Revy avalanche

[OT Bar & Grill]

[QUOTE
There was NOBODY there to put the brake on this gathering, with the conditions so ripe for an avalanche.[/QUOTE]

DITTO JeffC, the common sense was lost that day.

Heavy Snowfall + HillClimbing + Large Crowds At The Base Of The Hill = Disaster Waiting To Happen

OT

 

[MR MOOSE]

After the snow cleared my wife and another friend from our group stayed by the fire and took care of our 7 yr old son (who was luckily fine! ) and two other little boys that did not fair as well. We would really like to know how those two boys made out after they were choppered out and how there fathers faired as well. The one boy was about 7 yrs old and was from vernon we think, his name was Joey, he had a small cut on his head and they thought his ribs were broken, the poor little guys boots were blown right off him when he was hit by the avalanche. The other boy was from Salmon Arm we think, his name was Nova, his arm and ribs were thought to be broken and I would guess his age to be around 8 or 9. If anyone has any info on them we would really appreciate hearing it, post it or PM us please. Thanks.

 

[winter brew]

Do I understand correctly the 2 that did not survive were both on the hill when it let loose?
Sad.....and frustrating because it could have been prevented. Hope the others heal and we can all learn from this.

 

[wdlfbio]

This is my first year sledding. I'm as green as anybody new to a sport is. I'm learning tons as I move along. But, from day 1, I always knew that I am responsible for where I'm at, when I'm there, what I do, and what I cause. Nobody can force me to be where I don't want to be or where I don't feel safe being. Nobody. Not ever. Not in anything I choose to do.

I know avalanches happen. I know most of them don't lead to any harm to people. I know this one is a tragedy. I also understand that there were around 200 people that put themselves in danger, but I suspect that most did so under their own knowledge. I know this because of all the beacons, avy bags, probes, and shovels.

We all take risks. Smart people make calculated risks every day and prepare themselves for overcoming the dangers that could materialize. If I look at this objectively, and start wtih 200 people in the path of a very large avalanche, only 2 people killed is 1% of those in danger. Then I look at the individuals injured and there are quite a few. But what I see as amazing and a testament to most snowmobilers taking calculated risks is that 99% came out alive, most with no physical injuries, and almost everyone of them prepared. Tons of avybags, tons of beacons, tons of shovels, tons of probes, amazing immediate organization and effort in the face of extreme chaos and trauma. That shows me that this group of people understood the danger, calculated the risk, had plans in place to act if something catastrohpic occurred, and did so in a manner that saved 99% of the people there.

Now, let me compare this to a couple things. I fish tuna and halibut 40-70+ miles off-shore. I fish in small vessels most of the time, 22-24'. Thousands of us do this regularly. Sometimes boaters go when the winds, waves, swells are not optimal. Some go when we know the predictions are calling for extreme. Sometimes, boats capsize. Nearly everytime, the Coastguard is there saving people, many times it is other boaters in the vicinity. That's what fellow boaters and Coastguard do. Just like sledders. But people still die or get injured, and under conditions that are much more predictable. It's still tragic.

The Mississippi River and other rivers flood, frequently and with EXCELLENT predictability with timing and intensity. Yet everytime, people die. And yet, people rebuild right where they were the last three times their home was destroyed. It's still tragic.

I am very compassionate and truly sympathetic for the losses, the physical injuries, and even the emotional trauma every single person on that mountain feels, and the pain and saddness all of us feel who were'nt even present to have to witness or assist in the rescue. But I am also very inspired by the amazing outcome because all those there were prepared for the worst case scenario and kept this from being what should have been significantly worse.

I believe this should be heralded as a learning tool for every person considering venturing into the backcountry in the winter - what to watch out for and exactly how to respond if it occurs. The snowmobilers there did an amazing job!

 

[Comp 670]

It would be nice is someone with some writeing skills could write up a artical about how PREPARED most of the sledders were and how it SAVED many lives..The media is just killing us over this,only pointing out the bad...

It seems to me that this was allmost a perfect rescue operation.Sounds like everybody pitched in,was prepared with the right equipment(and thats something most other sports people never seem to be) and got the job done quickly and safely.

