How is Kakwa right now? Anyone been there yet this year?

[Rye23]

Was in there on sat. Nothing to brag about for sure. Maybe 4 inches of new snow from the parking lot and all the way back into ruth. Never got any deeper the further we went in. That new little layer is sliding very easily on the hills and the snow is very set-up and hard. Driving across a untouched medow, the ski's will fall through the hard layer of snow once in a while sending you into the bars or almost ripping the bars right out of yours hands!

Very dissapointing to say the least!

 

[summitsrule]

Anyone lose a digital camera on the Kakwa Trail between Deadhorse Meadows and the parking lot? If so, id it and its yours. Found in the morning of Saturday, March 7 on the way in. I can be reached beter via email at steveandlindsay@telus.net

And the snow was great just for an update. Weather was stormy but trip was a blast.

 

[Mogul Molester]

Rode Kakwa this weekend. 3' of fresh up in Saddle creek What a ride. Followed some Albertians into Fancy sauce(thats what they called it) Us B.C."ns call it horseshoe bowls. Epic pow, Snowed pretty hard all weekend. looks like alot more snow for spring riding.

 

[poorider]

you still need albertans to break trail for you?

 

[Mogul Molester]

They beat us to it. I was riding with some hungover sally's

 

[Frequent Flyer]

Glad to hear you guys had good times, made er back safe. Wishing I was in with ya all weekend. Next year!!

 

[Rye23]

Was in there saturday. Epic conditions to say the least! But the hills are very unsafe


I was involved in an avalanche on saturday at around 2:00pm. We had a group of 8 and were heading to the back side of ruth when we decided to hit the one mountain that is across the medow just below where the glacier hangs. We were the first ones in there and a few of us were stuck and getting stuck in the chute leading up to the base of the mountain. A few of the guys ran some highmarks maybe 4-6 times and nothing happend. I then made my first pull of the day and when i got about 3/4 ways up the mountain it started to give away! There was nothing i could do but try to keep going up. I remember seeing the crack keep going and going on both the left and right faces of the mountain and the center face which i was on. The slab seemed to be about 2-3 feet deep from where i was! Some of the snow slid over the rock cliff on the left side and hit me head on sending me and my sled flying into a hudge back-flip. I landed penciled down feet first up to my waist. I knew i was ok but i still knew i was in a avalanche. Then all the snow around me started moving and i felt a big push from behind and a tumbeling i went. I got flipped and turned around a few times and started to go under but i frantically swam and got my self ontop and on my back with my feet faceing down hill. The guys at the bottom said they would see me and then lose sight of me from time to time untill i finally stayed up. i was waving like ever to the guys letting them know where i was and hopefully where i was going to end up. I then started slowing down and i knew at the end of a slide is when the people get burried if not already. As i started slowing down, my legs started getting pinned together and i started getting pulled down. There was nothing i could do as i was already exhausted. I was just waiting for more snow to come up from behind and completly cover me but it never did. Then i stopped burried up to my armpits about 20 feet from where everyone else was. I wiggled and wiggled and got myself free and walked away. My sled stayed at the top of the mountain with minimal damage. The guys went up later and got it for me as i would NOT go back up there! My body is bent up and sore as i was beeing tossed, flung, and bent around in ways you wouldn't believe but im ok otherwise.

Been sledding in that spot for 6+ years and never saw anything happen. Just to let you know that this year is different. From the bottom looking up the avy was about 300 to 400 feet wide with as much as 20-30 feet of snow piled up at the bottom. All of us were all safey'd up with the majority having the new ortavox s1 beacons. I myself did not have a ABS pack on and actually feel that it would have put me in more of a face down possition other than ridding it down on my back. Besides in my experience it was the ending part that was sucking me down and with that suction that i felt their is no way in hell that a ABS pack is going to hold you up! But i must say i kinda wished i had one if things got worse. I always wondered if a person would have enough time to pull the handle when in this situation and from what i found the answer is "YES". I feel i would have had enough time to pull it.


