Both of them were from Strathmore, Alberta.
Revy avalanche
- Thread starter steveo10
- Start date
It is absolutely AMAZING that only 2 people died. Tragic, and even more of a loss as those that died I considered my friends.
Just spoke with a guy from group getting back to the USA and he said that everyone in their group was buried, and as they unburied people they, as well as others that were not buried, went and found and buried others.
Sounds like everyone reacted in a fashion that saved MANY lives, and that the sledders were well prepared. The sledders that were there are the heros, the two that died were found in the first 15-20 minutes from the personal report that I got, but it sounds like they passed brom trauma. I am sorry that they were at the bottom of the hill, but I would have been right beside them, as well as many that were there, and were going to be there, thinking that they were far enough away and in a "safe zone". Stupid? Probably, but it is on a little bit of a hill, and everytime I've been there(a handful of times) that's where people watch from, experienced and the like, people that probably should know better as well.......
There should not be any blame, IMO, except for the bonehead that went up above Shay and made the cut above him.......that is reckless and IMO caused his death. He has blood on his hands and will have to live with that. The Avy would have happened, but Shay may not have been there.
So sorry for the families and their loss, Shay and Kurtess will be missed.....I wish and pray for a speedy reocvery for all that were injured. Such a tragic event.
Just spoke with a guy from group getting back to the USA and he said that everyone in their group was buried, and as they unburied people they, as well as others that were not buried, went and found and buried others.
Sounds like everyone reacted in a fashion that saved MANY lives, and that the sledders were well prepared. The sledders that were there are the heros, the two that died were found in the first 15-20 minutes from the personal report that I got, but it sounds like they passed brom trauma. I am sorry that they were at the bottom of the hill, but I would have been right beside them, as well as many that were there, and were going to be there, thinking that they were far enough away and in a "safe zone". Stupid? Probably, but it is on a little bit of a hill, and everytime I've been there(a handful of times) that's where people watch from, experienced and the like, people that probably should know better as well.......
There should not be any blame, IMO, except for the bonehead that went up above Shay and made the cut above him.......that is reckless and IMO caused his death. He has blood on his hands and will have to live with that. The Avy would have happened, but Shay may not have been there.
So sorry for the families and their loss, Shay and Kurtess will be missed.....I wish and pray for a speedy reocvery for all that were injured. Such a tragic event.
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Not Veedy. I was refering to Ozone and it has nothing to do with this avalanche. It's not his fault that the hill slid and not his fault that people were there and were maimed. If my nephews sled had been together I likely would have been right there when it happened as we had that trip planned. Ozone is just an idiot, that's all. Perhaps this wasn't the time or the place for my remark so I applogize.
When it comes to backcountry sledding, you should assume the risk and all the liability upon yourself if something should go wrong and you are killed or injured simply because you are there regardless of who did what where and when. If a person can't understand that, then they need to stay home. When you choose to dance with the devil, sometimes you get burned. Blaming anyone else just isn't right.
Please, don't take my remark as heartless for those that were killed and injured or had to experience the trauma. It was a real tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families.
Curious to know how much fresh snow was at Turbo that day ?
OT
OT
Let's all try to be respectful. I know many of us are quite emotional. There are friends and family who are reading this, let's please keep them in mind. This was/is hard on MANY folks. People are going to be needing our support, even if just a shoulder.
Thank you,
Sandy
Thank you,
Sandy
will an admin pls ban this guy? hes doing nothing but stirring the ...
D
Duke
Well-known member
Both men were from Alberta according to the news, Strathmore, and Lacombe. My condolences to the families. 
Hats off to the Revelstoke Search & Rescue, Police, Volunteers, Snowmobile club and to those who organized the search to save the lives of many. I feel terrible for the Police, S&R, Kathy and others at the snowmobile club, etc, who are left this disaster to deal with. Thank god the capacity cap was put on to minimize the turnout of this weekend, I couldnt imagine how catastrophic it could have been if there were 2000 people on the mountain. This is a horrible black eye for us all
Hats off to the Revelstoke Search & Rescue, Police, Volunteers, Snowmobile club and to those who organized the search to save the lives of many. I feel terrible for the Police, S&R, Kathy and others at the snowmobile club, etc, who are left this disaster to deal with. Thank god the capacity cap was put on to minimize the turnout of this weekend, I couldnt imagine how catastrophic it could have been if there were 2000 people on the mountain. This is a horrible black eye for us all
Sorry...messed up. Don't know how to delete.
