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  1. #1
    Gimpy NoKnees's Avatar
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    Feb 2004
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    'Tis the season.. Don't forget the avy dangers..

    Saw this thread over on TGR's board.... the major storms that dumped on Baker last week almost claimed a few lives... Good read and some good lessons in the discussions following the post: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=38862

    More info revealed a bad combo: kick off a slide as you huck a cliff, crater on landing causing minor slide and burial, then all your slough from above cliff coming down on top of that, all in a terrain trap.

    Lessons, as always: Have the equipment, know how to use it, and stay cool...

    Now if only we had enough snow to worry about here in Cali.. oh well..
    Greg
    "NoKnees"

  2. #2
    "Howzit Brah"
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    Mar 2004
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    Sacramento
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    23

    Great great for all BC riders....

    Greg,

    Big chills in dat true story! thanks for the post...It definitely shows another side of avy danger, the do's and don'ts. If I'm going BC, I'm gonna buy the equip.& have some trng.
    By the way I kept reading the avy post and on page 5 it had a pic of the avy area. it looked sooo nice to launch off, I could see how some peps would not know of the dangerous cond. there. kind of looks like da K-wood on the backside.

    On another note, just checked da 10 forecast shows some activity for next mon-wed keep ya fingas crossed....

    Rick

  3. #3
    Member
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    Oct 2005
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    Colorado
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    30

    Thumbs up Avys truly do exist

    It seems so many of us don't believe it could happen to us. Unfortunately it is much more likely than we know. I definitely have been really stupid trying to get freshies up on Loveland pass. Been lucky so far. Have a buddy who seems to know when and where to go most the time. I definitely have'nt ventured out too often due to stories like this one. Maybe Santa will answer my wishes with a beacon. I'll pray for some powder or just something in the Cali-Nevada region. Will be there soon woohoo! There's always the food and beverages along with the casinos if no snow. So either way it will be fun.

  4. #4
    Member
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    Oct 2005
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    Colorado
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    Wink Sorry about the Thumbs up.

    No pun intended. I didn't realize the icon would appear like that. My bad peeps. Avys truly scare the **** out of me.

  5. #5
    Brazilian Whipping Boy
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    Feb 2004
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    Draught-stricken Colorado
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    261

    Here's another avvy story

    A guy I work with knew the guy buried in this one, and had skied backcountry with him before.

    http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanc...aspx?tabid=399

    Both of these incidents could have easily been avoided with a little caution. The picture of the Baker slide area makes me think it could fracture again easily and the guys that wound up saving the dude's life put themselves possibly at risk. The CO slide rescue attempt did create another slide, and the picture of that has avvy runout zone all over it. What those guys were doing there after 15" of snow and 50 mph wind gusts on a Northeast aspect in what appears to be a terrain trap with an easily detectable hard slab under the new snow, I have no idea.

    Almost makes you wonder if people watch big mountain ski and snowboard movies, see them ski/ride off the avalanche they created and think it'd be fun to try or something. There are just way too many signs that point to, "don't do that man."

    Sorry to ramble...hearing stories like this really irks me becuase it's such an obvious no-go decision to me, especially if my partner is like the Mt. Baker "partner." Wow!

    T

  6. #6
    Gimpy NoKnees's Avatar
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    Yah... There was some serious "Snow/Powder blinders" in affect there. Waaaaay too many indicators...

    Anyway, at least for most people so far they have been really good scares and warnings... Hopefully some lessons learned..

    At least I have nothing to worry about in Tahoe right now... No chance for an avy... Rockslide maybe... :/
    Greg
    "NoKnees"

  7. #7
    Brazilian Whipping Boy
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    Feb 2004
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    Draught-stricken Colorado
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    Bummer, but it'll come...

    No snow at this point for you guys isn't nearly as big of a deal as it is here in CO. You guys get dumps of 4 feet at a time!

    At least I hope you don't have what the PNW experienced last year.

    T

  8. #8
    Gimpy NoKnees's Avatar
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    Yah, no kidding.. PNW at least got off to a good start this year. We're do for an off season and we truly have been spoiled more often lately than not. I remember quite a few years where we really didn't get much of a base until the 1st of the year... No worries... Give's me a little more time to let me knee and ankle recover from a bit of late season over use playing indoor volleyball... Had fun though... ;)

    Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do over the Christmas break... I have the week off between Christmas and New Years, but the wife doesn't... She gave me a "hall pass" to go find some snow... Could be fun..
    Greg
    "NoKnees"

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    Feb 2004
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    tahoe
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    Sorry about the lack of snow in Tahoe. I've made turns a bit this year, but no pow yet. My timing for Baker wasn't so good. Good luck on the pass & the knees. Tahoe will get there snow, just will be a little later. Christmas has been good in Tahoe, might be the same this year.

    By the way, somebody said they showed the picture of the slide. That's not it. That's just some fracture off one of the trails inbounds. The area above chair 6 is where you used to start the hike up to Hemispheres & the Shuksan Arm. The problem with that area is that you can get carried away & keep riding instead of going back inbounds. If it's fresh you don't go there, if you don't know the area,lots of really cool terrain, but getting out is nasty. 40' drop is the easiest way out if your lucky. Had a buddy fall off a 80' and landed on a platform above another 100'. There's no markings, so if you don't know where you going your screwed. Everybody I know has taken a wrong turn. He!! I got stuck on a 100' waterfall once & there was no hiking up since the chute was over 50degrees. Where your peeps & ride with people that are smart. Balls don't save you, but they can kill you or your friend. There are so many stories of kids falling off cliffs & even group of people. I remember at Steven's one year I think 5 kids riding together down a steep area all ended up dead. Took awhile to retrieve all the body parts, heard first hand from the ski patrol friend of mine. Later that year he fell a 1000' down a slope in a slide that took him off a 60' at the bottom. We always wanted to hit, guess he was the first. The next year his ski patrol friend who carried him out lost his life in a slide. Sh!t happens, but it can be avoided & if not, at least be prepared.
    av-E

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