Finally......A happy ending to an Avy - UT

[SnowBigDeal]

(KSL News) A beacon most likely saved a Pleasant Grove man buried by an avalanche.

Jeremy Kallas was snowmobiling with friends near the Kolob Creek Trailhead in Wasatch County when the avalanche buried him around 3:30 this afternoon.

Kallas was wearing an avalanche beacon, and friends located him within 15 minutes. He's now in the hospital recovering from minor injuries.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2483898

Anyone have any other details?

 

[papafinger1]

It is nice to hear a happy ending. Doesn't seem to be too many of them out there of late

 

[Freak]

Great news. I havent heard the name but Im sure I know someone who knows him.

 

[sled_guy]

I'd term it a fortunate ending.

It would be a happy ending if we would stop having people get caught in slides in the first place... now that would be a happy ending.

sled_guy

 

[POLZIN]

I'd term it a fortunate ending.

It would be a happy ending if we would stop having people get caught in slides in the first place... now that would be a happy ending.

sled_guy

I will second that! the sport has seen to much trajedy on and off the snow.

 

[Smashcat900]

Woooooo-Hoooooo! Thats some good news right there.
A buddy of mine from Alaska said something to us a couple of years ago and it still sticks with me today and this story is a perfect example, he said
"If you can afford to go out and buy all this Sh@t to make your sled look good, run good and climb higher that anybody. If you can afford to buy all the Klim gear to stay dry and warm and look good then you better G@d$amn be able to afford a beacon because it will save your life."
It's not the fact that he said it so much, it's the fact that he lived through an avy with three other dudes, one of which was buried bad and the only reason they found him was because they were wearing there beacons.
I'm very glad that this thread had a happy ending and hope that everyone that rides in the avy prone backcountry chooses to buy a beacon and learn how to use it, if not for yourself, for your family and freinds, because this could be any one of us.

 

[tranquillicer]

Woooooo-Hoooooo! Thats some good news right there.
A buddy of mine from Alaska said something to us a couple of years ago and it still sticks with me today and this story is a perfect example, he said
"If you can afford to go out and buy all this Sh@t to make your sled look good, run good and climb higher that anybody. If you can afford to buy all the Klim gear to stay dry and warm and look good then you better G@d$amn be able to afford a beacon because it will save your life."
It's not the fact that he said it so much, it's the fact that he lived through an avy with three other dudes, one of which was buried bad and the only reason they found him was because they were wearing there beacons.
I'm very glad that this thread had a happy ending and hope that everyone that rides in the avy prone backcountry chooses to buy a beacon and learn how to use it, if not for yourself, for your family and freinds, because this could be any one of us.

X2 on all that plus, how about taking a course on how to avoid getting caught in one in the first place. So many of us traveling to the mountains and have no practical experience there(myself included) and we simply strap on beacons and ride. After a course this year I quickly realized that if I or any of my buddies were ever caught and buried in an avalanche we would be screwed. We never had any good instructions on beacon use and sooner or later we would have needed to use it cause we didn't know squat about what terrain to avoid. The best money spent is spent on one of these courses so you lessen the chances of being in one in the first place. IMHO

 

[Smashcat900]

X2 on all that plus, how about taking a course on how to avoid getting caught in one in the first place. So many of us traveling to the mountains and have no practical experience there(myself included) and we simply strap on beacons and ride. After a course this year I quickly realized that if I or any of my buddies were ever caught and buried in an avalanche we would be screwed. We never had any good instructions on beacon use and sooner or later we would have needed to use it cause we didn't know squat about what terrain to avoid. The best money spent is spent on one of these courses so you lessen the chances of being in one in the first place. IMHO

Well said.

 

[Ex-Member]

That's what the beacons are for!

Glad everything turned out for the better.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I just saw this story on the news with video of the riding area. I'm not trying to be a "know it all" but it appears these riders were playing in a death bowl. Alot of the pictures from last season had photos of many other death bowls that buried and killed several sledders. There is a "death bowl" on the south side of Lamoille Lake where I ride, guess what, there are sledders riding it most every day. It has killed in the past and is now primed to kill again. I'm not claiming to be the safest sledder on the planet but why put yourself in places where the odds are stacked so far against survival.

 

[NewMTNsldr]

2nd hand info

I know one of the guys who dug him out...and I know the area well... from what I understand No One else was even thinking about taking a shot at that hill... the guy just took off and hit the hill by himself ... just very fortunate he had knowledgeable people there to help him get out... glad he is OK

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

It's good to hear that there were some who didn't want anything to do with hittin' it!! Over time you get a feel for the area you ride and ride with alot more caution on certain days than others, unfortunately some never seem to "feel" the danger. It's a dangerous sport for sure and a surprise avy could take most anybody on any day, but don't go out and ask to be killed daily by riding the most hazardous terrain you can find.

 

[Adrenaline Revolution]

I'd term it a fortunate ending.

It would be a happy ending if we would stop having people get caught in slides in the first place... now that would be a happy ending.

sled_guy

I couldn't agree more.
It always amazes me how people will flat out call another sledder an idiot and spend a lot of effort to berate him for not ponying up the cash to get a beacon but they never seem to call out their buddies for riding in a known slide area in an extreme avy situation under a wind loaded hillside.

I am shopping for a pair of beacons for my wife and I right now but they're not necessarily for finding us because we generally do not tempt fate but we will have them on hand for searching for folks who are not as "Cautious" as us.

I can have a lot of fun "Booneying" in the flatter, wooded areas and leave the dangerous hillsides to those who thrive on risk.