Fatality @ Crystal Mountain

[BanditXXX]

Where did this guy get into trouble? The news reports are saying off Kelley's Gap Road?

[joshbu]

Crystal snowboarder found dead

By Craig Welch
Seattle Times staff reporter

A Seattle man died at Crystal Mountain Ski Area yesterday after going over a cliff in the backcountry.

The 38-year-old snowboarder was with his wife in an area known as Kelly's Gap Road, when the couple ducked under a rope and went out of bounds — a part of the ski area not patrolled, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

The couple went down an area known as Waterfall, but "when his wife got to the bottom of the area, he wasn't there," Troyer said.

She contacted the Ski Patrol and reported him missing about 3 p.m., and searchers retraced his path and found his body.

It appeared he had gone over an 80- to 100-foot cliff.

He was pronounced dead at 6 p.m.

[KQ]

So sad - my thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family

[Dr. Crash]

That'd been a huge air if he had stuck it!

drC

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

(Please don't get offended by my morbid compulsion to joke about those things.)

[dubu]

Very, sad..

where is waterfall anyway?

[BanditXXX]

I've skiied Crystal for 29 years. " Waterfall"? Are they talking about "Niagras"? I know some locals that have different names for areas other than the maps show. Help us out here so we can avoid this area. Unless you're a Jamie Pierre and can handle 100' cliff drops.




Sympathy for the wife and kids!

[KQ]

Originally posted by BanditXXX
I've skiied Crystal for 29 years. " Waterfall"? Are they talking about "Niagras"? I know some locals that have different names for areas other than the maps show. Help us out here so we can avoid this area. Unless you're a Jamie Pierre and can handle 100' cliff drops.




Sympathy for the wife and kids!

I don't have my aerial BC map here at the office but I'm thinking it may be "Niagara." Not a good area.

Invest in the map - it's a good one (I think it's $6.00). You can pick it up at Wapiti Woolies or in the Crystal ski shop.

[BanditXXX]

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out

[Chronic]

I don't think it would have been Niagras. You can't access it from Kelly's Gap, you have to stay up high on the ridge. And while the Niagras chutes are long, steep and narrow, I don't know of any 80-100 foot cliffs in the area. I'm real curious to know exactly where this happened.

And RIP, what a tragedy.

[joshbu]

There's that big premanently closed area under the first bit of Kelly's Gap Road. I would bet that's it.

[Mcwop]

There are a lot of spots on KGR, where I would not want to fall off the edge. Some of those are not even roped off.

[Buster Highmen]

Just freakin __sad__.

It's not Niagras. It's closer to the base area. If you really stay on the cat road going out of Kelly's gap, bearing skiers left and not down the fall line, there's a set of cliffs in the woods once the cat road cuts back right. It's always roped and pretty tricky.

Saw two ambulances Saturday afternoon as I headed back.

Condolencs to tha family.

[rbtree]

As you come down the last part of KGR before Lower E, the roped area is about 200-300 feet before the steep area known as Berry patch. It can also be spotted 300 feet above the Buffalo trail, shortly before you enter the last treed area. That is the third fatality that I know of in "The Waterfall" It has always been young people, who made a wrong turn, or ducked the line, that has usally been there. The last two were years ago, one in the 80's, and in the early 90's, or thereabouts.

That general area used to be open; there was just the rope line directly above the slope leading to the waterfall. I have many memorable runs in the chute just skier's right of the main waterfall. It has two 10 foot drops close to each other. And skier's right is a great treed ramp area. Overall, this section gave a fabulous completion to Bananas, Elbow, and Rock Face. Too bad only about the permanent closure. Only Bananas is now open.

One of the best runs of my life was down Bananas and Waterfall right, done with Scott Kingland, one of the very best skiers ever. There was 40+ inches of fresh fluff, and Scott could barely see, much less breathe, for the 30 turns or so in the 45 degree rock lined chute. All I saw was billowing spray as he descended..leaving me to hack (a bit) my way down.

Then there's the time we did Fear's Gulch in 2 feet of new and Scott let me go first...oh yeah. And Eagle's Nest summit chute, done in 82 with Mark Scarff. It is 48 degrees average for 700 vert. Not as steep as Shot 8 at Alpy, but with more of a no fall zone.


Sorry for my rambling in this thread about another avoidable tragedy.

[The AD]

I was thinking the cliff area skier's left of Exterminator, but this would be above KGR, so I guess I'm wrong.

