This avalanche video will get your heart racing! The sensitivity of the snowpack has been covered, ad nauseam, but how about another reminder? This video is from a few days ago from Shadow Peak. Although the avalanche starts around 2:45, the beginning of the video gives you a good idea of the terrain- fairly low angle and treed. The slide runs about 1000′, and the skier briefly submerges in the slide but pops up again. Before armchair quarter backing the skiers’ actions, please take the time to read the accompanying post from the video:
Jan 20th, 2012. Shadow Peak, Grand Teton National Park. Ty Billy, John Nic, DK. Very dangerous snow down low. Good up high with no noise or movement, however down low whiffing and small cracks. Very bad pockets down low that will slide and run most of the lower track. Ski the trees! I share this with discretion for safety and snowpack conditions. Nothing I am proud of or want to experience again. In fact, I cried myself to sleep last night pondering life and love and happiness. So much still to do in this short life, from fearing the darkness I had to sleep with the lights on. Please do not share or talk about! but amongst our selves. Most people do not understand my perception of big mountain skiing. I knew where I was and had skiied the same line two weeks before after skiing the East Hour Glass via repelling in from the Sliver. Video time [2:18--2:25] you can see my tracks from EHG descent. All video is real-time. I compare skiing to kayaking class V/V+, + or – self-supporting, and taking a narly swim through a mandatory drop, on a mankhy Wyoming creek or river. It happens, at the end you empty your boat, get back in and have to metally prepare yourself to paddle the rest of the run. Skiing is no different. Ski safe and enjoy the POW!
Without risk there is no adventure.
Thank you for your discretion,
Cheers, DK
gnarly. glad he’s ok.
i don’t see why you have to say you’re not proud. why would you take pride and why wouldn’t you? it sounds like you feel shame for what happened. I say you learned something and although the experience hit you hard: be glad, like we are, that you’re still alive.
Not to be an armchair quarterback but….
You guys are gang-banging the slope, stopping in the middle of open faces far from islands of safety, and skiing in terrain traps/the bottom of a ravine. Why are you surprised when you get caught in a slide?
Sweet terrain trap to ski all at the same time. They reported the snow was unstable yet still chose to take air onto a convexity. The viewer can see the slabby nature of the snow when the one guy comes to a stop in the dense trees at the beginning of the vid. A ski line is always different than it was 2 weeks ago. Familiarity does not make it safe. This deserves to be armchair quarterbacked. Why should people refrain from being critical of others actions when there is something positive to learn from them?
Hey captain backcountry,
Looks to me like only one skier was skiing at time of event and the fetch of the zone was tiny. When they were all skiing together slope angle was not enough to produce a slide. Not to mention, that was no avalanche, slide at best. Happens all the time, even in bounds. Glad they’re okay. Just part of the program.
Upon closer inspection it was indeed a slide. It certainly was not an avalanche. I don’t know how I confused the two completely different events. Are you serious? At first I thought the reply to my original post must be a buddy of mine joking around. Making poor decisions that get you buried in a slide or avalanche or whatever the hell you want to call them should never be considered “part of the program.”. The victim reports “ski the trees” in his account of the day. There were heavily treed slopes to both sides of the gully they instead decided to ski. If the term trees is confusing to you, perhaps forest is a little more clear. Woods, perhaps. My intent was to highlight the number of actions that ultimately led to this dangerous close call that could likely have been avoided. From your response, you are exactly my target audience.
I didn’t intend to get in a pissing match with you. I too am well versed in backcountry travel and snow safety. The point that I am trying to make is that whenever there is a post about an avalanche, people like you feel the need to chime in with your “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s.” Certainly knowledge is gleaned from these close calls, but there is no need to ridicule the individuals. When we are out in the backcountry, we all sometimes use bad judgement, even you. The risk is part of the reward. I’ve turned my back on slopes after digging a pit and making an assessment more times than I’ve been able to ski a line I wanted to. In my opinion, (I’m entitled to it) these guys weren’t some ignorant flatlanders that you make them out to be. You make your choices out there, and sometimes they’re wrong, but they’re yours to make.
Thank you,
Douchee Magoo
Way to thumbs up your own comments and thumbs down mine. Do you “like” your own Facebook comments too?
not sure if it is part of the program to air onto suspect snow packs. It doesn’t happen all the time if you are doing the right things to avoid such events. What is the difference between a slide and an avalanche big guy? pretty sure they both are moving snow events and they both are a big deal. Better decisions need to be made, those dudes look young, keep skiing like that and they will not get old.
They picked the worst time to be in the backcountry…. high and close to extreme avalanche danger……. skiing in a terrain trap….. rolling the dice for sure. not for me.
WHere did the vid go?????
quite right! thanx for letting us all learn from this. Instead you let your ego and emotional feelings of shame, overcome you and sense of maturity you may have.
Whars the video? I missed it doh! Put er back up please!