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Avalanche on Mount Washington

thetrailboss

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The Mount Washington Observatory is reporting that there was an avalanche today in Huntington Ravine:

We understand that there has been an avalanche in Huntington Ravine, and that the US Forest Service Snow Rangers have been deployed to assess the area. Mount Washington Observatory has not been called upon in any capacity, so unfortunately we are unable to provide any further information at this time. We join with the rest of the White Mountains community in wishing our best to all those involved.


WCAX is reporting 3 injured and that the avalanche was in Tuckerman Ravine:

http://www.wcax.com/story/20619615/3-people-injured-in-avalanche-on-mt-washington

WMTW did not have much more info:

http://www.wmtw.com/weather/Avalanc...urt/-/8793538/18180006/-/j1ir22z/-/index.html

WMUR said the same:

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Se...ne/-/9857858/18179664/-/116tmrkz/-/index.html
 

SIKSKIER

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Same mixed news here this morning.News 9 wasn't sure if the avi was in Tucks or Huntington.Sounds like Huntington though as they stayed overnight in the Harvard cabin which is located at the bottom of the ravine.
 

Smellytele

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Most of the climbing this time of year is done in Huntington. With the recent thaw and freeze then a few inches of snow on top (some may have blown in as well) it makes for some good avy conditions.
 

AdironRider

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Huntington ravine being steep as f*ck also makes for some good avy conditions.

Surprisingly, the most avi prone slopes are in the low to mid 30 degree range. I would think Huntington is steeper than that.

Obviously not immune to them, but I remember that little factoid being the most suprising element of my avi courses.
 

Smellytele

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Surprisingly, the most avi prone slopes are in the low to mid 30 degree range. I would think Huntington is steeper than that.

Obviously not immune to them, but I remember that little factoid being the most suprising element of my avi courses.

Correct because the snow can build up on it more than when it is steep. I was actually in one in Huntington on the climb named Odell's while climbing. I was carried down about 600-800 feet. I was lucky to have been able to swim and stay on top only being buried about 3 or 4 inches under and was able to pop right out once it stopped about 100 feet above the treeline. I hit a few things on the way down and got airborne a few times but was unhurt. My climbing partner had a nasty deep bruise on his lower leg that did not fade away for about 8 months.
 

fbrissette

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Correct because the snow can build up on it more than when it is steep. I was actually in one in Huntington on the climb named Odell's while climbing. I was carried down about 600-800 feet. I was lucky to have been able to swim and stay on top only being buried about 3 or 4 inches under and was able to pop right out once it stopped about 100 feet above the treeline. I hit a few things on the way down and got airborne a few times but was unhurt. My climbing partner had a nasty deep bruise on his lower leg that did not fade away for about 8 months.

You are correct. Very steep slopes don't get the snow loading needed for bigger slides.

You got lucky. How did it happen ? I would guess it was self-triggered ?
 

Smellytele

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You are correct. Very steep slopes don't get the snow loading needed for bigger slides.

You got lucky. How did it happen ? I would guess it was self-triggered ?

Yes very lucky. It was basically self triggered. We had climbed the ice on the right side of Odell's. The weather got worse, we couldn't see more than 20 feet and when we got above the ice we decided to not go across the Alpine garden to head down. We decided to look for the escape hatch on the left side of Odell's. So we had to cross across the top of the climb one at a time and made it. We never found the escape hatch and down climbed the left side to the base of the ice. We started walking down the snow gully and the snow above the climb let go and came down over the climb, hit my partner first who in turn knocked me off my feet and down we went.
 

Smellytele

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Sad to hear that the party involved was in fact the Ascents of Honor crew:

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Se...ton/-/9857858/18179664/-/9lljsmz/-/index.html

These guys looked to be pretty damn prepared and knew what they were doing. So if it could happen to them it could happen to anyone. Glad that they are OK.

Too bad the report had no clue...
"Keith Zeier makes a practice climb at Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, Monday at Wildcat in Pinkham Notch.

Actually looks like he was at the cave on Standard at Frankenstein's as well in Crawford Notch
 

Smellytele

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It seems they may have been climbing Pinnacle gully. It also said the avy happened at 5pm which would be very late to be climbing up at this time of year. If I had to guess they may have been coming down Lions head when the avy occurred.
 

snowmonster

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http://m.wmur.com/news/Several-hurt...on/-/17440650/18179664/-/vt8a9oz/-/index.html

[h=1]"Several hurt in avalanche on Mt. Washington[/h]January 18, 2013 08:00 AM EST
PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. - Several people, including a Marine who was injured in Iraq, were hurt in an 800-foot avalanche on Mt. Washington on Thursday evening, according to emergency officials.
Emergency crews from a number of towns in the Mount Washington Valley area responded after initial reports that a number of people were missing in an avalanche. Rescuers from the U.S. Forest Service were able to locate three people who had been injured, including retired Marine Sgt. Keith Zeier.
Zeier, 26, of Brooklyn, who lost his leg and suffered a severe brain injury in Iraq in 2006, was climbing Mount Washington's most difficult route to raise funds and awareness for families of Special Operations forces killed and wounded in action.
According to Zeier’s family, he suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was recovering at Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin on Thursday night.
Two other hikers were also injured and initially taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known. A hospital official said they declined comment.
Gorham EMS Director Chad Miller said the avalanche took place at about 5 p.m. and the first emergency call was received at about 7:30 p.m.
Miller said three ambulances and 12 paramedics were initially dispatched after concerns that more members of Zeier’s party were missing. The response was later scaled back.
Zeier’s family said they were concerned immediately after hearing about the avalanche.
"I've been through this before, and I just had a feeling,” said Denise Zeier, his mother.


