Got Lucky last week

[JonezyBones]

Video of the avalanche I got caught in. Thank god it happened like it did. Still here today.

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Link to the video

 

[The Fourth Wolf]

Details please.

Where:
Time of day:
Temp:
Slope Aspect: (E-W-N-S)

Did you check the avy forecast before heading out? What was it?
What's your avy training level? Your group?
Did you notice any warning signs?
Was there any discussion of avy signs or hazards by your group at any point?
What was your thought process before committing to the pull?

I'm very glad you got nothing but a scare (I'm sure we all are) but there are opportunities to learn from your experience if you'll share a bit.

 

[Steelman]

Glad everything came out good. Be safe.

 

[snowmobiler]

looks like the sled stopped rolling when it seen you.

 

[camocat1000]

Curious on the grade it doesn't look that steep until you head down..

 

[F-Bomb]

Yikes glad you're OK physically. Bet it tilted your psyche a hair! Lucky that there wasn't more load in that slide and you were at the top on release! All very fortunate. Thanks for sharing your experience. Most would look at that hill, look at the tracking, look at the compression, and have at it. Dry granular snow, with a wind crust, and a ridge load like that is ready made.

 

[Snowbird11]

Thanks for sharing the video. I'm also curious about the details like 4th wolf. did you report it to the CAIC? if so, is there a link to a report on their site?

 

[GREICO1]

Glad you made it. Bet there is an Avy airbag on the Xmas list for next year!

 

[JonezyBones]

Details please.

Where:
Time of day:
Temp:
Slope Aspect: (E-W-N-S)

Did you check the avy forecast before heading out? What was it?
What's your avy training level? Your group?
Did you notice any warning signs?
Was there any discussion of avy signs or hazards by your group at any point?
What was your thought process before committing to the pull?

I'm very glad you got nothing but a scare (I'm sure we all are) but there are opportunities to learn from your experience if you'll share a bit.

This was in the Crested Butte area.(Colorado) A place called Cement Creek.

It was sometime around noon.

It was a little warm probably mid to high 30's

North facing slope...

The avalanche forcast was high for most of the previous week. We had a big storm come through a week earlier. We saw a bunch of old natural avalanches from that previous forcast. But the warm temperatures earlier that week had settled the pack alot. The forcast that morning had dropped the persistent weak layer avalanche condition to almost non existant. There was a moderate avalanche warning for wind loaded slopes. Pretty much exactly what I was climbing on. There really wasnt a hill in that area that the wind hadn't affected in some way. There was a snowmobile track about 50ft above the crown of the slide. Yes ironically we were discussing the avalanche conditions moments before that slide. We were talking about staying away from the slopes with any sort of a cornice and just what we had read about the forcast for the day. That particular hill the snow was really crusted over and it appeared to be somewhat safe. But in reality all the signs were right there staring me in the face and well, you know the rest. This hill was probable about a 55 degree slope. + or - 5 degrees. We didnt see any warning signs of new slides nor had anything we was climbing on earlier gave any indication of unstable conditions.

The group we was with was a mix of skills as far as avalanches go. 4 out of 5 guys had beacons. The lone guy was just along for the ride and he didnt have any interest in climbing anything.

My avalanche training is somewhat bare. Iv only been through one course and it was more on how to operate a beacon and the procedures on finding one or more than one burial victim. The course covered the basics of identifying avalanche terrain but didnt go too in depth. More avey training and an airbag are definitly on the list.

Thanks for the interest everyone. Hope this information helps. Just goes to show that if theres tracks and it didnt slide on the previous run, doesnt mean that it still cant let go. It definitly scared the s**t outta me and I had no interest in climbing anything the rest of the weekend. Kind of made me second guess myself on every hill after that because really, after that, I felt anything up there could have slid. But now I just learn and am thankful to be writing this today. I hope others can learn from my mistakes. Stay safe everyone!!!

 

[The Fourth Wolf]

Jones,
Thanks for being upfront about your experience. I wanted to wait for your reply before commenting on your video. Very early in your climb the scalloped surface of the snow jumped right out at me as a red flag. Wind scouring usually means slab, especially if the snow has that styrofoam hard feel to it. Also want to add that, generally, a warming trend increases avy danger.

I think I might start carrying a pair of mini-binoculars to scout slopes for signs of instability before climbing.

 

[James T Kirk]

This was in the Crested Butte area.(Colorado) A place called Cement Creek.

It was sometime around noon.

It was a little warm probably mid to high 30's

North facing slope...