So play safe and becarefull out there guys and gals. With more snow in the forcast, things are even going to get worse on the hills.

Rye

 

[Scotford]

Wow Rye...hell of a story... glad your okay.... we were in on thur,fri, and sat... friday nite the far face on the back trail at Babbett slid... huge slid covered the trail in,,, notice a couple more slides over top as well...

Over all though was great POW conditions everywhere we were, we broke trail everywhere we went..2+' in most areas...

Play Safe....

Couple Pics..

 

[mctrailboss]

excelent story, I have a back pack and have thankfully never had to use it, but often wondered if i would have time to pull it. glad to hear you were ok as that hasnt always been the case this year.

 

[HECKS]

Was in there saturday. Epic conditions to say the least! But the hills are very unsafe
Rye

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey cuz !! Hell of a story, relieved to hear you ( and your group ) are okay !! A little bit of an adrenaline rush eh ! Did you snap any pics after the fact ? Are you going to invest in a pack ? We all did a few months ago, feel a bit safer with them on. But, nothings a 100%, just gives you a better chance of survival and rescuers locating you. Are you planning on riding anymore this year ? I would love to come up there sometime, and join you guys on a weekend. 6pack

 

[zacs]

Zac's Tracs Avalanche Class - Chetwynd - March 28-29+

Whoa, quite an experience Rye. Very glad that you came out of it so well.

Just a few questions if you don't mind.

Was there any warning that the slide was stopping? or did it just stop? Do you think that you would have had time to (somewhat) clear your face of snow had you been fully buried? During the avalanche was it difficult to keep from inhaling snow and plugging your ability to breath? Was your helmet or clothing packed with snow when you came to rest? Why do you think that your sled was so much higher than you on the slide path?
Did you see any other signs of slab avalanches that day? How warm was it? How much fresh snow?

-------------------------------

Just a quick heads up. There are 10 more spaces in the avy class scheduled for next weekend in Chetwynd. Field sessions in Hasler. Bring your buddies...you want them smarter than you!
March 28-29 +
For course details and to register, CLICK HERE.

What you can expect to learn
* 4 persistent weak layers and what you can do to avoid them
* why all hoars are bad, even the pretty ones
* why your long time local knowledge of a riding area isn’t always enough to keep you safe
* your snowmobile can be a tool or it can be a weapon. Learn to use its power to your advantage
* key webpages that should be accessed before each riding day
* FREE sources to gather and build your avy knowledge and experience
* why the blueprint changes season to season, even from day to day. What is this year’s blueprint?
* why rocks and trees are like icebergs
* eight killer terrain features
* the 5 most important questions to ask when organizing a rescue
* how to properly use an avalanche probe (no, I will not be quoting Cartman from Southpark but what I show you will probably surprise you)
* who in your riding group is an asset and who is a liability
* key benefits and limitations of beacons, probes, shovels, and airbags. Features you should look for in your friend’s gear. (Afterall, the gear that your friends carry is to SAVE YOUR LIFE. Make sure it is the best stuff!)
* and of course, how to use that beacon hanging around your neck.

===================================================
Here are some comments from a few guys that took the Grande Prairie class last month:
-------------------------------------
Thanks again for putting on the GP course, it may have already saved my life.
I was sledding out in Kakwa by Mt. Alexander, travelling across a glacier. I was only going about 5-10km/hr (basically just sightseeing) when the snow underneath me gaveway. Turns out it was a crevasse that was blown over, I just looked forward to see the snow breaking up under my ski’s but it was to late to do anything. I landed in ...

==================================
My father and I took the AST1 course in Grande Prairie and I would like to start out saying thank you to you and Randy for putting on such a great course. I’m pretty new to the whole sledding business and I learned a ton of useful information. My father, that has been sledding for years with his friends, told me he was amazed ...
====================================
Just a quick note to thank you and your staff for such a fantastic course. The info you provided and the manner in which you provided it was just awesome.
I took in so much critical info ...

