Heliskiing fatalities near Nelson, BC

[homemadesalsa]

And varmin (Alex Pashley) was a neighbor and friend, especially w his wife, in Teton Valley. Anyone know if it was a North Face shoot?

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

[N1CK.]

my g/f went to school with / grew up skiing with Alex, she got a text yesterday about it. RIP and condolences to friends here.

[oltrepiave]

Condolences to all affected

[hoarhey]

I’m a neighbor of Alex and Erin. Such brutal news


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Jason4]

<p>

And varmin (Alex Pashley) was a neighbor and friend, especially w his wife, in Teton Valley. Anyone know if it was a North Face shoot? Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

</p>
<p>
I&#39;ll send you a DM. &nbsp;</p>

[hutash]

<p>
Fuck, so sad. We were just in the area heli skiing with CMH out of Nakusp. We finished on March 21st. Conditions were epic with 5-10 cm new snow eash day. We got more snow at Schwitzer on our way home, so not surprised avi conditions worsened. My head was certainly on a swivel and I was poking the snow looking for instability the whole time. Props to CMH for a safe trip and choosing reasonable terrain for the conditions. I do not know the Kootenay snow pack, but it sounds unusual to get this much snow this late in the season. So, not too surprising unusual avi conditions occurred. RIP for those lost and vibes for family, friends of the deceased and all involved in the operation and rescue and recovery.</p>

[2FUNKY]

Holy shit, what a sad deal. Major vibes to all touched by this tragedy.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[jackstraw]

Jeezus, this is horrible.

RIP

[Dantheman]

Per the Pow Mag article, slide was a D3 natural, persistent slab on a W/NW slope. Slope angle not mentioned, but alpha angle was likely more important here.

[beeeom]

This amount of snow at this point in the season in conjunction with warming is very common here. Id say triple red light avi hazard conditions frequently occur in March and while these conditions were certainly very bad on the day, they certainly werent unprecedented on a season to season basis.. The size potential was perhaps higher than normal though due to multiple deep PWLs, recent snow and warning though. Ie a run out that hasn&#39;t been hit in 30 years may have been hit if everything lined up right

[jackstraw]

The size potential was perhaps higher than normal though due to multiple deep PWLs, recent snow and warning though. Ie a run out that hasn't been hit in 30 years may have been hit if everything lined up right

Yeah, that sounds like a distinct possibility.

A season in Taos was similar for me. The avi that ripped past my house (and hit it) was in the "100 yr" slide path according to the old school locals. That season was a horrendous snowpack and it was an awakening experience.

[kootenayskier]

This amount of snow at this point in the season in conjunction with warming is very common here. Id say triple red light avi hazard conditions frequently occur in March and while these conditions were certainly very bad on the day, they certainly werent unprecedented on a season to season basis.. The size potential was perhaps higher than normal though due to multiple deep PWLs, recent snow and warning though. Ie a run out that hasn't been hit in 30 years may have been hit if everything lined up right

Every year the snowpack transitions from Winter to Spring. Some years it happens in stages, while in years like this one it happens all at once. Combined with multiple PWLs, the hazard was obvious and anticipated, with full path class 4 avalanches reported the previous day, a public bulletin warning backcountry users to avoid all avalanche terrain and runouts, extended highway closures, and inbounds closures at resorts with skier compacted features naturally releasing to ground.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

The cold hard truth

[safetymeeting]

Respect and condolences, Sir.

would not be the first time that a significant accident occurred when taking into account the alpha angle (if it was).

[californiagrown]

Sad news. I think it's probably fair to guess that all three victims have had close calls in the past, and personally knew folks killed by avalanches. They had a full appreciation for the dangers that day (unlike many of the folks i know who have been heli/cat skiing). You can only dodge so many bullets till the odds start catching up. From the preliminary information it sounds like a total freak accident where no one was on the slope that triggered, they were just staged in the historically safe runout zone and the slope above them got remotely triggered somehow and went historically big (cornice failure? rotor wash from the incoming heli? warming caused failure at exactly the wrong moment?). They did so many things right it would seem as they rode down safely... but just didnt build in enough margin for the low-liklihood, but high consequence avalanche problem that ultimately killed them.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Huh? I think you have to jump to a lot of conclusions to get here unless you have additional non public info.

Rest in Peace. Hug the ones you love. It is a dangerous game we play.

It is easy to judge. But the consistently excellent decision making required is the hard part.

[El Kanone]

“Freak accident “. Low likelihood, are you unable to understand the words you’re using? IT WAS HIGH DANGER RATING. Look up the definition of HIGH DANGER. And tell me where freak accident and low likelihood come into play.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Huh? I think you have to jump to a lot of conclusions to get here unless you have additional non public info.

Rest in Peace. Hug the ones you love. It is a dangerous game we play.

It is easy to judge. But the consistently excellent decision making required is the hard part.

[Bunion 2020]

@ EK, While I agree, the expert halo tends to make those who wear it believe they can mitigate objective hazard through good terrain choices and selective route finding when nothing could be further from reality.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

The avalanche report stated that there was zero reason to be near avalanche terrain for that zone and day. We all take risks and we mostly get away with it. All indications aren’t that this was a freak accident or a low likelihood scenario.

[Core Shot]

^^ Can someone start a new thread to second guess and Monday morning quarterback this event?

Vibes to those lost and those that knew them

[subtle plague]

as opposed to core shot I'd like to learn something from the accident. Even if it's something we have gone through here in europe quite a few times with guided accidents. guides sometimes feel the need to deliver even in High danger PWL days. which is problematic. We even had low risk high consequence stuff happen on level 2 days with PWLs where the guide did nothing wrong. Which was a freak accident and you still could learn something. Which led me to stay away from any big terrain with PWLs and never ever regroup on a semi safe spot mid slope.

getting caught on a high risk pwl day is NOT a freak accident. no matter how many guides you have with you.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

[emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji638][emoji637][emoji640][emoji637][emoji638][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]]]^^ Can someone start a new thread to second guess and Monday morning quarterback this event?

Vibes to those lost and those that knew them

Posting facts from an avalanche report isn’t Monday morning quarterbacking. This isn’t a trip report thread it’s in the slide zone. You know, a sub forum where we discuss avalanches and avalanche accidents.

[Core Shot]

Ok. Let’s play the game. Two groups skied safely. Got taken out by a slide that ripped to the LZ. Which should have been a safe spot. Sounds like a freak accident. Maybe not if from your armchair that’s a horrible place to gather because every one hundred years a slide rips through there. Skiing should be made illegal. It’s dangerous.

[californiagrown]

&ldquo;Freak accident &ldquo;. Low likelihood, are you unable to understand the words you&rsquo;re using? IT WAS HIGH DANGER RATING. Look up the definition of HIGH DANGER. And tell me where freak accident and low likelihood come into play.

I was always taught that the low/medium/high/extreme color coded danger system was hardly a go-by. You can be safe in high days, and put yourself in a lot of danger on low days. Far more important is aspect, elevation, snowpack problems, weather (past/present/future), terrain selection, etc. A naturally triggered avalanche in a bowl that was just skied (im guessing cornice failure), that overran a historically safe pickup LZ, just seconds before the helicopter was due to touchdown for pickup is pretty bad luck, and a low liklihood event IMO. Obviously, with 20/20 they should have built more margin into their safety decisions that day.