Living on the edge triggered avalanche in the Notch today!!

[Dobir]

I dont even know where to begin after what we witnessed today. Eight of us headed out today staging from Corbin. An experienced, avalanche wise group to enjoy some of the latest snow in the meadows and small slopes. We had witnessed sloughing right off the pipeline and the fact that we were within five miles of the most recent tragedy was a continual reminder. knowing the snow conditions we knew it would be simply idiotic to highmark. Late in the afternoon we were playing in the trees within sight of the Notch, a basin near Fernie. We were shocked to see four to five guys climbing below several over hanging cornices on the right hand side of the Notch. We just could not believe our eyes knowing how unstable the snow is. These boys were not just touching the slope they were running turbos, and modded machines to the top. In the two minutes we watched we saw these guys do absolutely everything you are not supposed to do. Two to three guys highmarking at once, guys highmarking above others that are stuck, sidehilling above others, these guys had a $%#@ death wish. One guy is on the slope and we here the rumble of an avalanche that we think is on the back side or an adjacent basin. Within about a minute one guy had just rode down the slope and not 100 feet from some of their highmarks the snowpack fractures just below the peak and the entire mountain comes down. The avalanche spanned about 500 yards and we suspect the fracture near the top was 15 feet deep. The trees were destroyed on that slope. Two of us rode over to make sure we could see all the riders. Two guys I spoke to were parked side by side with their machines off facing the mountain. They had saw the avalanche and were still parked directly under a section that had not slid. Two other guys were so consumed in their actions they had not even saw the avalanche. I dont know who these guys were but their actions show a complete lack of respect for the dangers out there and frankly the sledders we just lost. Guess who would have had to risk our lives to try and dig these guys out.."US"...the group had a Blue turbo Apex, a Mountain Cat 900 with a lexan Hood, a Summit, a HCR M8, and two Dragons...I have attached a number of photos where you can see the fracture line and maybe the highmarks beside it. I did not want to get any closer than that....sorry for the rant but we were pissed off. If you know who these guys are they need to be spoken to...

p.s. Great day prior to that with Dale, Dave, Jason, Andy, Mike, Brent, and Lance..

 

[teeroy]

holy chit, she shed a lot of snow there....those boys were lucky. thanks for the pics Dobir....

 

[tohigh]

wow, that could have been bad

 

[mountainman611]

Thanks for the very imformative heads up....when will people learn?

 

[WCTHEMI]

Wow, that is nuts. I have been thinking about not heading to the mountains this year, just because to the avy conditions.

 

[swabby]

very lucky and stupid ,this is why this site rocks knowledge is safety and reminders like this will keep us on our toes especialy riding around others:d

 

[mountainman611]

Wow, that is nuts. I have been thinking about not heading to the mountains this year, just because to the Avy conditions.

There will always be avy conditions.
Its like saying " I wont go to the lake because I might drown"

You have to be aware of the conditions and act accordantly
When you go, get the avy condition report for your area.

From there make your plan and enjoy your day.
There is a safe way to enjoy a day in the mountains,unfortunately for a lot of people,they don't get it.

 

[OVERKILL 19]

There will always be avy conditions.
Its like saying " I wont go to the lake because I might drown"

You have to be aware of the conditions and act accordantly
When you go, get the avy condition report for your area.

From there make your plan and enjoy your day.
There is a safe way to enjoy a day in the mountains,unfortunately for a lot of people,they don't get it.

Very true but I don't swim in the lake when the lake report is 30 foot waves ether..

---------- Cariboos ----------
Saturday Sunday Monday
Alpine 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH
Treeline 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH
Below Treeline 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH
---------- Monashees & Selkirks ----------
Saturday Sunday Monday
Alpine 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH
Treeline 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH
Below Treeline 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH 4 - HIGH

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I stay home and live to sled another day!

 

[mountainman611]

Very true but I don't swim in the lake when the lake report is 30 foot waves ether..

Yes...EXACTLY,,what I am saying....know your area,know what your getting into....

 

[scrfce]

wow!! those r some knarly pics!! no thank you!!

 

[Calg_Rider]

Every time guys act this way it gets harder for the rest of us to spread the word about how great an activity snowmobiling is. Hard to get new people interested when all you hear about is the avalanches that did or did not bury a fellow sledder.

Oh yeah - the comment about being the poor sucker who gets to dig the retards out is so true. Today thats my biggest concern. I just became a father 6 months ago and dont appreciate the thought of risking my life and leaving my daughter without a father for someone elses poor decisions.

Good Post and great pics.
Thanks Dobir

 

[jeepchic]

Well said Dobir.....how many of these tragic deaths in Avi's could be prevented. We all know and talk about the terrible snow conditions and unstability, we should therefore all know to stay away from the obvious!!

Just as much fun to be had on the trails, in the meadows and trees so we can all go home to loved ones at the end of the day!! ALIVE!!!
__________________

 

[stuckenough]

Wow, I'm thinking you get caught in that and your finished. That was a monster fracture and shows just how the snow is bound together this year.
I'll stick to the meadows. Shows that even clusters of large trees won't bail you out, they just become projectiles.

great pics guys

 

[scotts]

Holy!!! thats a monster

 

[800RMK]

Some people just don't get it. Thanks for the post Dobir.

 

[Mtn-guy]

Holy crap When you talked to them did they say anything like maybe we should not have been playing there? Or were they oblivous to that fact? I am glad no one got hurt or worse but wow that was not smart......

 

[milton]

I was there with Dobir fellaws, you can't even imagine what we witnessed and what we almost witnessed. It would have been a very tough decision for me to go search or not if one of those idiots got buried cause there was so much snow over hanging that mountain and alot more over to ther right that you can't see in Dobir's pics. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the mountain came down later that day, it was that bad and they kept climbing and climbing. It was sad enough with the losses during xmas and we almost had another all because three kids with mods and turbo's lexan hoods and helmuts full of rocks that there was almost another. The avi conditions weren't good yes, but we went out and found some fresh powder in the trees, rode some trails, good comrodery with the boys and made it home to tell my family about my day...just my thoughts about this unforgettable day.

 

[milton]

Holy crap When you talked to them did they say anything like maybe we should not have been playing there? Or were they oblivous to that fact? I am glad no one got hurt or worse but wow that was not smart......

i went and talk to one guy after the slide and he had nothing to say, the sad thing is they stayed under the rest of the mountain, they didn't even leave the area.

 

[shawnmcgr]

Too bad we have to share our sport with 'tards like this! On a positive note they would have been nominated for a Darwin award!

 

[Powder Puff]

Greg Johnson an avalance forecaster told us last night during his presentation at the Canadian Avalanche Center fundraiser that we will be seeing this type of deep slab avies for the rest of the season everywhere now. A few wks. ago the cold spell everyone had sucked the moisture out of a layer of snow and now with the snowfalls we have recieved the snow pack is unstable. He made reference to the conditons of 2005.