avalanche

A local Truckee man was killed Monday after being swept away in an inbounds avalanche while snowboarding at Donner Ski Ranch. The Tahoe Daily Tribune reports that the Nevada County … Read More

Squaw today was filled with deep turns and a pretty big scare for everyone with a large avalanche triggered above the fingers.  Everyone enjoyed an early KT opening, with some very, very deep and bottomless powder and Red Dog/Squaw Creek remained ripping well into the afternoon.

The conditions:

Red Dog/Squaw Creek

• Bottomless pow
• Moderate crowds but lines moved well
• Near zero visibility in the afternoon
• Along with exceptional rates of snowfall

The Avalanche on KT-22

• Crown height appeared to be around 3 feet
• Triggered by two snowboarders cutting into closed terrain
• 1 Big Mountain team member was pulled from the KT chair (due to wind vacuum caused by the cascade of snow)
• Patrol was amazingly quick to respond, on scene in under one minute
• 1 injury and fortunately no deaths
• The area had been bombed earlier that morning

We are extremely fortunate that no one was lost in the incident.  A huge thanks to the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol for their hard work in getting everything open, and for their exceptionally quick response (on scene in under a minute, avalanche rescue dogs on scene in under 5 minutes) as well as a huge thanks to the Squaw Valley Ski Team who turned out in mass to help with the coarse search.  Please remember folks, when patrol puts up a closed sign its there for a reason…to protect you and those around you.  This is a valuable less that we must not forget, peoples lives were jeopardized today as a result of poaching a closed zone.  If see a closure, especially in the midst of a storm, its there for a reason.

On a happier note, things are expected to go blue tomorrow!  That’s right, with well over 3 feet of storm totals we are going to have a powder bonanza tomorrow for Christmas Eve.  The skiing is schedule to be deep, soft, and epic!  Bring out the big sticks ladies and gents, things are going to be DEEP!!

More deaths are being reported from the Alps where heavy snow and high winds have made for very unsafe conditions. Yesterday in Verbier, a Swedish woman was caught in a … Read More

I had the pleasure of trying a couple of the current offerings in air bags over the last two years and was impressed by their design. Well, at least the … Read More

Helicopter + Explosives + Massive Avalanches = One Awesome Video 

G3 athlete Orry Grant doubles as an avalanche control professional for BC Highways. He kindly submitted this educational video he received, description below.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is responsible for maintaining public safety on B.C.’s highways, and minimizing the frequency and duration of avalanche related closures. As the busiest avalanche program in B.C., Kootenay Pass has several different methods of control. Although most of the time our avalanche problem can be dealt with in under 2 hours, there are times when a deeper snowpack instability, left uncontrolled, could pose a danger to B.C.’s commuters. In a case like this, we have to close the road and use the appropriate method of avalanche control.

This video, shot last year by Mark Talbot, and Matt Foley is a day of helicopter explosives control. We had a deep persistent weak layer, and large deposits of snow were left on the road.

So next time you’re wondering why it can sometimes take so long to re-open the highway; consider the size of our driveway, and the amount of snow that the road crew has to plow. Thanks for your patience!

Sage nearly got swept away in a massive slide he triggered this year while filming with TGR in Alaska.

I’m glad Sage was alright, but I’m ready to see more angles of this.

Recent snowfall in the high alpine of Montana has reawakened the sleeping avalanche beast. On Monday, June 11, two skiers were transported to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital after an avalanche swept … Read More

This question came up a few times during the recent “Snow-Be” (avy beacon with no search mode) discussion.  I thought I’d write here and make sure that the answer to … Read More

Christopher Norris died at Winter Park this January in an avalanche and now his family has filed a wrongful death suit.  The family has filed the suit based on the … Read More

An avalanche beacon with NO SEARCH MODE!?  Are you kidding me?  No?  You’re not kidding?  Ah, then you have successfully invented and marketed the most dangerous piece of “avalanche safety … Read More