The avalanche forcast was high for most of the previous week. We had a big storm come through a week earlier. We saw a bunch of old natural avalanches from that previous forcast. But the warm temperatures earlier that week had settled the pack alot. The forcast that morning had dropped the persistent weak layer avalanche condition to almost non existant. There was a moderate avalanche warning for wind loaded slopes. Pretty much exactly what I was climbing on. There really wasnt a hill in that area that the wind hadn't affected in some way. There was a snowmobile track about 50ft above the crown of the slide. Yes ironically we were discussing the avalanche conditions moments before that slide. We were talking about staying away from the slopes with any sort of a cornice and just what we had read about the forcast for the day. That particular hill the snow was really crusted over and it appeared to be somewhat safe. But in reality all the signs were right there staring me in the face and well, you know the rest. This hill was probable about a 55 degree slope. + or - 5 degrees. We didnt see any warning signs of new slides nor had anything we was climbing on earlier gave any indication of unstable conditions.

The group we was with was a mix of skills as far as avalanches go. 4 out of 5 guys had beacons. The lone guy was just along for the ride and he didnt have any interest in climbing anything.

My avalanche training is somewhat bare. Iv only been through one course and it was more on how to operate a beacon and the procedures on finding one or more than one burial victim. The course covered the basics of identifying avalanche terrain but didnt go too in depth. More avey training and an airbag are definitly on the list.

Thanks for the interest everyone. Hope this information helps. Just goes to show that if theres tracks and it didnt slide on the previous run, doesnt mean that it still cant let go. It definitly scared the s**t outta me and I had no interest in climbing anything the rest of the weekend. Kind of made me second guess myself on every hill after that because really, after that, I felt anything up there could have slid. But now I just learn and am thankful to be writing this today. I hope others can learn from my mistakes. Stay safe everyone!!!

55 degrees?? Try 35 degrees.

 

[BOHICA]

Glad you are OK! I've ridden out of Cement creek a couple of times, the terrain is great, however it is a very dangerous area most of the year. The locals I know only ride that country in the spring under better Avy conditions. Not sure why, but this area is always more unstable than surrounding areas (ie Irwin). A late season ride from Cement creek to the top of Aspen mnt and back is a blast. Use your experience as a good lesson and ride smarter and safer in the future. Thanks for sharing!
Mark
One more thing, NO ONE should be allowed to ride that country without being properly equiped with the right avy gear (ie your buddy).

 

[JonezyBones]

55 degrees?? Try 35 degrees.

No it was decently steep climb... Just where everyone was parked at was probably 15 degree slope.... Video never does justice on how steep things are. Its hard to judge thinking back on it but it might be safe to say 45 - 50 degrees could be more close.

 

[JonezyBones]

Glad you are OK! I've ridden out of Cement creek a couple of times, the terrain is great, however it is a very dangerous area most of the year. The locals I know only ride that country in the spring under better Avy conditions. Not sure why, but this area is always more unstable than surrounding areas (ie Irwin). A late season ride from Cement creek to the top of Aspen mnt and back is a blast. Use your experience as a good lesson and ride smarter and safer in the future. Thanks for sharing!
Mark
One more thing, NO ONE should be allowed to ride that country without being properly equiped with the right avy gear (ie your buddy).

Yeah you are right that it is dangerous most times of the year up there. Most people like myself take the avalanche forcast from the crested butte avalanche center and I think their focus is more of the Irwin area. The forcast for Cement creek should have been higher danger for sure... Right at taylor lake you would get off your sled and sink waist deep. But the ride over to aspen is alot of fun for a $15 burger. You should hit me up sometime and maybe we could do a ride together... I promise I'll be smart

 

[James T Kirk]

No it was decently steep climb... Just where everyone was parked at was probably 15 degree slope.... Video never does justice on how steep things are. Glad to know you was there.....

I lived in CB for 10 years and rode cement crk a lot. Measure the slope, you will be surprised how steep 35-40 degrees is. I am not bagging on ya, its important to know what 35 degrees really is as 35-40 is prime steepness for slab development. It is very rare, nearly impossible for a slab as big as the one you triggered to develop on a 55 degree pitch, especially in Colorado. The reason you see guys shredding 55 degree spines in AK in ski and snowboard films in powder is that they constantly slough and clean themselves, slabs dont tend to develop. Even the absolute steepest lines you will see ridden in a ski/snowboard film will rarely be over 60 deg.

If that was a thread over 35 degrees you would never have stopped where you did. Dont believe me? Put a slope meter on it.

 

[JonezyBones]

I lived in CB for 10 years and rode cement crk a lot. Measure the slope, you will be surprised how steep 35-40 degrees is. I am not bagging on ya, its important to know what 35 degrees really is as 35-40 is prime steepness for slab development. It is very rare, nearly impossible for a slab as big as the one you triggered to develop on a 55 degree pitch, especially in Colorado. The reason you see guys shredding 55 degree spines in AK in ski and snowboard films in powder is that they constantly slough and clean themselves, slabs dont tend to develop. Even the absolute steepest lines you will see ridden in a ski/snowboard film will rarely be over 60 deg.

If that was a thread over 35 degrees you would never have stopped where you did. Dont believe me? Put a slope meter on it.

