WASATCH STOKE, CONDITIONS, OBSERVATIONS and ASSORTED DRIVAL 20-21

[monkeywrenchMoose]

What a terrible season. I’m not a very spiritual person, but the past few (well, more like 10+) months have me questioning whether the world is out of balance.

I don’t know what good can come out of this accident, with preliminary news like this, but I hope there is some. Condolences to those involved.

[Dshack89]

UAC stating “well known people in the community.” Ive had a pit in my stomach all day today after hearing the news, not looking forward to tomorrow when the report is available.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

See screenshot for 1 name.

[tBatt]

Photos from the Gear Room's insta sent to UAC immediately before the accident.
One article I read said it involved a party of 3 and a party of 5. Gear Room's first pic shows 4+photographer.

[oldskibum]

Well, it's just so sad. I really feel for the families and friends. A group of friends died in a head-on, mid-air crash of small planes during a 15 minute mountain commute on a bluebird morning. They all knew each other. We never really got over it, or the tragic "coincidence" of it all. RIP

[jackattack]

RIP to the deceased.

[paj]

The sledder’s third IG vid is fucked up. Holy shit did not expect to see that. Sent shivers down my spine. After a horrible incident the dude just starts filming with a guy still up to his neck in snow.
I’ll hug you for digging me out, but then try to restrain myself from punching you for going to social media before stopping at my neck for social media.

I do wonder sometimes how close I’ve toed the line in previous tours. Fuckin tragic anytime fatalities happen in the BC and this is X4.

Bing back meadow skipping, ski the south faces, ski inbounds. There is a widespread unmanageable PWL that pervades the North half of the compass.

The snowmobiles use of IG can be useful. If you know people ready to get into touring it wouldn’t hurt to send them those videos, and others with avvyy footage.

There are a lot of gung ho people ready to get into BC skiing now. Go into any ski shop and half the boots have dynafit/touring inserts, and almost all the binding mfg are producing pretty decent touring bindings. More people will be recreating in avalanche terrain that are truly clueless and furthering Avvyy awareness by or exposing people to the shit we saw in the snowmobile avalanche today might save lives.

[SJG]

Everyone does NOT know it.

And as a data point, I know of 2 people who I bike with, who are new to touring and want to go with me. They claim to be too poor to buy pieps/shovel/probe, and regularly go touring alone. I refuse to go with them, because they simply cannotdig me out if something happens, let alone find me. That doesn't phase them at all, they go regularly.

This can't be an outlier, there are probably plenty of these cases with the huge influx of new BC guys. I can't even imagine the risk they are exposing other's to dropping in above other parties, etc, they are truely clueless. They also won't listen to anyone else, it's all about the IG.

The snow pack is fucked and everyone knows it.

[cat in january]

Thinking of all you maggots out in SLC. Take care

[Gunder]

Everyone does NOT know it.

And as a data point, I know of 2 people who I bike with, who are new to touring and want to go with me. They claim to be too poor to buy pieps/shovel/probe, and regularly go touring alone. I refuse to go with them, because they simply cannotdig me out if something happens, let alone find me. That doesn't phase them at all, they go regularly.

This can't be an outlier, there are probably plenty of these cases with the huge influx of new BC guys. I can't even imagine the risk they are exposing other's to dropping in above other parties, etc, they are truely clueless. They also won't listen to anyone else, it's all about the IG.

At the end of the day the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know “ is the current issue with the massive influx of new people.

Let’s all remember no one ever try’s to get caught in a slide. Accidents happen when people involved least expect it. So I’m guessing all the people involved felt they where trying to be safe when they got taken out. Will be interesting to see the report / first hand accounts from the survivors. At the very least hopefully this accident will be a learning experience for the greater community.

The day after the Stevens pass accident I asked my self how we could improve our own protocols and then made a massive investment in pro grade triband radios for better communication in party and with others operating the area. Those radios have paid back dividends in what they where able to help us avoid not to mention the times we have used them for rescue situations as well.

So hopefully during the upcoming time of reflection we as a community can find ways to improve our greater backcountry safety. For me a big part of that is helping people understand it’s ok to say no and walk away from a line, and that’s always hard in a group situation.

[jackstraw]

The snow pack is fucked and everyone knows it. It boggles my mind that people are skiing where they are. No need to even dig a pit. Put the handle end of your pole in the snow anywhere on the north face of the compass and you can feel how shitty it is. And the thinner pack at lower elevations is super sketchy. Seems that quite a few people are skiing terrain based on past experiences not actual conditions. The few details about the accident that I’ve heard are really sobering

Really unfortunate.

Horrible. RIP

[skifishbum]

went back to the mow to shred the pow
blustery as fuck with a lot of snow transport ,scouring and loading

skied great in the loading zones

hooked up with the fu cat and skinned out fer a raintree lap


the cat skied down to me and we watched my wife ski out to the exit gully

he skied down and when i shifted my weight and planted a pole to ski down it collapsed and cracked to the ground

shits fucked
didnt suck to ski with your fam and friends
sure sucks that the tribe lost 4 yesterday
i usually go with i pass no judgement and offer vibes
the no judgement parts gittin harder
hudge props to sfotex, wbr and sar
this is a tough one for a lot of us

[glademaster]

My condolences to everyone in the Wasatch. I know a lot of folks in the general age range of those involved in the slide, including a few who would tour with a large group. At the end of the day it's always someone's friend/child/parent/partner, but I have to be selfish for a moment and hope that nobody I know was involved. RIP.

