the avalanche that changed skiing

[quienes?]

"We were talking about when it would go. We were waiting for it and we thought we were prepared and we were. Then it was right in front of us.”
The avalanche that swept down Peak 7 on this day in 1987 changed the trajectory of modern skiing ... what a tale.
https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/18/p...-breckenridge/

[japanada]

Damn good read

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[toast2266]

Good read. And kudos to the forest service employees who refused to close access. My day to day skiing would look a lot different if the resort boundaries were closed.

[::: :::]

2 items struck me

1) "It solidified a Forest Service policy to never close access between resorts and public lands." ...trying to figure that one as we have a closed boundary policy at our hill (which is also just around the mountain from another that has an open boundary)

2) who doesn't love the name "Boots Ferguson" for a ski lawyer?

[Danno]

don't have time to read right now, but will.

[whipski]

CAIC is an absolute gem. The amount and collation of available data is remarkable. To err is human.

[GoldMember]

I was at Breckenridge a couple days after that slide. Just seeing the crown and slide path from the road driving in was sobering. It was enormous. Interesting to read this so many years later. I still see it in my mind. I still need to finish reading the piece but it's interesting so far.

[Hacksaw]

I know Nick and Mary Logan. I worked with Nick at CAIC. Great people.

[senior researcher]

Thank you for posting.

[NWFlow]

Yeah thanks, found that both informative and enjoyable

[Trace Hardslab]

That disaster was ahead of its time.
It's sad the 2 skiers who triggered it were taking a more conservative line and unable to see others in the bowl due to a convexity on the slope.

Imagine the cyber-lynching shitstorm today.

[LongShortLong]

For powdork - “Yeah, we had a lot of second guessing after such a horrible situation,” said Kowynia, who retired after 32 years with the Forest Service in 2013 and now lives in Steamboat Springs. “But you have to understand the Forest Service cannot be in the position of opening and closing the national forest. You just always have to assume it’s dangerous all the time.”

[Bunion 2020]

^^^ At the time of this accident access from USFS lands was all over the place depending on the Region and Supervisor.

Ex: Bridger Bowl, boundaries were closed, JHMR, boundaries were closed, Snowbird, access depended upon the hazard and conditions, Alta- Open.

[AllFrenchFryNoPizza]

For powdork - “Yeah, we had a lot of second guessing after such a horrible situation,” said Kowynia, who retired after 32 years with the Forest Service in 2013 and now lives in Steamboat Springs. “But you have to understand the Forest Service cannot be in the position of opening and closing the national forest. You just always have to assume it’s dangerous all the time.”

People can get hurt in the mountains doing damn near anything.

I agree it doesn't fall on the FS to close things unless there's basically a 100% risk of everyone dying if they enter (i.e., a massive wildfire burning).

People who enter the bc usually know the risks, and a fair amount can be done to mitigate them.

[Bunion 2020]

People who enter the bc usually know the risks, and a fair amount can be done to mitigate them.

Entering the BC from the top of a ski area lift tends to render that opinion as incorrect especially if the people can ski right back to a lift and repeat easily.

[Danno]

Entering the BC from the top of a ski area lift tends to render that opinion as incorrect especially if the people can ski right back to a lift and repeat easily.

Yep. While the FS shouldn't be closing access as a general matter unless severe circumstances dictate, that is not the same as saying they should or must allow access from every point, including from the top of a privately owned lift located on a leasehold. If that were the case, ski area boundaries wouldn't have ropes with access across the rope denied.