This is one of the most fun activities Iv'e ever done,My friends and i do it well!We wear a.b.s ,beacons,armour.Carry shovels,probes,spot,extra food and we have tail gate meetings to discuss the day and conditions.Most have AVY training and first aid!!The day of the OWLSHEAD tragedy we were first to assist.Proir to that event we could be heard buzzing around in the meadows(trust me we like to chew every bowl in site) Most sledders are aware of the dangers,but i was shocked when we were searching for the buried rider how many riders had to sit out because they never had beacons!!!I know this is a free country , but im thinking mybe if your going to ride the back country ,somethings should be manditory..just a thought???? R.I.P to the lost ridders from sunday,and to the families,WE SHARE YOUR PAIN ....
Hasler Avalanche, recovered body today.
- Thread starter frock
- Start date
RIP brother. That's so sad.
Wow, is that like 14 deaths in BC alone this year
You guys better stay clear of the hills for a while. Also, it seems like the theme of this year is not staying away from avalanche zones. Most the avy deaths came from people sitting at the wrong place, not climbing in the wrong place.
You guys better stay clear of the hills for a while. Also, it seems like the theme of this year is not staying away from avalanche zones. Most the avy deaths came from people sitting at the wrong place, not climbing in the wrong place.
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E
EEEK FACTOR
Active member
excuse my ignorance...but where is Hasler?
x2 _ sorry about that awful story, we all need to be safe
Hasler is a riding area that's part of the Silver Sands and Powder King in Northern BC. It's about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive north of Prince George. They get tons of snow up there.
Just a little side note about avalanches this year. I have lived on the same road for 10 years now and drive up and down that road 25 to 30 times a week. About 2/3 of the way down, there is an area where someone pulled gravel out so it's a bowl right at the side of the road. The owners of the land ran a 6 foot high berm across the mouth of the bowl just to the edge of the side of the road to keep people from hauling gravel off the site. THe top of the bowl is about 65 to 70 feet high with a couple of little trees placed here and there. A week ago there was an avalanche in that bowl. The top 8 inches of snow from the leading edge to about 15 feet down slid to the bottom of the bowl stripping the base with it. If someone was in that bowl making their way to the walking trails, they would have been buried. I have never seen an avalanche in that area before. It's right in city limits and it's just a little pea shooter of a hill to begin with. Avalanches can happen anywhere there is snow and elevation. If it's clear of trees and has snow on it, this year it's an avalanche zone. Let's give it a couple of weeks to settle a bit before we head out. All this snow will set up for some major fun spring riding but it's impossible to do from a casket. Just my 02 cents.
This is the slide that has also been refered to as the Chetwynd avalanche.
Hasler is closer to Chetwynd than Silver Sands or Powder King, but in the same general area.
F
frock
Well-known member
Couple things to add
There is a few asking if they were climbing or not and in an earlier post I said I didn't know for sure. Now that I think about it I think they probably were playing in there because the trail doesn't come out in this bowl. You actually go past and below this bowl into a creek draw then turn and go up into this bowl. Then to get out you have to drop back down the creek draw and carry on out.
Another point that I think should be made is this wasn't a huge slide. The hill is only about 300 ft high and if you combined both slides they might be 4-500 yards wide, but the problem here was where it occured. There is very little room between the bottom of the hill and the wall of trees so it didn't take a huge amount of snow to make it deep at the bottom. The second, lower slide funneled all the snow into a narrow creek draw so again it didn't take much snow to make it very deep in there.
Last thing, my heart goes out to this guy's friends and family. My deepest heartfelt condolenses go out to them.
Shane
There is a few asking if they were climbing or not and in an earlier post I said I didn't know for sure. Now that I think about it I think they probably were playing in there because the trail doesn't come out in this bowl. You actually go past and below this bowl into a creek draw then turn and go up into this bowl. Then to get out you have to drop back down the creek draw and carry on out.
Another point that I think should be made is this wasn't a huge slide. The hill is only about 300 ft high and if you combined both slides they might be 4-500 yards wide, but the problem here was where it occured. There is very little room between the bottom of the hill and the wall of trees so it didn't take a huge amount of snow to make it deep at the bottom. The second, lower slide funneled all the snow into a narrow creek draw so again it didn't take much snow to make it very deep in there.
Last thing, my heart goes out to this guy's friends and family. My deepest heartfelt condolenses go out to them.
Shane
F
flying pig
Well-known member
Condolenses to the family, very saddened by their loss. I know when you first pop out of the trees at the top of the creek trail that leads into the north end of hassler their is a sign in the trees from a few years back to the memory of another sledder who was killed in there. Hassler is an extreme area, I'd call it intermediate to expert terrain. I believe I know the spot this happened, most chilling part for me is I've already been on one of the hills I think it could be, this year. If it was the farthest north bowl I can say I will never again touch that hill, I've seen sign and heard it ping too many times to go near it. Seems like every time I've been there its pinging or there's a fracture or snowballs at the bottom. For that matter any of the first few bowls there have shown sign in the past, the first bowl you go over after leaving the trail from the trees is a bad one too. It always forms a cornice in the north west corner and I've seen big fracture there before.Aluminum Bowl is very scary, seen it slide in the spring before when the cornice falls off the top.
Please be safe guys! Theres lots of safe areas in Hassler but almost all of them require you to travel through very bad avy terrain to get to them. Thoughts are witht the family and prayers go out to them.
Please be safe guys! Theres lots of safe areas in Hassler but almost all of them require you to travel through very bad avy terrain to get to them. Thoughts are witht the family and prayers go out to them.
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sevenmacs
Member
Many thanks for bringing all the facts to light. Avy awareness is so important, but without the facts we can't learn from our mistakes or the mistakes of others, so the more details the better it may save anothers life.
But sometimes you can do everthing right and things still go bad.
Just took Mike Duffy's Avy awareness class and its a eye opener.
But sometimes you can do everthing right and things still go bad.
Just took Mike Duffy's Avy awareness class and its a eye opener.
Thougts and prayers to the familiy members and friends left behind, to the victim and to all of you who bravely assisted with the recovery.
r.i.p. fellow sledder! sorry for the family, best wishes.
I am sorry to hear about this. I rode Hasler last year. It was my last ride of last season and probably the best one. It is just a good reminder to listen to the warnings. Have they identified the person yet? Was he from Chetwind area? I have some friends up there and haven't talked to them all yet.
F
frock
Well-known member
Ridgeclimber he is from Rycroft and his name is Harold Waldner. There is a good write-up and video on this guy at www.ctvedmonton.ca, check it out everyone.
Shane
Shane
So when someone dies wearing an abs does it take point off of the BS number they advertise? No amount of gear makes it ok to take these risks. I feel so sad for the family of this fallen Brotha, Ive seen the long term effects of this.
T
Trinity Taz
ACCOUNT CLOSED
When its your time to go, its your time, period.
Snowmobiling is no more dangerous than any other thing worth doing in this world.
What's important when we go is that the ones we love know it, the ones we hate are forgiven and our hearts are right with God.
My prayers go out to those lost this season.
RIDE SMART, RIDE SAFE< BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AT ALL TIMES!
Snowmobiling is no more dangerous than any other thing worth doing in this world.
What's important when we go is that the ones we love know it, the ones we hate are forgiven and our hearts are right with God.
My prayers go out to those lost this season.
RIDE SMART, RIDE SAFE< BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AT ALL TIMES!
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