The FACT that most of the sledders were prepared for something like this and took care of themselfs before S&R was even there needs to be brought out to the news people. S&R also did a wonderful job but it was the extremely quick thinking and work of the people who were there that made this turn out alot better then it seemed it was going to at first. To have approx 200 people hit by a major avy and only lose 2 people shows that the sledding comunity is doing a great job of trying to be prepared as possible for the worst. The news people need to show this,that we are not just reckless thrill seekers with no clue....

Sorry this rambles,I'm just not a good writer..

 

[OT Bar & Grill]

Best thing to come out of this tragedy, is the BIG IRON SHOOT OUT will more than likely never happen again...And this is a good thing for those who use the backcountry responsibily.

By the way just because your sporting a beacon, shovel & probe doesn't mean sqwat if your still sitting at the bottom of a big hill after a big snowfall.

You Just Can't Teach Common Sense

OT

 

[Trashy]

Snowmobiling in the backcountry is a privalage not a right. This privalage will soon end.

OT

You are mostly correct, but you may want to consider working on your timing/tact a little.
There are people here who lost loved ones and are grieving; do you really think this is a good time to pass judgement?

Yes, mistakes were made.
No, we cannot turn back time......

What we need to do is learn from this. I also feel that those involved deserve a lot of credit for acting quickly in their rescue efforts; its miraculous that there wasn't more fatalities.

 

[snowmobiler]

Best thing to come out of this tragedy, is the BIG IRON SHOOT OUT will more than likely never happen again...And this is a good thing for those who use the backcountry responsibily.




OT

just because you pussed out and quit sledding dosent mean everybody else should.the big iron should continue,

 

[meakin46]

Here is a survivor telling his story, his injuries are a bit grafichttp://www.globalsaskatoon.com/world/story.html?id=2682042

that is my buddy ben, me, him and 3 others were at turbo on saturday, i was on the top of turbo when it happened one friend was off to the side and got missed, the other three got buried, all are ok, ben is ruffed up and has a broken neck, but he is doing good and will make a full recovery

 

[Mcx Nytro]

You know guys with the avy conditions the way they were even if the fellow hadn't highmarked above the other guy, the next few pulls probably would have dropped the slab. I think it was inevitable. The only comment I can make and has probably been made already is nobody should be parked in the avalanche path. I think this is why it was such a bad outcome.

It saddens me to learn of the deaths, especially with young families.. Prayers

I think you are right on. A few years ago at this event there were 2 or more climbing turbo and guys right at the bottom. Some runaway sleds smacked into some sleds parked and these guys compained that the owners of the run aways should pay for the damage????. We all like the great view but???

 

[lugnut]

Do I understand correctly the 2 that did not survive were both on the hill when it let loose?
Sad.....and frustrating because it could have been prevented. Hope the others heal and we can all learn from this.

One of the guys that died was stuck on the hill. The other guy was sitting at the bottom.

 

[OT Bar & Grill]

You are mostly correct, but you may want to consider working on your timing/tact a little.
There are people here who lost loved ones and are grieving; do you really think this is a good time to pass judgement?

Yes, mistakes were made.
No, we cannot turn back time......

What we need to do is learn from this. I also feel that those involved deserve a lot of credit for acting quickly in their rescue efforts; its miraculous that there wasn't more fatalities.

The timing is right now when it's fresh and in everyones mind. People are passive and tend to not give a hoot if you wait a week or 3 months.

I've been on this SW forum for a long long time, and i've lost a few dear friends to avy's as well. I can tell you with 100% certain that my style of writing and the style of others have helped people smarten up will riding in the backcountry. I know this for fact because i've received plenty of emails from folks thanking me for turning on there light bulb.

Bottom line im not here trying to convince the masses, i know thats not going to happen.... If i can just help 1 person see the light at the end of the tunnel, than it's all worth it.

It's called tough love, and someone has to do it.