[Gepeto]

Everyone does NOT know it.
...cannotdig me out if something happens, let alone find me. That doesn't phase them at all, they go regularly... ...dropping in above other parties, etc,...

fer muthafqn sake

If this existential period hasn't taken grip - than what?

Thinking of all you maggots out in SLC. Take care

R.I.P. - wellness to the entire community


*heal up Zach - offset will be the spidie sense gained

*Keep'm comin Jimmy \:~>

[MTT]

At the end of the day the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know “ is the current issue with the massive influx of new people.

Let’s all remember no one ever try’s to get caught in a slide. Accidents happen when people involved least expect it. So I’m guessing all the people involved felt they where trying to be safe when they got taken out. Will be interesting to see the report / first hand accounts from the survivors. At the very least hopefully this accident will be a learning experience for the greater community.

The day after the Stevens pass accident I asked my self how we could improve our own protocols and then made a massive investment in pro grade triband radios for better communication in party and with others operating the area. Those radios have paid back dividends in what they where able to help us avoid not to mention the times we have used them for rescue situations as well.

So hopefully during the upcoming time of reflection we as a community can find ways to improve our greater backcountry safety. For me a big part of that is helping people understand it’s ok to say no and walk away from a line, and that’s always hard in a group situation.

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?
We bring up new people invading the backcountry every time we read about another skier with decade's of experience getting killed

[NBABUCKS1]

skifish- i'm a basin passholder but i don't think I can do it anymore. Yesterday was awful and I feel like snowbasin just doesn't really give a shit anymore, more passes, more epic, more lift tickets. Hopefully powmow will still have passes available to the general masses next year. sorry for ruining your mountain

[PowTron]

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?
We bring up new people invading the backcountry every time we read about another skier with decade's of experience getting killed

Took the words out of my mouth. Of the 14 sliders killed in the last 8 days, I believe most, if not all of them, were very experienced.

[JTG4]

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?

Heuristic traps have always been a risk for experienced backcountry skiers, apparently even more so than lack of knowledge is for those new to the backcountry, at least this year.

[MTT]

Took the words out of my mouth. Of the 14 sliders killed in the last 8 days, I believe most, if not all of them, were very experienced.

The exception might be the few who skied through the gate off 9990. Into what everyone knows can be a bad idea at times.

[cdlv]

wtf?!?!
https://www.facebook.com/1199873413/...25780742124162

stay safe out there peeps. rip to victims.

[kootenayskier]

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?
We bring up new people invading the backcountry every time we read about another skier with decade's of experience getting killed

We get to believing that we deserve first tracks, that the reward of being an “expert” is that we can out think all the clueless newcomers, and finesse our way through land mines in the snowpack. This works to a point, but when the backcountry is busy and the (powder skiing) resource is scarce, and when social context requires one to demonstrate one’s prowess, our quality of decision making suffers. Add a fucked-up snowpack, and it becomes deadly. When the powder is endless and/or you have nothing to prove (to yourself or anyone else) enjoying the day within the limits of the conditions is easy.

[MTT]

I would say it's an addiction. A deadly one.

And I understand.

I started hitting the backcountry in my teens. Almost always alone. Before the beacon was invented. If I were in that kind of shape the past 15 years. I most likely would not be here now. Who can't remember the great powder runs they've had in their life time.
And need more

[altacoup]

The thing about the addiction is there are ways to make it relatively safe. And the easiest way to do that is avoid PWLs. Storm and wind slabs are easily identified by a trained eye. The best avi professionals in the world can’t predict PWLs.

[goldenboy]

Well, it's just so sad. I really feel for the families and friends. A group of friends died in a head-on, mid-air crash of small planes during a 15 minute mountain commute on a bluebird morning. They all knew each other. We never really got over it, or the tragic "coincidence" of it all. RIP

I'll assume Friend's Hut? Can't even imagine CB and Aspen losing 11 people in an instant, especially back then when both communities were much smaller.

Anyway, super sad situation there in Utah, here in CO, and elsewhere. Vibes to all friends and family and RIP to the deceased.

[Atrain505]

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?
We bring up new people invading the backcountry every time we read about another skier with decade's of experience getting killed

It's math. Doesn't matter how experienced you are, how many good decisions you make. Doesn't even matter if you avoid a bad decision. The more time you spend in high risk environments the greater chance of something eventually happening, and if it hasn't, it will. The more experienced you are the more scared you should be. That's the reality.

RIP to those involved and peace to the survivors.

[thefrush]

I always see the discussion about all the newbies who are gonna get killed. But it appears that the most experienced long time skiers are the ones getting killed.
What am I missing here?
We bring up new people invading the backcountry every time we read about another skier with decade's of experience getting killed

Took the words out of my mouth. Of the 14 sliders killed in the last 8 days, I believe most, if not all of them, were very experienced.

7/8 deaths in CO so far this year were highly experienced indivduals.

We get to believing that we deserve first tracks, that the reward of being an “expert” is that we can out think all the clueless newcomers, and finesse our way through land mines in the snowpack. This works to a point, but when the backcountry is busy and the (powder skiing) resource is scarce, and when social context requires one to demonstrate one’s prowess, our quality of decision making suffers. Add a fucked-up snowpack, and it becomes deadly. When the powder is endless and/or you have nothing to prove (to yourself or anyone else) enjoying the day within the limits of the conditions is easy.

Good point.