Avalanche Awareness

[kingslug]

What Now: Inbounds Avalanches

Four deadly slides at U.S. ski areas last season—the most since 1982—highlight a grim truth: Avalanches know no boundaries.

www.skimag.com

I skied the comma chute the last year it was open..then it was deemed too deadly after an avi death.
Its going to be a bit scary out there for a while..and the snow storms arent close to being over...
I'll be out there in March...

 

[thetrailboss]

Now..the question is...what is the danger of an inbound slide with all these people flying all over the place. You can't bomb everything.
Not that I don't wish I was there..cause..I really do...

Snowbird has been conservative in opening terrain so far.

 

[FBGM]

I can’t imagine how busy both Bird and Alta will be tomorrow.

To the backcountry I go again tomorrow. Low angle meadow skipping and mid angle trees.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

I can’t imagine how busy both Bird and Alta will be tomorrow.

To the backcountry I go again tomorrow. Low angle meadow skipping and mid angle trees.

My buddy called me from Alta after skiing today. Waited over 2 hours in line for the first chair and an hour for the 2nd. Only got chowder. Don’t get me wrong, i love going out west but we have it so good here! fairy dust is still falling from the sky. we gonna have some fun!

 

[kingslug]

That would kill me...

 

[thetrailboss]

I can’t imagine how busy both Bird and Alta will be tomorrow.

To the backcountry I go again tomorrow. Low angle meadow skipping and mid angle trees.

We went today to Snowbird. Left SLC at 6:40 and made the drive in just about an hour--only one slow down. Liftlines were about what they have been this year--bad. Mineral Basin not opening until later, and low visibility, forced a lot of skiers and riders to Gad 2 and the lower lifts. Surprisingly, there was a thin crust on the off-trail surfaces. A friend who went yesterday told me that they got some brief freezing rain. All in all, not bad. Things are filled in nicely now.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

We went today to Snowbird. Left SLC at 6:40 and made the drive in just about an hour--only one slow down. Liftlines were about what they have been this year--bad. Mineral Basin not opening until later, and low visibility, forced a lot of skiers and riders to Gad 2 and the lower lifts. Surprisingly, there was a thin crust on the off-trail surfaces. A friend who went yesterday told me that they got some brief freezing rain. All in all, not bad. Things are filled in nicely now.

Today at Sugarbush

 

[thetrailboss]

Today at SugarbushView attachment 50433

Yep, that is pretty nice. I was saying to my wife today that a part of me misses Sugarbush. I don't miss the rain and thaws.

 

[thetrailboss]

Apparently it was Idaho's turn for fatal avalanches this weekend.....

Snowmobiler killed in Bear Lake County, Idaho avalanche

A snowmobile rider died Saturday after being caught in an avalanche in southeastern Idaho — the second in two days in the state.

www.fox13now.com

Family in Utah and Montana remember snowmobiler killed in Sawtooth Forest, Idaho avalanche

Thirty-year-old Andy Jessop of Corvallis, Montana died Friday after he triggered an avalanche while snowmobiling in an area known as Smiley Creek in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest.

www.fox13now.com

 

[Smellytele]

Another avy on mt Washington today. Human triggered

 

[jimk]

I finally made my annual pilgrimage to UT and skied Snowbird on Feb 19-21 with my son. Taking today off. This was my first lift-served skiing of the season and my body feels it. Feb 19 we went up real late and had fun skiing from 2-430pm, but i guy told me he started up the canyon that morning at 7am and didn't start skiing until 11. a lot of pent up demand after avi closure for 2.5 days.
Put in a full day on Feb 20, son had parking reservations and managed to avoid biggest lines by skiing older lifts and skiing opposite of the terrain choices of the crowds. Mineral had bad viz much of the day, but I caught a great 90 mins of clarity around 12-130PM on empty Baldy chair in great snow.
Went up Feb 21 from noon to 4pm with nice sunshine. Son helps me find the smallest lift lines. It was great. I'm just happy to be skiing.
Older chairs are slow, but smaller lines.

 

[kingslug]

If your going to start your year ..you picked a good place.

 

[thetrailboss]

Nice pics and report. Probably skied right by you on Saturday and Sunday and did not even know it.....

 

[jimk]

My son knew one of the victims of the Mill Creek avi, the guy was a fellow employee at the Bird a few years back. He had guided in Chamonix and was super knowledgeable about backcountry. Yet the bottom line is they shouldn't have been skiing that area that day.
My son does a fair amount of backcountry skiing in UT, and did quite a bit of it last spring after March 15. One of his frequent BC companions, the guy he considers his BC mentor, was buried, but dug out and saved in an avi earlier this season. My son has been very cautious and avoided the BC much of this winter, I hope he keeps thinking like that.