OT

 

[spoon]

I was there seconds after it happened and was shocked at the sight of what I saw. It was unbelievable. First thing I did was make sure my group of 15 was ok and immediately jumped in to help find others. We worked for hours to make sure as many people were rescued and accounted for as possible. We were on our own for over an hour before search and rescue and helis showed. At the time I and others were angry over how long the helis took to show. They were right there for every other part of the day and not there when needed but that also goes to show that Turbo was not really part of the event at that time. We as a group kept very level heads and organized searches and kept taking head counts of individual groups and making up work parties to start warming fires for the injured. This is being spun by the media to make the mountain sledders look bad but I for being there,( and in the end finding out only 2 died when at the time I was sure there were more buried than what we could recover) am impressed by what we as a group did to help each other using skills that have been impressed upon us by past tragedies like this. To me at the time this looked like the worst avy disaster I had ever heard of and in the end it is a miracle that only 2 died, not that any should have but as I was leaving the scene when the S&R guys were booting us out I was thinking we would hear about many more bodies being recovered. People in my group were actively involved in the rescue. Our girl in the group Kirsten worked on Shay up until hours later when she was finally told to stop by paramedics at the airport and my buddy Aaron was one of the guys who found Curtis and he also grabbed a girl and dragged her out of the center of the path when he fired his sled and pinned it out of the way. 2 of our guys, Carmen and Dan were injured but both rode home on badly damaged sleds. I was with the Krazy Canadian and Rod Romanow riding toward Turbo when the slide happened and had it not been for having to go slow for Rod and having a small issue with my sled, we would have been in it. Rod filmed all the footage you see of when it happened and props to him to document the incident as it does show the effort we all made in rescuing people and dealing with the tragedy. Sad to say but the last person to pull the hill was Shay and it came down when he was turning out. Extreme coincidence that his partner was killed and both guys were at opposite corners of the accident. Very sad and eye opening experience.

 

[LISA]

Well just like alot of people on here you are going through mixed emotions why did it happen, who is to blame, sadness, confusion, anger, ect ect. But fact is it happened. All people there had their own level of responsibility. As far as the persons who oragnized it maybe instead of blaming we should be throwing out suggestions to help future events avoid this same kind of tragedy. My thought was how about putting up warning signs, cones of dangerous areas. Handouts about safety at your event. These are the things we should focus on is making things safer in the future.
Also focus on what can be done to help those who have suffered from this and a donation fund.
The more we show the media and everyone else we are doing what we can to make things better for the future of riders in our areas is what will keep our sport going and areas open for riding.

 

[MTdream]

I was there seconds after it happened and was shocked at the sight of what I saw. It was unbelievable. First thing I did was make sure my group of 15 was ok and immediately jumped in to help find others. We worked for hours to make sure as many people were rescued and accounted for as possible. We were on our own for over an hour before search and rescue and helis showed. At the time I and others were angry over how long the helis took to show. They were right there for every other part of the day and not there when needed but that also goes to show that Turbo was not really part of the event at that time. We as a group kept very level heads and organized searches and kept taking head counts of individual groups and making up work parties to start warming fires for the injured. This is being spun by the media to make the mountain sledders look bad but I for being there,( and in the end finding out only 2 died when at the time I was sure there were more buried than what we could recover) am impressed by what we as a group did to help each other using skills that have been impressed upon us by past tragedies like this. To me at the time this looked like the worst avy disaster I had ever heard of and in the end it is a miracle that only 2 died, not that any should have but as I was leaving the scene when the S&R guys were booting us out I was thinking we would hear about many more bodies being recovered. People in my group were actively involved in the rescue. Our girl in the group Kirsten worked on Shay up until hours later when she was finally told to stop by paramedics at the airport and my buddy Aaron was one of the guys who found Curtis and he also grabbed a girl and dragged her out of the center of the path when he fired his sled and pinned it out of the way. 2 of our guys, Carmen and Dan were injured but both rode home on badly damaged sleds. I was with the Krazy Canadian and Rod Romanow riding toward Turbo when the slide happened and had it not been for having to go slow for Rod and having a small issue with my sled, we would have been in it. Rod filmed all the footage you see of when it happened and props to him to document the incident as it does show the effort we all made in rescuing people and dealing with the tragedy. Sad to say but the last person to pull the hill was Shay and it came down when he was turning out. Extreme coincidence that his partner was killed and both guys were at opposite corners of the accident. Very sad and eye opening experience.

Sounds like all the preparation and teaching payed off perfectly!!!!


Good on you and others Spoon!!!

Clearly a shocking experience, and clearly people kicked in and did the best possible when given INCREDIBLE circumstances!!!!

just awesome that his tragedy was not worse!!!

