Bad Avy up Portal Creek MT any info???

[SNOW JW]

Right at windy pass is were it was at. We dropped off going back into Portal from the Rock Creek side and the whole mountain slid. Looked fresh so we took the Trackers to see if we there was a signal but could not pick anything up but there was a Dragon 700 smashed into the trees that looked like it and the rider had a wild ride in this slide.

A group of guys after us said they got it pulled out of the snow and left it. It may have a turbo as that same group in the moring was burning race fuel as we met them.

Just looking for some info the rider may have been hurt if they left the sled all the trucks were gone at the parking lot and it's a smaller area so I hope all is well also if I remember right 2-3 700 Dragons and one Older Skidoo in the group.

Justin

 

[Elevation]

from GNFAC

A snowmobiler was caught and buried in an avalanche near Windy Pass yesterday. The young man had made several attempts at a steep, wind-loaded chute. As he neared the bottom of the path (after nearly making the ridgeline) the avalanche caught him from behind, tumbling him six or seven times before burying him approximately 2 - 3 feet deep. His sled was carried through some trees and sustained substantial damage. The young man's partner was climbing the next chute over. When he came down from his pass he saw the avalanche debris and started over to the scene. Three passing sledders arrived simultaneously and the group started a beacon search. When they got close to the burial site they say the toe of the buried man's boot sticking out of the snow and they were able to extricate the unconscious victim within ten minutes from the time they started searching. He was breathing when they dug him out of the snow and regained full consciousness with in 10 minutes. The
group built a fire, warmed the victim and he was able to ride out on the back of his buddies sled. Doug and I will investigate this avalanche today and we'll report the snowpack conditions in tomorrow's advisory.



http://www.mtavalanche.com/

 

[CatWoman]

Thanks for the info Bruce!! Glad to hear this one is alive.

 

[BU1]

So was it pure luck that his boot was visible , or did he have a beacon to direct the searchers to him????

 

[penetraitor]

wow is all i can say!!!

 

[F-Bomb]

The report indicates a beacon but they VISUALLY SAW a valuable time saving tool. Remember just locating the the victim with a beacon signal is still minutes from actual location and also rescue depending on the circumstances. Probing and then the shoveling can still require additional recovery time that may or may not make the difference. Lucky dude in many aspects. No strainer for him just the sled, his buddy was quickly on the scene as were others, and he was shallow. Tons of things could have added up to a disaster on this one.

Remember your training....visual tools can be as valuable as a beacon. Never ever ride alone nor visually leave your wingman in high risk areas like chute or big hill climbing.

It sounds like excellent response from the rescuers resulted in a good outcome vs another death report. Wether luck or by design it's a good lesson for the rest of us.

 

[RMG]

I was one of the three sledders that happened by and helped with the search. I'll tell everyone now that the avy class My riding partners and I took last season make abig difference. The slide was about 75-100 yards and traveled about 500 yards. The snow debri was approx. 15 ft deep. Our search was very organized from the start with everyone switching their becons to search mode. Two of us (myself included) began the search while the other two guys got shovels and probes ready. I immediately got a signal and and went directly to the victim about 43 yards away. We started to probe and saw a 3" blackspot in the snow that was his boot toe. We then went right for head with the shovels and had him out quick. Travis was unconcious but we could detect a slight breathe and eventually he came around. He was able to speak after about 10 minutes and then move enough so that we knew he was'nt busted up. We found the sled about 10 yards below him. I took some pics of the slide and will post them later today.

 

[skibreeze]

F BOMB states "Never ever ride alone nor visually leave your wingman in high risk areas like chute or big hill climbing"

This imperative to everyone riding, Never more than one at a time on a slope and watch the person climbing. That guy was very lucky that they found him so quickly, his buddy should have been watching him climb. Actually if the avy danger is as bad as here in Co. his buddy should have told him to stay the fugg off a chute in the first place.

 

[RMG]

I think another good point to make here is that even if you don't plan on highmarking or riding extreme you need to have avy equipment. You never know when someone else may need help. After this ordeal was over and we were getting rready to ride out a group dropped down off windy pass and stopped to see what was going on. My dad talked to one guy on a Dragon that stated he had a beacon but left it home because he was going to take it easy.

 

[XXL]

You guys are heroes, you definately saved his life!!!

 

[RMKcowboy]

My dad talked to one guy on a Dragon that stated he had a beacon but left it home because he was going to take it easy.

Stupid stupid stupid! Like you pointed out, even if he planned on "taking it easy" he could have helped get someone else out of a bad situation. A big pat on the back to everyone involved in this rescue, I was so relieved to read that nobody got killed or seriously hurt in this one!

 

[GrizTrack]

The young man had made several attempts at a steep, wind-loaded chute.
http://www.mtavalanche.com/

It's great that he's OK but he shouldn't have been there.

Great jobs in getting him out guys.

 

[Sunridge Sledhead]

Great outcome! Good job!

The losses need to stop! There are thousands of us on this forum. Even though we are relatively small in number compared to all those who sled, we have a voice and many of us have an awareness that needs to be shared! Everyone needs the appropriate gear, but we all need to ride in a way to NEVER use them!!!

Ride to ride again! Come home to your family!

 

[Turtlehead]

Ttt

 

[Rush44]

Why the hell wouldn't you wear a beacon if you had one? That's just plain stupid.