Very, very sad wherever it was

After looking at the trail map:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson/images/crystal.jpg

[KQ]

Picture was big - you may not be able to see all the runs listed here.


http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic17781.jpg


A. Top of Rex
B. Leo’s Rock
C. Grubstake Peak
D. First Chance Chutes
E. Stock Holders
F. Last Chance Chutes
G. Upper Exterminator
H. Snag Chute
I. Rock Face
J. Berry Patch
K. Eagle’s Nest
L. Dick’s Face
M. Bananas Chute
N. Kelly’s Gap
O. Pappy’s Chute
P. Roger’s Chute
Q. Bodo’s Beach
R. Sluiceway
S. Hunter’s Rock
T. Hole in the Wall
U. Shop Chutes
V. Northway Peak
W. Bruce’s Bowl
X. Upper Paradise Bowl
Y. Paradise Bowl


1. Northway Bowl
2. Right Angle Ridge
3. Angle Point
4. Gun Tower Ridge Line (Start of Niagara Area)
5. Rick’s Face
6. Hot Rocks
7. Memorial Parkway
8. Old Faithful Chute
9. Johnson Chute
10. The Gun tower
11. Shaker’s
12. Mike’s Chute
13. Buff Trail (1-5 or Spook Hill Trial)
14. Morning Glory Bowl
15. Penny Dawgs
16 Pucker’s
17 Brand X
18. O Meadows



Edit: well I guess it fits

[SSSdave]

RIP brother, so sad a way to go. With the upswing on inbound resort access to open bc, this kind of sad carnage will likely occasionally be in our skiers news. In the pursuit of fresh snow or some lizard zone a friend mentioned, too many will readily duck ropes and boundaries markers without knowing where they are going. This tragedy sounds like just an inbounds closed area maybe. But fact is there are many at resorts that never bother to check resort trail maps much less topographic maps for the bc. Going into bc where you haven't been cries for gear and bothering to make a plan either from those who know or a topo. -dave

[Chronic]

Hey rb (or others), could you point out exactly where waterfall is on the map KQ posted? Is it what the map calls "Hunter's Rock"?

And then KQ, you can take the map down. Nothing to see here at Crystal, the snow is heavy, rains all the time, move along folks...[whistling]

[rbtree]

Here ya go, troops. It is a shame that The Waterfall has claimed another victim.. However, it is upsetting that so much insane terrain is closed in this area, both the Eagle's Nest, Iceberg point east face and all the way to the sick Elbow Chute, and the lower area all the way from the cat track, which appears to include the sweet Berry patch, to a run that some have named after moi, as back in about 91, 7 of us spent a day with a few of my saws and went to town. Other lines we did are Irma la Douce and lower fear's Gulch and the Sand Flats. But if I told yas where these are, I'd half to kill yas

The two boxes with unreadable yellow text refer to, on the left, Death Chute where 2 have died, aka Reynold's Chute-story if i recall was a pro troller taking a ride but stopping before the 100 foot cliff. right is the 48 degree summit chute, which is an awesome line. It used to get skiied now and then.

[Samwich]

Raynolds and 48 degree chute are both permanently closed because of avy danger. Some kid tried to ski Raynolds but it ripped out on him and sent him tumbling over rocks and shit, and he died. Thats when they closed it. Basically, if someone skis it, they risk avalanching everyone on Kellys Gap Road, and that is a pretty high traffic area.

I actually hucked Waterfall this weekend. Twice. I stomped it both times, too. But it wasn't 80 feet... more like 40. Oh, wait... nevermind. I hucked the one in Whistler.

[rbtree]

Reynolds and Summit Chute have never been open.

[Dr. Crash]

Originally posted by Samwich
I actually hucked Waterfall this weekend. Twice. I stomped it both times, too. But it wasn't 80 feet... more like 40. Oh, wait... nevermind. I hucked the one in Whistler.

Show off.

[Samwich]

Originally posted by rbtree
Reynolds and Summit Chute have never been open.

oh. I thought they closed it because of that kid... maybe that kid was just poaching it and died?

[Chronic]

Thanks for the info and history rb - would like to ski Crystal with you some day.

Gotta love a line named "Death Chute."

[rbtree]

I should rephrase that statement, as I didn't ski Crystal till 1973. As long as I remember they've always been closed. Rock Face used to be kind of a gray area, I think they used to turn the closed signs years ago.

I may have a old pic of Rock Face, the year a large section of it partially gave way to the rock, creating a 10 foot gap, and lots of jumbled mass a couple hundred feet down.

I recall one year, Robbie Leonard, the area manager's son, dropped the Rock Face lateral cliff line on it's north edge, a nice 40-50 footer or more. The "run" was closed at the time.

Any of you guys ski "The Crux" yet...or do you know where it is?

Hunter's Rock, a 60-70 footer was dropped by John Barker, now Alpy troll director. He stuck the landing, and had to dig himself out. Was on duty at the time. He also dropped Hole in the Wall, trailing a sled.....empty you'd think....and did the first descent of Sasquatch. He was a way cool guy back then, but Xtal fired him for not cutting his hair.