Photo taken 2/21/21, showing small avi slide path on an area just inside resort boundaries at Snowbird called Temptation Chutes (for good reason). This is view right as exiting Gad 2 chair. Groomer trail in center is Bananas. The area they call Gad Boundary with good tree skiing such as Tiger Tail and Red Lens Line has been closed since the big storm cycle last week.

Sorry missed you TB, I usually wear same outfit as my avatar unless warmer day.

 

[thetrailboss]

My son knew one of the victims of the Mill Creek avi, the guy was a fellow employee at the Bird a few years back. He had guided in Chamonix and was super knowledgeable about backcountry. Yet the bottom line is they shouldn't have been skiing that area that day.
My son does a fair amount of backcountry skiing in UT, and did quite a bit of it last spring after March 15. One of his frequent BC companions, the guy he considers his BC mentor, was buried, but dug out and saved in an avi earlier this season. My son has been very cautious and avoided the BC much of this winter, I hope he keeps thinking like that.

Photo taken 2/21/21, showing small avi slide path on an area just inside resort boundaries at Snowbird called Temptation Chutes (for good reason). This is view right as exiting Gad 2 chair. Groomer trail in center is Bananas. The area they call Gad Boundary with good tree skiing such as Tiger Tail and Red Lens Line has been closed since the big storm cycle last week.View attachment 50444

Sorry missed you TB, I usually wear same outfit as my avatar unless warmer day.

No worries. I have to laugh because I think I might have seen you (or someone dressed like that) and it stood out because I wondered if the person was an instructor based on the colors.

Road to Provo and that entire side of Little Cloud has been roped most of the season because of the avi danger.

 

[ss20]

Nasty situation on Mount Washington- https://mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/forecast/#/presidential-range

Avalanche danger remains elevated today, with human-triggering of wind slabs likely in steep terrain where wind has drifted snow overnight. These wind slab avalanches will be large enough to bury a person. Natural avalanches are possible on easterly aspects in the steepest terrain, particularly across the Headwall of Tuckerman Ravine, due to extreme northwest wind drifting snow last night and this morning. Avalanche danger is Considerable today. Cautious route-finding is essential due to dangerous avalanche conditions.

The nickel and diming that has occurred since then has left plenty of snow in the alpine fetch zones to build large and dangerous wind slabs. The icy bed surface that formed last Tuesday has proven to be a poor bonding surface for new snow in some areas with good bonding in others. This spatial variability should have you carefully considering your exposure level and group travel practices in the terrain today, even as wind diminishes. These slabs are likely to be on the firmer side (1F/1F+) in many places due to higher wind speeds, but recent and continued wind loading or a human trigger may tip the scales past what the weak layers below can handle. A very large (D3) avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine (Chute, Center Bowl, Sluice?) isn’t out of the question.

 

[kingslug]

Tux in early March..sketchy...

 

[FBGM]

Lots of powder panic out here on the weekends. I’ve been avoiding the canyons much of the year. Looks like bird is skiing well.

Been skiing Vail City Canhole side past few weekends with new girl I’m hanging with (literally the only reason I’m stepping foot onto the place). And I have free passes - which Vail makes next to impossible to use. I lost my shit on some poor $10/hr ticket window dude. Felt bad. But vails fault.

Sending it to Idaho BC Friday and Sun Valley in bounds Saturday. Curious to poke around sawtooths on my skis.

Hope Bird stays open late - gonna use all my Ikonic days for spring there.

 

[thetrailboss]

Lots of powder panic out here on the weekends. I’ve been avoiding the canyons much of the year. Looks like bird is skiing well.

Been skiing Vail City Canhole side past few weekends with new girl I’m hanging with (literally the only reason I’m stepping foot onto the place). And I have free passes - which Vail makes next to impossible to use. I lost my shit on some poor $10/hr ticket window dude. Felt bad. But vails fault.

Sending it to Idaho BC Friday and Sun Valley in bounds Saturday. Curious to poke around sawtooths on my skis.

Hope Bird stays open late - gonna use all my Ikonic days for spring there.

If it keeps snowing, they will be open. It was good last weekend, but crowded. The new norm I guess.

 

[FBGM]

Ski porn good vibes from weekend travels. Keep stoke up