11 replies to this topic

[mikest2]

I don't hate mondays, tell me why..............

Link to pictures:

http://gallery.casta.../January/album/

Story page:

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story...97-1-.htm#36397

[Lift Kid]

Off Topic, but: http://gallery.castanet.net/albums/2008/Ja...en+_4_.jpg.html

That's a little rime ice, eh? That's one of your lifts, right?

[Allan]

Condolences to the friends, family, and staff at Big White for the loss of the young man who was found buried today.

[Peter]

Condolences from here as well. This season has been very scary, with inbounds avalanches at Mammoth, Big White, The Canyons, and Whistler, 3 of which were fatal. Washington has had 9 avalanche fatalities so far (all out of bounds) which is more than the record for an entire season. Let's stay safe out there and hope this trend does not continue.

[andyh1962]

Skier, on Jan 8 2008, 12:43 AM, said:

Condolences from here as well. This season has been very scary, with inbounds avalanches at Mammoth, Big White, The Canyons, and Whistler, 3 of which were fatal. Washington has had 9 avalanche fatalities so far (all out of bounds) which is more than the record for an entire season. Let's stay safe out there and hope this trend does not continue.

All of us who work in the ski industry have a heavy weight in our hearts when stuff like this happens. It is important to note that the incident at Whistler was on terrain that is within the ski area boundaries but in a small section that is "permanently closed to skiing " due to steep terrain and close proximity of cliffs etc. According to Press reports, the Whistler incident happened within this permanently closed area. This is not the same thing as having an avalanche "in bounds" because in bounds suggests that snow conditions are monitored and controlled if necessary, neither of which appears to be true for the section of the hill hit by the Whistler avalanche.

[Callao]

How often does an avalanche occur in-bounds? I thought it was more rare than what we are seeing this season, but I have never paid much attention.

[SkiBachelor]

It seems that there are at least two to four in bound avalanches a year at ski areas in North America.

[skisox34]

Has anybody heard of a type of I guess non-avalanche called "post-control release?" Where I work the owner's wife's son got caught in one along with a friend on kt-22 at squaw and his legs got broken. They didn't call it an avalanche though and I was wondering if that was for liability since the run was open.

[liftmech]

Yes; that's where control work has exposed instabilities but not actually released them. One more stick would have done it, but the next skier triggers it instead. I wouldn't call them 'non-avalanches' though.

[andyh1962]

SkiBachelor, on Jan 10 2008, 12:06 AM, said:

It seems that there are at least two to four in bound avalanches a year at ski areas in North America.

Simply to extend and clarify the discussion, avalanches can (and do ) happen on some of the Eastern ski hills as well. Avalanches happen when a new snow layer of different density and water content fails to bond strongly with the layer underneath. So consider that on steep slopes in the east, natural snow falls and puts down light layers. The Ski Resort then turns on the snow guns and puts a foot of heavy made made snow of top. Until the groomer has been run up and down the run a few times, mixing the layers, the two snow layers may not have bonded. I have seen avalanches on man made snow a few times in Ontario and from that I would suspect that other eastern resorts have done the same.


So it is probably safe to say that there are a few avalanches in bounds (on man made snow) as well as the natural snow variety.

There is much to learn from reviewing avalanche incidents elsewhere even if you not trained in avalanche prediction, because it keeps the topic fresh in your mind to tell you that the steep gorge you are about to jump into in Vermont can be just as dangerous as one you saw last week in Utah.

[aug]

skisox34, on Jan 10 2008, 09:58 AM, said:

Has anybody heard of a type of I guess non-avalanche called "post-control release?" Where I work the owner's wife's son got caught in one along with a friend on kt-22 at squaw and his legs got broken. They didn't call it an avalanche though and I was wondering if that was for liability since the run was open.

Sliding snow that causes damage, injury, fatality???? "A Sliding Snow Incident" ... post control release????? sort of like a near miss in aviation B.S. MORE LIKE A NEAR HIT. (g.c.) post control release ???? as with any avalanche " uncontroled release" or "out of control release" What ever we do to think we can control the force of nature. we have no control just a little influence.

[andyh1962]

mikest2, on Jan 6 2008, 08:54 PM, said:

I don't hate mondays, tell me why..............

Link to pictures:

http://gallery.casta.../January/album/

Story page:

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story...97-1-.htm#36397

from www.avalanche.ca
South Columbia Avalanche Forecast Incident Page
Parachute Bowl, Big White Ski Resort

Avalanche Incident Report: 1/6/2008 :

Parachute Bowl, Big White Ski Resort, 40km east of Kelowna
Avalanche Report DATE, TIME AND LOCATION Date/Time: 2008-01-06 10:55
Description: Parachute Bowl, Big White Ski Resort, 40km east of Kelowna Coordinates: N49.74258 W118.93426 (Geographic (long-lat) NAD1983)
Mtn Range: Monashee Mountain Range
Province: BC AVALANCHE INFORMATION
Number: 1-Fatality
Size: Size class 3.5
Type: Slab avalanche Trigger: Sa (This was a size 3.5 slab avalanche involving about 15,000 tonnes of snow. It was started by a skier coming down a 43 degree slope.)
Dimension: 240m wide; ran for 400m; average slab depth of 100cm.
Failure Pl.: Old - FC/CR (2007-12-05)Starting Zone: Location: Alpine at approx. 2260m.
Character: E; 43 degrees; Lee Slope(s); Broad Open Basin.
The avalanche initiated in a rocky area at the base of a very steep chute. It appears to have initiated as a small near-surface slab, which then stepped down to a deep seated sliding layer, and then propagated across the slope.
Comment: Parachute Bowl is a steep area of expert terrain within the Big White ski area boundary and is serviced by the Cliff Chairlift. After extensive avalanche control, including blasting with hand-charges and ski-cutting, the area was opened for skiing on December 12, and had been subject to on-going avalanche control and skier compaction since that time. On January 6 at about 10:55 am two people skied down into the bowl via a steep, east-facing gully. As they came out of the gully onto the open slopes below, they triggered a large slab avalanche, which spread rapidly south across the slope for about 240m and left a 50 to over 300 cm high crown. The ensuing avalanche cascaded down the concave open slope for about 400m, engulfing three people as it descended from about 2260 to 2090m. It also ran through two lift towers of the Cliff chairlift, but did no damage to the chairlift. Two people were partially buried and relatively uninjured; however, one person was reported missing and was found the next day after an extensive search with probe lines, transceivers, a RECCO receiver, and search dogs. The victim was a skier and was found under more than 2.5m of snow after snow cats had scraped away some of the near-surface avalanche debris.