Setting and sticking to a conservative plan.

[teleee]

Because if you can't skin it you sure as shit shouldn't be skiing it.

This is the way!


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[Core Shot]

Because if you can't skin it you sure as shit shouldn't be skiing it.

Somewhat. At times you might skin across a sketch area. One at a time. Etc.

No way they laid that track one at a time. It was a skin party.

Yeah. The ridge is the safe route. That bowl needs to be bulletproof to lay that skin track. And it was. On that day.

[XXX-er]

OR they all had their fingers crossed

https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/01/27/C...lanche-Safety/

something I would think about ^^ A good artical by a local writer bud

" In 2003, 29 people died in avalanches, including the La Traviata and Connaught Creek tragedies — roughly double the average number of annual fatalities at the time.

The avalanche conditions that year were exceptional. In November, rain had fallen to the mountaintops, encasing their peaks in ice. As a layer of snow accumulated on top, the ice deteriorated, leaving a weakness deep in the snowpack.

Current snow conditions in B.C. have been compared to that season. On Tuesday, the province put out a statement urging caution in the backcountry. Five people have died in avalanches in Canada since the start of this year, all of them in B.C. "

[oltrepiave]

A friend sent me this recent picture posted by somebody in a Revy FB group. Pretty wild how people are still trying to get after it up there…

Looks like great skiing though! FOMO kicking in hard for folks I guess.

Attachment 444795

european here and wow i'm impressed. i am curious about this picture and that terrain/context if you know more. Is it super deep in the bc or close to resorts/infrastructures (you guys have super cool high roads and access points).

kinda struggle to define who would set a skintrack like that, rando race Trab bros don't usually go for this sort of mega traverses, looks more like a frEeToUr bandit to me

[LeeLau]

european here and wow i'm impressed. i am curious about this picture and that terrain/context if you know more. Is it super deep in the bc or close to resorts/infrastructures (you guys have super cool high roads and access points).

kinda struggle to define who would set a skintrack like that, rando race Trab bros don't usually go for this sort of mega traverses, looks more like a frEeToUr bandit to me

Not sure if this works. It;s a feature called Glacier Crest Bowl in Rogers Pass. Not particularly far from the highway

https://goo.gl/maps/XXZF1x3XU5X7ot2v5

Screenshot. Cursor is approx location of bowl. Can be reached from the backside also via Asulkan valley

[oltrepiave]

Thanks Lee, very interesting. I do hope I can get to share some considerations on our own terrain and snowpack soon, feels great to delve into the details of what happens in NA in general

[safetymeeting]

To the OP: you are on the right track. The more I backcountry ski, the more I find safety is more about human psychology and how we view risk than the actual snow science. I heard the interior BC snowpack is extra touchy this year. When it is like this, my approach is to focus more on the terrain than the snowpack. Because if the snowpack is more unpredictable than you are willing to tolerate on your spectrum of risk, you can always choose terrain that is consistent with your acceptable level or risk; see "meadow skipping." It is not as glamorous but it is a good approach to have in your skillset.

Another thing you mention, that your partners are gradually upping the ante by progressing towards higher risk terrain "slowly." This works fine until it doesn't. Their implied assumption here is that they will push terrain and snowpack until they get the message to back off. Or, they will push and push, not get that warning, get lured into complacency, then get caught off guard. Or this approach will work all season long and nothing bad will happen, either because they are that dialed or they just got lucky. You just don't know and success in the mountains is not a great teacher. Sure, hopefully they get a gentle message they pushed too hard, but, they may not get a gentle message from the mountains. They could get the message they pushed to hard in the form of a scary/lethal experience. I would never discourage someone from pushing terrain, but it comes with more risk. It is good to be aware of when you are increasing risk.

[cat in january]

A recent article on Wildsnow about the interior BC conditions. Seems thread has a bit of a focus there. I know that I have personally.

https://www.wildsnow.com/33699/the-s...grant-statham/

[muted reborn]

Because if you can't skin it you sure as shit shouldn't be skiing it.

I think this is an irresponsible answer to this question by a newb. There are many good reasons to NOT skin up anything you are about to ski.

[safetymeeting]

I think this is an irresponsible answer to this question by a newb. There are many good reasons to NOT skin up anything you are about to ski.

Agree. Kind of a curious comment. For the sake of discussion, you could choose not to skin up your descent just to minimize risk, since you would be exposed easily for 10x the amount of time it would take to descend it.

Maybe he means that he will only ski down something that he ascertains to be so safe he would hang out on it for hours... seems like a pretty high standard of confidence in the terrain/snowpack, but I can't really dictate to others what level of risk they should accept.

[goldenboy]

I think this is an irresponsible answer to this question by a newb. There are many good reasons to NOT skin up anything you are about to ski.

Yeah. I just can't equate being in the line of fire for 1,2,3 hours, a complete sitting duck with a low chance of skiing off a slab, with skis that likely won't release in hike mode, compared to skiing a slope in a handful of minutes and getting the hell off it. Not to mention it's quite difficult to skin up a slope one at a time, but really easy to ski one at a time.

[XXX-er]

well the way things were that whole fucking slope could have sized 3 to ground right across that skin track ?

that sunrise hut in the artical is out of Golden quite a bit south i skied there in 2019 its a big fucking province and the pack is definalty changeable the guide told us the weather change for Burnie was right between terrace & smithers but the guy asking wildsnow should be asking his guide

this far north there used to be almost no snow professionals in the field to report conditions but Avcan now has had a local team of guide-forecasters out 5 days a week braaaping/ digging pits the last 2 years, nice new sleds/ big new truck/ chi-chi sledding gear and i assume they have deployed other teams in the province

[XXX-er]

2 more sled skiers in the west Chilcotin making 7 this year in the BC in BC

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...nche-1.6747803

The avalanche has been categorized as a "Size 2, deep persistent slab."

