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Tuckerman's death

Not Sure

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Landing a Helicopter in the Lee side of Mount Washington is a risky task . The winds up there can be unpredictable and if there is a mountain wave condition would make it very dangerous. From the looks of the Instagram video there's not much of a clearing so did they lift him with a hoist without landing ?
It takes a long time to move around in steep terrain so I imagine just getting to him is one thing them dig him out 5' down ?
 

Jonathan S.

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For those really interested in the helicopter ... was a civilian model, definitely not red, lots of dark-ish green IIRC.
Landed in the septic field (often used for initial avalanche beacon practice in courses) at the trailhead complex.
Rotors were totally still. Crew was just calmly standing around, waiting for the rescuers to get off the mountain.
(Multiple emergency vehicles were booking it though from Gorham or thereabouts.)
Trying to extricate the victim from the dense woods at the incident site probably would have resulted in more victims. A rescue helicopter has previously landed at treeline at Hermit Lake, but that would have required having the snowcat go back up to there from the junction of the Huntington Fire Road and the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, which wouldn't save much if any time.
Plus the victim died during the ground transportation anyway (cardiac arrest), so the helicopter ended up flying back without any patient.
R.I.P. Nick -- I'll always remember those few snippets of conversation we had together that morning.
 

thetrailboss

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For those really interested in the helicopter ... was a civilian model, definitely not red, lots of dark-ish green IIRC.
Landed in the septic field (often used for initial avalanche beacon practice in courses) at the trailhead complex.
Rotors were totally still. Crew was just calmly standing around, waiting for the rescuers to get off the mountain.
(Multiple emergency vehicles were booking it though from Gorham or thereabouts.)
Trying to extricate the victim from the dense woods at the incident site probably would have resulted in more victims. A rescue helicopter has previously landed at treeline at Hermit Lake, but that would have required having the snowcat go back up to there from the junction of the Huntington Fire Road and the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, which wouldn't save much if any time.
Plus the victim died during the ground transportation anyway (cardiac arrest), so the helicopter ended up flying back without any patient.
R.I.P. Nick -- I'll always remember those few snippets of conversation we had together that morning.

You saw him that morning? Jesus that is creepy.
 

FBGM

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You guys seriously deleted my comment? That guy deserved to be called out in the fashion he did. He knows nothing. You are all soft and weak here.
 

Jonathan S.

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You saw him that morning? Jesus that is creepy.

Tried (although not very hard) to persuade him to ski another line.
Joked (sort of) that I consider a ski outing a success when nobody dies or is seriously injured, and no significant gear is broken or lost, with bonus points for all partners still being on speaking terms.
We were probably the last people to speak with him.
Picture I took of my partner skiing in Huntington happens also to show him in the background (transitioning from skinning to booting), at the same location as the final resting spot of the February victim, whose memorial service I attended in my hometown, a short walk from my childhood home, just barely off my walking route to elementary school.
 

thetrailboss

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Tried (although not very hard) to persuade him to ski another line.
Joked (sort of) that I consider a ski outing a success when nobody dies or is seriously injured, and no significant gear is broken or lost, with bonus points for all partners still being on speaking terms.
We were probably the last people to speak with him.
Picture I took of my partner skiing in Huntington happens also to show him in the background (transitioning from skinning to booting), at the same location as the final resting spot of the February victim, whose memorial service I attended in my hometown, a short walk from my childhood home, just barely off my walking route to elementary school.

OK, that is getting even more eerie....
 

JimG.

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Tried (although not very hard) to persuade him to ski another line.
Joked (sort of) that I consider a ski outing a success when nobody dies or is seriously injured, and no significant gear is broken or lost, with bonus points for all partners still being on speaking terms.
We were probably the last people to speak with him.
Picture I took of my partner skiing in Huntington happens also to show him in the background (transitioning from skinning to booting), at the same location as the final resting spot of the February victim, whose memorial service I attended in my hometown, a short walk from my childhood home, just barely off my walking route to elementary school.

Wow! Sorry for your loss. The last minute advice and random pics showing him before his death only add to the pain you feel I'm sure.
 

FBGM

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See the first part of my statement

Different forums, different rules....Mister Pot

Kzone is trolling and personal attack central. AZ is mostly not

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

At least k zone is not full of a bunch of dentists that think they know everything about backcountry because they skied 6” of snow at Breck above tree line once.