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F
fountaintirexp
Member
preist lake rmk, do you know that there were people at the bottom with no beacon on? were you there? The fact that that there were dozens upon dozens of people there to recover the injured and buried speaks to the awareness of the sledding community of the dangers of avys. Everyone there that knew what to do and rushed to help need to be applauded. not everyone there was sitting at the bottom of the hill, many thought of the danger and stayed well to the sides.
I agree...what does it matter how much snow was up there. If ya want to know, look elsewhere. Now is not the time to ask or look for your answer here.
WoW
Man, the second picture in here just blows me away, look how far the sleds were carried down through the trees, can you imagine being swept down there with all the sleds tumbling with you
That's the scariest thing I ever saw and I cant believe there were'nt more deaths
This will be news in every country in the world
Man, the second picture in here just blows me away, look how far the sleds were carried down through the trees, can you imagine being swept down there with all the sleds tumbling with you
That's the scariest thing I ever saw and I cant believe there were'nt more deaths
This will be news in every country in the world
All of the people involved and who helped should be commended for working together as a team to help everyone possible and for being 'backcountry prepared'!
P
priest lake rmk
Well-known member
Easy bud. I had no intent of being a armchair QB. Believe me I am as sad as the next guy. I didn't intend to imply that people were there without beacons. I spoke out of line. I will edit my post. Sorry.
I halfway disagree on this one.
While I agree that an organizer has some level responsibility to provide a safe venue for his or her event, at the same time EVERYONE in the backcountry has a personal responsibility for their own safety. That's why we call it the backcountry, its one of the few places in todays world that we get to make our own decisions. We don't have some idiot in the gov telling us what we can and cannot do in the backcountry and we would really like to keep it that way.
Plus, the last time I checked there is no super qualification required to be an event organizer, just a passion and enthusiasm for the activity, so why we would look at the organizer as the keeper of all knowledge and safety is beyond me. Its the BACKCOUNTRY, just because someone doesn't tell you to get away from the edge of the cliff or the bottom of the hill does not mean that its safe or prudent to be there. Everyone at that event had access to avalanche reports that were screaming danger danger, and everyone knew how much fresh snow had fallen recently on a suspect snowpack. If they didn't know those things then they had no business being anywhere near the mtns. Our society is already like a bunch of sheep that blindly follow each other around, please do not further that unfortunate trend by placing all the blame on the event organizer.
Yes, it would've been prudent to restrict one rider to the hill at a time, or to postpone due to conditions, or perhaps to move to a safer location. But no one was forced to be there, and I'm not even sure anyone was paying for the privilege to be there, the backcountry comes with inherit individual responsibilities, please do not try to pawn those responsibilities off on some organization or gov branch.
I am truly sorry for the victims, and especially sorry for their families. May God be with them and may they all receive all the support and love they need to get through these trying times.
I was riding new denver the conditions were bad there also. Do you know who died at priest lake
I was there, my whole group got hit by the avy, someone was looking out for us. All 8 of us were buried or stuck in the slide. Everybody that was there searching, helping dig and tending to the injured did an excellent job. Fortunately we all escaped without serious injury, others weren't so lucky. Our hearts and prayers go out to the injured and our deepest condolences to the families of those that were lost. Everybody that doesn't understand our sport tries to lay blame on someone, there is no one person to blame this tragedy on. We all know the risks involved I've been to the big iron over the past 5 years when its been held, I'll be back again. We parked our sled were we could watch them climb turbo in an area we thought was safe. We were caught on the low side and pushed over the hill, most of the people tried to get out of the path, it could have been alot worse. My thanks to every person involved, lives were saved and we hope this doesn't stain our sport.We do this because we love it. Ride safe and come home alive.
Does anyone know how many involved in the slide were wearing airbags? And was anyone burried wearing one? My wife and I are praying for the familys of the lost sledders.. And we as sledders should be praised for being prepared in the back country.. Not chastised!! I am sure without the sledders being right there and knowing what to do and using the equipment they had the number would be much higher... Again condolences to the family and friends of the victims..
good to see you on here. That was my thought also, those people were very prepared, did you see all the probes, etc?
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