"The slope was characterized as highly wind-affected, containing areas of deeply wind-drifted snow and areas where the snow cover was thin and rocky," said Avalanche Canada. "The crown depth was reported to be highly variable, between 40 and 130 cm."

[crashidy]

Can add a solo ice climber that died on polar circus on the 93 North this weekend. Same guy who skied half dome on Yosemite .
https://gripped.com/news/yosemite-cl...ing-in-canada/

[teamdirt]

Pretty active out there in the Rockies and Purcell’s now that the sun is out. Slides to ground starting to show on all aspects and lots of slides are going full path….

We set the conservative plan to stick to exploration goals over decent related goals this season, not worth the Russian roulette of the deep basal facets that are not disappearing…A good freeze will allow a short window but stay focused out there! Ski for another season!

[LeeLau]

Pretty active out there in the Rockies and Purcell’s now that the sun is out. Slides to ground starting to show on all aspects and lots of slides are going full path….

We set the conservative plan to stick to exploration goals over decent related goals this season, not worth the Russian roulette of the deep basal facets that are not disappearing…A good freeze will allow a short window but stay focused out there! Ski for another season!

Timely update C. Shar and I committed to no steep alpine stuff this year early in the season .... period. Live to ski another season

[bennymac]

“Ski for another season” - I like that thanks imma use that

[XXX-er]

I thot we would see more deaths in the BC BC but after that whole heli ski party got hit its been pretty quiet thankfuly

such is nit the case down south it would appear

[teamdirt]

I thot we would see more deaths in the BC BC but after that whole heli ski party got hit its been pretty quiet thankfuly

such is nit the case down south it would appear

It’s still out there and more spicy than ever hopefully less users testing it…

The real test of the snowpack and humans compliance is the coming days, weeks and months ahead as the real impact of the punch from the sun weights these basal layers. So far from what I’m seeing is everything is going to ground at all elevations and aspects as it’s stressed which means zero confidence. Yes things may tighten up with a good melt and freeze but the window could be short and one needs to be very diligent and compliant to not be caught with your pants down. Hopefully people just give up on the season and move towards summer activities. Next year will be a fresh start.

Not only do you need to be assessing your ski lines, but you need to put that same effort into your approach and into your access points. Slides this season have the potential to catch anyone of us off guard and you need to be aware of all scenarios including slides going beyond normal runouts in terms of length and width and those slides could be coming from thousands of feet above you creating historical events for there history. Be careful out there everyone!

[teamdirt]

I thot we would see more deaths in the BC BC but after that whole heli ski party got hit its been pretty quiet thankfuly

such is nit the case down south it would appear

If u have a chance look at my post on that topic in the slide zone…

[kootenayskier]

It’s still out there and more spicy than ever hopefully less users testing it…

The real test of the snowpack and humans compliance is the coming days, weeks and months ahead as the real impact of the punch from the sun weights these basal layers. So far from what I’m seeing is everything is going to ground at all elevations and aspects as it’s stressed which means zero confidence. Yes things may tighten up with a good melt and freeze but the window could be short and one needs to be very diligent and compliant to not be caught with your pants down. Hopefully people just give up on the season and move towards summer activities. Next year will be a fresh start.

Not only do you need to be assessing your ski lines, but you need to put that same effort into your approach and into your access points. Slides this season have the potential to catch anyone of us off guard and you need to be aware of all scenarios including slides going beyond normal runouts in terms of length and width and those slides could be coming from thousands of feet above you creating historical events for there history. Be careful out there everyone!

Haven’t seen things fall apart to the same extent around here, though the facets at ground are still lurking, and could surprise the unaware or unlucky. Not an easy one to manage.

[XXX-er]

If u have a chance look at my post on that topic in the slide zone…

If that was the post where they didnt seem all that together well they were guided heli skiers and the reason they were there is they had the $$$$$$

the question in my mind is should they have been there in the 1st place ?

[raisingarizona13]

Because if you can't skin it you sure as shit shouldn't be skiing it.

Maybe but that skin track would put you and your partner at risk for a whole lot longer of time.

[goldenboy]

Seems pretty relevant:

"While they were traveling that day the conditions were a little different than they expected. The quality of the snow on the north-facing slopes they planned to descend did not look as good and the visibility was better than they expected. During the day their discussions gradually morphed and their plan changed from a reconnaissance objective to a “I think we can summit” goal. Despite expressing reservations about continuing upwards, the group members mutually convinced each other to proceed given that they encountered no signs of instability and the snow looked very appealing. Making on-the-fly decisions to enter more consequential terrain in the field is a factor in many avalanche accidents. Groups tend to have better outcomes when they stick to the objectives they selected during the planning process - separate from the emotional pulls that good weather and fresh snow can induce."

https://classic.avalanche.state.co.u...=837&accfm=inv

[raisingarizona13]

Seems pretty relevant:

"While they were traveling that day the conditions were a little different than they expected. The quality of the snow on the north-facing slopes they planned to descend did not look as good and the visibility was better than they expected. During the day their discussions gradually morphed and their plan changed from a reconnaissance objective to a “I think we can summit” goal. Despite expressing reservations about continuing upwards, the group members mutually convinced each other to proceed given that they encountered no signs of instability and the snow looked very appealing. Making on-the-fly decisions to enter more consequential terrain in the field is a factor in many avalanche accidents. Groups tend to have better outcomes when they stick to the objectives they selected during the planning process - separate from the emotional pulls that good weather and fresh snow can induce."

https://classic.avalanche.state.co.u...=837&accfm=inv

The report also mentions that there were numerous large slides in the area that recently went. It sounds like there were definitely some red flags a flying.