CLICK HERE to read the rest of these comments.

Any questions? Call Lori Z. at 403-850-3042 or pm me.

======================================================

I cut this from the Mar 12/09 CAC Public Avalanche Report for the North Rockies region.
CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Canadian Avalanche Centre's website.

"The older facets from the beginning of the season are now fairly deep and should not be much of an issue until the warm spring melt cycle begins. The layers of concern are nearer the surface. On Feb. 23 and March 1 layers of sun crust and surface hoar developed. On top of this you should now have around 30-60cm of snow, which is producing moderate to hard shears with stability tests. With the warm temperatures and winds this slab could be ripe for skier or sledder triggering."

The first sentence here is forewarning that spring could see large and destructive avalanches.
Don't let this seasons' avy conditions catch you by surprise. Be prepared. No one plans to be in an avalanche.

For details related to the Chetwynd avalanche course and to register, CLICK HERE.

 

[isistwinteryet]

Scotford...you guys actually woke up in the morning????I thought for sure after friday night there would be silence, especially the poo. great times

 

[Mogul Molester]

Here's some shots of some avy's I saw in Kakwa last weekend. They had already slide by the time we got there and are clearly triggered by mass amounts of snow. The red arrows show the cut line and the run outs are massive ( I wouldn't want to be sitting at the bottom when they came down)

 

[Scotford]

Scotford...you guys actually woke up in the morning????I thought for sure after friday night there would be silence, especially the poo. great times

Ya great times...Sun was shining and could not miss one more epic day....took three days to re-copp though..

 

[Scotford]

Here's some shots of some avy's I saw in Kakwa last weekend. They had already slide by the time we got there and are clearly triggered by mass amounts of snow. The red arrows show the cut line and the run outs are massive ( I wouldn't want to be sitting at the bottom when they came down)

Ya that first pic..slid in Babbett was freaking HUGE...that one would have been a killer for sure...

 

[Rye23]

Zacs,

I don't mind the questions. Better to let people know than not at all

temp was about -3 deg c with about 2.5 feet new snow. The week prior it had been cold! so definatly should not have been there.

I believe i made the right decision by keeping into the throttle and trying to get above as much snow as possible. By doing that i think i must have been in the later part of the slide. After some good tumbles it was hard to breath as i was pulling in fine snow so i don't think i was taking too many breaths. I wouldn't doubt if i was holding my breath. After getting things straightend out i could see again blue skys and my group down below from time to time. Their was already a hudge amount of snow pilled at the bottom as i was coming down. I would have enough time to put my arms and hands in front of my face as i was slowing down and i was thinking of that as well. I didn't know if their was any more snow following me so i was either going to put two hands in front of face or one hand up for location. But as i was slowing down i was getting pulled under and i started to panic a bit so i had both arms up waving at my group so they could get to me quick. Then i stopped. Pretty quick actually. The snow had no where else to go, it was already pilled to high. I used my arms that were out and dug pushed and wiggled and got myself out in probably less than 5 seconds and stumbled away. My helmet and clothing were not packed with snow that bad at all but my sled had snow packed in places that i didn't think snow could get into. I think that since i was so high on the slide, the soft snow was already gone by the time the sled landed so it just rolled a few times on the under layer and stuck on the mountain. After we heard that there had been more slides that day spoted but as far as i know i was the only one that was in one.

 

[isistwinteryet]

lost a helmet cam in parking lot

Anone see a helmet cam in the kakwa parking lot, Lost it friday night last week beside a black 4 place enclosed trailer with black ford 1 ton pulling it.
Thanks

 

[Mogul Molester]

Scotford. That first slide isn't Babette, It's horseshoe bowl up saddle creek. The run out on that one was huge and the center section was still hanging on the rocks up there. I really didn't feel safe sitting at the bottom.