Keith Zeier has raised over $100,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and continued to raise money with this climb.
Their team spent Wednesday night at the Harvard cabin near the base of Huntington Ravine. They were headed to the Mount Washington Observatory in the Sherman Adams Summit Building on Thursday.
Officials said dropping air temperatures and fresh snow and high winds could make the ascent challenging.
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche warning earlier in the day."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I highlighted the last sentence. Perhaps, because I'm a solo backountry traveler, I have a heightened sense of caution. Whenever there's an avalanche warning from the MWAC, I back off. Live to ski another day.
 

thetrailboss

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It seems they may have been climbing Pinnacle gully. It also said the avy happened at 5pm which would be very late to be climbing up at this time of year. If I had to guess they may have been coming down Lions head when the avy occurred.

I believe that they had already made it to the summit and were in fact heading down.

And I also think that some of the confusion is due to the fact that they were probably evacuated from HoJo's while the avalanche occurred in Huntington Ravine.
 

bdfreetuna

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Huntington is variably steep and due to it having so many different gullys, the snow does get pretty deep in the gullys. Obviously the Pinnacle cliffs aren't going to collect snow but there will be a lot of snow on the fan below it.

The Fan below the headwall is perfect avalanche angle and collects all the snow that doesn't stick to the steeper top of the ravine.

Wooden crosses placed in the ravine to indicate locations of deaths are mostly around the bottom of the fan and even down towards Harvard Cabin not up on the face.

Not a place I would personally venture until May for some gully skiing.
 

Puck it

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I believe that they had already made it to the summit and were in fact heading down.

And I also think that some of the confusion is due to the fact that they were probably evacuated from HoJo's while the avalanche occurred in Huntington Ravine.


They did not make the summit per the report mand nothing about going to Hojo's.

from the above report:
“Unfortunately our summit bid was unsuccessful. As we approached the top of Huntington Ravine, a slab avalanche broke loose and swept three of our climbers down to the bottom of the ravine. They were injured, but able to slowly make their way to rescuers, who assisted them off the mountain. The other nine climbers were able to descend and walk out of the ravine on their own power. While this is certainly not the outcome we had hoped for, we are thankful that all in our party are safely off the mountain.
 

thetrailboss

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They did not make the summit per the report mand nothing about going to Hojo's.

from the above report:
“Unfortunately our summit bid was unsuccessful. As we approached the top of Huntington Ravine, a slab avalanche broke loose and swept three of our climbers down to the bottom of the ravine. They were injured, but able to slowly make their way to rescuers, who assisted them off the mountain. The other nine climbers were able to descend and walk out of the ravine on their own power. While this is certainly not the outcome we had hoped for, we are thankful that all in our party are safely off the mountain.

Wow. So at 5pm they were still on their way up? Yikes. And I misspoke--they stayed at Harvard Cabin at Huntington Ravine. Good catch there.
 

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Just curious about folk's perception of this in light of that multi-rant about skiers lost in Killington slackountry. Are clueless "Joeys" who wander out of bounds without a plan more or less responsible for their rescue than experienced climbers with bad-ass backgrounds who are climbing late in the day during avi warnings?
 

Smellytele

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Just curious about folk's perception of this in light of that multi-rant about skiers lost in Killington slackountry. Are clueless "Joeys" who wander out of bounds without a plan more or less responsible for their rescue than experienced climbers with bad-ass backgrounds who are climbing late in the day during avi warnings?

No, not with the criteria you just gave.
 

thetrailboss

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Just curious about folk's perception of this in light of that multi-rant about skiers lost in Killington slackountry. Are clueless "Joeys" who wander out of bounds without a plan more or less responsible for their rescue than experienced climbers with bad-ass backgrounds who are climbing late in the day during avi warnings?

This is a good point and one I almost raised.

I would expect that, on review, the NH Fish and Game Department to not levy fines or rescue costs on these folks because they had trained for the climb, had safety equipment, knew what they were doing, and were caught in a bad situation. The purpose of the regulation is to deter folks who are not prepared for wilderness dangers from going out in the first place. Specifically, folks who go hiking up Mount Washington with only a bottle of water and a cell phone.

The key question, as you said, was if these folks knew of the advisory considering that they were at Harvard Cabin the night before. But also if they took any other steps based on the advisory.
 
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