowbikes and snowmobiles do keep improving but I'll argue that easy to ride powder sleds that are capable of traveling into avalanche terrain the first day you get on them have existed since about 2012. Highmarking has been popular for a long time before that.

    Snowmobile sales are up they year and there are a long of new users. I have no idea whether people are coming to the sport with any background in avalanche safety. My hunch is a bit of both.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Verdi NV
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    10,457
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles View Post
    I don't want to get into the game of quantifying "a lot more" but I can think of 4 motorized fatalities including 2 close to my house in 3 days. Snowbikes and snowmobiles do keep improving but I'll argue that easy to ride powder sleds that are capable of traveling into avalanche terrain the first day you get on them have existed since about 2012. Highmarking has been popular for a long time before that.

    Snowmobile sales are up they year and there are a long of new users. I have no idea whether people are coming to the sport with any background in avalanche safety. My hunch is a bit of both.
    Ehh, the skill level requirement is going lower and lower. And the equipment is getting better allowing the skilled to get into more extreme terrain.
    I am not the expert But watched this the other day and first thing I thought of when I saw what an Alpha trax can do. Some boys are going to die in avalanches.
    https://youtu.be/Gj9cgzY41Gw
    Last edited by MTT; 02-17-2021 at 11:55 AM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    8,710
    I'm not in the mood for a pedantic argument about the hypothetical trend of avalanche relating to the advancement in snowmobile technology. Instead, here is a video from 2009


  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Your Mom's House
    Posts
    8,296
    I was curious so I quickly graphed motorized avalanche fatalities in the US by avalanche year. This is from publicly available data on CAIC's website here (you can download an Excel file).
    https://avalanche.state.co.us/accide...and-reporting/

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I didn't generate a similar graph for skiers/snowboarders, but there are roughly an equal number of skier/rider fatalities (285 from 1950-2020) as motorized (279 from 1950-2020) and the motorized data really tracks pretty well with the overall trend by year.

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  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    west tetons
    Posts
    2,090
    Quote Originally Posted by adrenalated View Post
    I was curious so I quickly graphed motorized avalanche fatalities in the US by avalanche year. This is from publicly available data on CAIC's website here (you can download an Excel file).
    https://avalanche.state.co.us/accide...and-reporting/

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I didn't generate a similar graph for skiers/snowboarders, but there are roughly an equal number of skier/rider fatalities (285 from 1950-2020) as motorized (279 from 1950-2020) and the motorized data really tracks pretty well with the overall trend by year.

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    @adrenalated could you send me those with some text in the email? I have a focus in April TAR on teaching terrain use to sledder, and this information/ set of statistics would be helpful. Is it broken into timbersleds vs regular sleds at all?

    Sent from my SM-A600A using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    1,020
    As a sled newb - I am amazed that more aren't involved.

    a) they really can go just about anywhere,
    b) they really can go just about anywhere with a rider with very limited skill
    c) they get you to that anywhere really, really quickly
    d) they get you to many more of those anywhere's in a single day.

    When you are skinning up, you may have hours to make route choices. You may choose this feature over that feature. As you move you may hear, feel and see things as they unfold. If you don't like what you see hear feel you just stop instantly, turn around instantly.

    On the sled you (I do anyway) - feel far more disconnected. Both senses and by the very fact that where skiing I may play on one slope with one aspect all day on a sled I am likely to see many or all aspects on many slopes.

    I have a whole new respect for those that do it a lot and haven't made a mistake (or gotten caught by one) yet.

    The saving grace seems to be all the really good fun you can have in basically a flat meadow.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Shuswap Highlands
    Posts
    4,345
    Here's a coroner's report from 2007 - 2018 for all winter activity deaths. FWIW, here in the snowmobile mecca of the North Thompson (think McBride, Valemount, Blue River), numbers of fatalities are trending down, and more and more sledders have training and I can't remember a time in the last decade where I ran into another sledder that didn't have avy gear. In contrast, the last backcountry skier incident (non-guided/heli) that we responded to in our SAR zone was the death of a local doctor in 2010.
    https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/bi...r-activity.pdf

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    I-70 West
    Posts
    4,684
    Preliminary report is up...3/4 of a mile wide. Wow
    https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...=784&accfm=rep


  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    19,201
    Dogs continue to impress me. People, not so much.
    Is it radix panax notoginseng? - splat
    This is like hanging yourself but the rope breaks. - DTM
    Dude Listen to mtm. He's a marriage counselor at burning man. - subtle plague

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Verdi NV
    Posts
    10,457
    Sad,. Probably had 20 grand invested in gear but not another 400 for a beacon.
    Own your fail. ~Jer~

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    8,710
    Quote Originally Posted by MTT View Post
    Sad,. Probably had 20 grand invested in gear but not another 400 for a beacon.
    I find it best in these type of situations to not just straight make shit up.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Encinitas CA
    Posts
    274
    https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/ca...=784&accfm=rep

    No beacon per the report. It looks humans were unable to locate him and a dog team was successful. The tragedy continues to stack up. Condolences to all impacted, directly or indirectly.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Verdi NV
    Posts
    10,457
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles View Post
    I find it best in these type of situations to not just straight make shit up.
    I'm gonna let it go. Why not just be a bit nicer to each other.

    The fact that he was off his sled also gave me pause. Having a great day stops and stand's on the side of a mountain taking it all in. And then Fuck? Three quarters of a mile of mountain breaks and comedown on you
    Own your fail. ~Jer~

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sandy
    Posts
    5,151
    Fatality in avalanche southeast of Alpine, WY
    *sigh*

    https://buckrail.com/fatality-in-ava...DUXTKu8SZZhb9g
    When life gives you haters, make haterade.

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