Yeah I actually would like to see that measurement. Im sure its something most people can have a hard time estimating. Id like to get a slope meter and check that hill but I kind of doubt ill be going riding up there anytime soon as the snow up cement creek is on the horrible side... But still going to try and get a slope meter

 

[camocat1000]

I have some info for ya Jones...Avalanche 1 Mike Duffy out of Colorado does Avalanche safety training he travels all over doing this..I do the coarse every other year..He gives a lot of great info..A local dealer sets this up for us and there is about 50 to 70 people that show up every year.

You can find him on facebook too.

Dave

 

[JonezyBones]

I have some info for ya Jones...Avalanche 1 Mike Duffy out of Colorado does Avalanche safety training he travels all over doing this..I do the coarse every other year..He gives a lot of great info..A local dealer sets this up for us and there is about 50 to 70 people that show up every year.

You can find him on facebook too.

Dave

Thanks! Ill definitly have to attend one of his siminars. I know they do some local avey training here in crested butte as well so maybe he's the one that comes in and presents it. I need to make it a priority to attend these events more often.

 

[skibreeze]

This was in the Crested Butte area.(Colorado) A place called Cement Creek.

It was sometime around noon.

It was a little warm probably mid to high 30's

North facing slope...

The avalanche forcast was high for most of the previous week. We had a big storm come through a week earlier. We saw a bunch of old natural avalanches from that previous forcast. But the warm temperatures earlier that week had settled the pack alot. The forcast that morning had dropped the persistent weak layer avalanche condition to almost non existant. There was a moderate avalanche warning for wind loaded slopes. Pretty much exactly what I was climbing on. There really wasnt a hill in that area that the wind hadn't affected in some way. There was a snowmobile track about 50ft above the crown of the slide. Yes ironically we were discussing the avalanche conditions moments before that slide. We were talking about staying away from the slopes with any sort of a cornice and just what we had read about the forcast for the day. That particular hill the snow was really crusted over and it appeared to be somewhat safe. But in reality all the signs were right there staring me in the face and well, you know the rest. This hill was probable about a 55 degree slope. + or - 5 degrees. We didnt see any warning signs of new slides nor had anything we was climbing on earlier gave any indication of unstable conditions.

The group we was with was a mix of skills as far as avalanches go. 4 out of 5 guys had beacons. The lone guy was just along for the ride and he didnt have any interest in climbing anything.

My avalanche training is somewhat bare. Iv only been through one course and it was more on how to operate a beacon and the procedures on finding one or more than one burial victim. The course covered the basics of identifying avalanche terrain but didnt go too in depth. More avey training and an airbag are definitly on the list.

Thanks for the interest everyone. Hope this information helps. Just goes to show that if theres tracks and it didnt slide on the previous run, doesnt mean that it still cant let go. It definitly scared the s**t outta me and I had no interest in climbing anything the rest of the weekend. Kind of made me second guess myself on every hill after that because really, after that, I felt anything up there could have slid. But now I just learn and am thankful to be writing this today. I hope others can learn from my mistakes. Stay safe everyone!!!

I won't bag on you for anything that happened, but I am going to contest where you say "The forcast that morning had dropped the persistent weak layer avalanche condition to almost non existant"

The CAIC report was listed as moderate for the day and this is the text for the day;


Snow & Avalanche Discussion




Cooler temperatures, light winds and only a skiff of new snow are helping the avalanche danger to ease slowly across the Gunnison zone. Mild temperatures and abundant sunshine during the first few days of the week provided the first taste of spring weather. The recent warm up formed crusts at the snow surface on many slopes, but it had little effect on old weak layers buried deeper in the snowpack. Persistent weak layers buried deep in the snowpack remain the primary avalanche concern. The upper snowpack is gaining strength, but the weak foundation of facets can still fail resulting in an avalanche. A snowmobile-triggered slide on Wednesday ran on a steep east aspect near treeline in the Irwin area.

Deep slab instabilities linger on many slopes. The probability of triggering a deep slab avalanche is easing, but the consequences of doing so can be severe. The snowpack is shallower in the eastern portion of the zone, which means it is weaker and easier to trigger the deep weak layers. If you are riding around Taylor Park or the western Sawatch, then read the Sawatch zone forecast.

For snowpack conditions in and around Crested Butte, please check the Crested Butte Avalanche Center forecast.

I don't know where you got non existant from if you read any report from tha CAIC.

 

[James T Kirk]

Thanks! Ill definitly have to attend one of his siminars. I know they do some local avey training here in crested butte as well so maybe he's the one that comes in and presents it. I need to make it a priority to attend these events more often.

Take an avy 1 course from CB mountain guides as a start. They know their sh*t. A seminar with 50-70 people attending is not an avy course it is an introduction.

For a poor mans slope meter, buy a line level (basically the bubble tube out of a level, designed to be attached to a string line, about 2.5" long, available at CB hardware store) and a 50 cent protractor. less then $5 total. Simply place the protractor on the slope and line up the 2.5" level. You dont need to measure the slope that slid on you, just measure a bunch of safe spots so you can develop accurate reference.