My attack wasn’t personal. He’s bashing search and rescue that he knows nothing about. He’s a moron. Is that nicer?
 

deadheadskier

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It’s 2019 and the internet. If some 4 letter words get your panties in that big of a bunch I’d suggest getting off the internet. Your 12 daughter hears worse on the bus every day to school.
Like I said if you don't like the rules here, there are plenty of other ski forums to go to.

Think of it like TV. They don't show porn on Nickelodeon. The internet is exactly the same. Different tolerances for different channels. Yet, for some reason you have these internet keyboard warriors like you who feel they should be allowed to post whatever they want wherever they want.

The fact is that since you have signed up, you take first prize for the most complaints publicly and privately regarding any member. In fact, there has basically been no one but you that people have complained about in two years. So with that in mind, you are not going to get the same benefit of the doubt on here for off color remarks as most everyone else as those folks don't seem to make it their mission to needle people.



Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app
 

mister moose

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See the first part of my statement

Different forums, different rules....Mister Pot

Kzone is trolling and personal attack central. AZ is mostly not

Wrong.
Trolling
KillingtonZone.com will not tolerate trolls. People who post expressly for the purpose of getting a rise out of people or creating trouble will be summarily banned without any sort of warning.
Flaming
No flaming.
http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=434

The rules of conduct are quite similar. K Zone is just moderated with a lighter touch. You choose to ignore the rules there and take advantage of the light moderation, and yet you chastise someone here for the same thing. There is no pot/kettle; I have never used the abusive language you do on Kzone with regularity.

So again,

You can disagree with someone without acting like a dbag about it. Try it sometime
 

thetrailboss

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Tried (although not very hard) to persuade him to ski another line.
Joked (sort of) that I consider a ski outing a success when nobody dies or is seriously injured, and no significant gear is broken or lost, with bonus points for all partners still being on speaking terms.
We were probably the last people to speak with him.
Picture I took of my partner skiing in Huntington happens also to show him in the background (transitioning from skinning to booting), at the same location as the final resting spot of the February victim, whose memorial service I attended in my hometown, a short walk from my childhood home, just barely off my walking route to elementary school.

And I should have said first and foremost sorry for your loss, on both accounts. It must hurt since you knew both. That really sucks.
 

deadheadskier

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Wrong.

http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=434

The rules of conduct are quite similar. K Zone is just moderated with a lighter touch. You choose to ignore the rules there and take advantage of the light moderation, and yet you chastise someone here for the same thing. There is no pot/kettle; I have never used the abusive language you do on Kzone with regularity.

So again,

LOL! Yes you have and continuously support others there that do.

There is no "light touch" on Kzone and you know it. I've had my wife and even my kids attacked by your buddies. It's all part of the Kzone cesspool game. My only participation there is essentially political discussions because that's prohibited here.

So buzz off Mr Pot and mind your own business

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app
 

Rogman

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LOL! Yes you have and continuously support others there that do.

There is no "light touch" on Kzone and you know it. I've had my wife and even my kids attacked by your buddies. It's all part of the Kzone cesspool game. My only participation there is essentially political discussions because that's prohibited here.

So buzz off Mr Pot and mind your own business

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app
KZone is a cesspool and everyone, including the mods, know it. They just don't care, and cite that the law protects them personally.

Regardless, it is unfortunate that this thread about the sad death of a skier in an avi got hijacked. It is an grim reminder of the risk this sport poses, in bounds or out. My sympathies to all that knew him.
 

FBGM

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K Zone seems like a great site for inside ski area talk and some and meeting people to ski with. That crew is always drinking and grilling and the pictures and reports daily are better then any ski area snow report. Sure there are some goofy topics and some ramble about ski area designs and needs that are just over the top. But nothing compared to the garbage here. The one sided look at most ski topics, everyone’s hard on for Mount Snow, dentists that ski out west once a year and now think they can lead guide a heli trip and spew their face knowledge all over. This site is a full of old middle of road skiers that think they know everything and have no clue and won’t take any other opinions.

Also this thread is about an avi death. And we have turned it into a TGR death thread about everything else but topic. This is that Mods fault.

Tuckermans is by no means crazy avy terrain 9 of 10 trips. But It can happen and did. I’ll never QB a solo skiers decision because that solo skier is me most of the time. Keep skiing tucks and pour some out next time before dropping in.
 
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