Humbling to hear of the instant coordination of getting fires, counts, first-aid, etc. It is NOT easy to get a group focused and doing what is necessary even when things are calm, let alone in the midst of chaos!!!!!!


thanks for sharing!!!

 

[lugnut]

To my knowledge all were wearing beacons. The two casualties were found promptly and possibly died from trauma.

The digging that is seen on the news is for possible victims found by probes that were assumed not wearing beacons-It usually was a sled or backpacks. The rescue dogs never located a body. The probe line was set up in case there were victims not wearing beacons...

Good to see how well equipped Everyone was.

 

[Jaynelson]

I hate to say it, and I mean NO DISRESPECT WHATSOEVER to those involved.....but here we have a day when the avalanche danger scale for that area was High to Extreme, and backcountry travel not recomended. That's as high as the scale goes....and you've got snowmobilers having a gathering/competition on/at the bottom if of a huge alpine slope in spite of it. I don't think anyone can blame the media for making it "sound bad" because it sounds pretty damn bad on its own.

It sounds like once it happened, everyone did an excellent job....which surely prevented additional casualties. It is awesome that everyone was well prepared and sprung into action....definetly saved some lives.

 

[Oregongirl]

It would be nice is someone with some writeing skills could write up a artical about how PREPARED most of the sledders were and how it SAVED many lives..The media is just killing us over this,only pointing out the bad...

It seems to me that this was allmost a perfect rescue operation.Sounds like everybody pitched in,was prepared with the right equipment(and thats something most other sports people never seem to be) and got the job done quickly and safely.

The FACT that most of the sledders were prepared for something like this and took care of themselfs before S&R was even there needs to be brought out to the news people. S&R also did a wonderful job but it was the extremely quick thinking and work of the people who were there that made this turn out alot better then it seemed it was going to at first. To have approx 200 people hit by a major avy and only lose 2 people shows that the sledding comunity is doing a great job of trying to be prepared as possible for the worst. The news people need to show this,that we are not just reckless thrill seekers with no clue....

Sorry this rambles,I'm just not a good writer..

I'm considering writing an article/blog on this. It angers me that the media is overlooking all the positives that reduced the number of possible fatalties....which has been mentioned here several times. Also - there are 100s of sledders that DID heed the warnings!! I spent many hours this weekend watching the forums and FB and hearing all the stories of the people that didn't go to the event this year. Or...were in Revy but not at Turbo - by choice - BECAUSE of the conditions.

If I do this, I will use comments made on the forums by survivors and others. But I PROMISE, I will not do as the media has done and use items out of context.

 

[03rmking]

Its sad that certain people and groups will use a tragedy to push their alternative agendas. Now is the time to mourn the lost and marvel at the extraordinary effort of the rescuers. I doubt there is another group in any sport that could have executed a cool headed rescue effort with the effectiveness displayed at Turbo Mtn. Everyone there is a true hero!

 

[AndrettiDog]

First of all my condolences to the families of the two that didn't make it. It's hard to even think of leaving family and friends behind and how they are struggling right now. Unfortunetly, nothing but time will heal that for them.

It's difficult because people are very tore up right now. But the only good thing about this tragedy is that more and more people learn what went wrong and what went right. Instead of a group of 4-5 guys that got caught in an avy learning, we will see over 200 people that may feel like they have a 2nd chance at life and will be a little more prudent in the future. It's also good to see so many people with probes and beacons. Over 200 people...this could have been so much worse (I say this lightly for the two that didn't make it).

The last thing that comes to mind is what will happen to the sport. It's hard to watch the TV clips. The anchors are all but calling us sledders idiots for the "adrenaline rush". I hope that the sledding community stays together behind this and nobody pushes to end anything. Don't let the local government (I'm not sure what that would be in Canada) come in and start closing stuff off. People make their own decisions in life and we all take some risk in what we do. Don't let some other entity come in and make that decision for us. I'm not placing any blame, but everyone that went in that area should be prepared and should have know the slide conditions were bad. I don't live there and I know that there are a ton of slides in Revy. We should mourn, but don't lose grip of what we fight to maintain.

Hopefully someone on the 4M will coordinate a donation thread. $20 from everyone will be huge (including SnoWest).