Revy avalanche

[switchback]

Not sure if this has been posted in previous pages. It will be interesting to see how the legal channels look upon this incident. The tragedy can't be changed. It's how we as a group go forward from here and hopefully it's together as a strong, unified and informed group. We need to make something positive come from this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJnwlhIOwq8

 

[Scott]

Ingredients for recipe of an avlanche:
(Western Montana Avalanche Center)

1) slope

2) snow load

3) trigger (both types: natural or human caused)

An avalanche CANNOT occur without all 3 of them. What was the trigger at Revy?
Human? Gravity? Lack of friction between layers?

 

[Thunderguy BOOSTED]

One thing i know is that i really dont think anyone should be able to tell you what you can put on your sled, how fast you can go, where you can go( in good conditions) etc!

If the government gets there hands in here ..... well who knows what could happen!( now i highly doubt they would be able to shut down the turbos, and any sleds with 155 - 400 HP because think of the amount of people that have 30+ grand in them things!!( soon to have one myself)

I would much rather see them enforce laws towards Avalanche training instead of freaking out and .....................!!

What happened in Revy was very unfortunate but i dont see why they would want to use it to put limits on the back country!

I could see if they wanted people to have beacons, av backpack, shovel, probe, etc I mean that should come without say no?

 

[kane13]

One thing i know is that i really dont think anyone should be able to tell you what you can put on your sled, how fast you can go, where you can go( in good conditions) etc!

If the government gets there hands in here ..... well who knows what could happen!( now i highly doubt they would be able to shut down the turbos, and any sleds with 155 - 400 HP because think of the amount of people that have 30+ grand in them things!!( soon to have one myself)

I would much rather see them enforce laws towards Avalanche training instead of freaking out and .....................!!

What happened in Revy was very unfortunate but i dont see why they would want to use it to put limits on the back country!

I could see if they wanted people to have beacons, av backpack, shovel, probe, etc I mean that should come without say no?

From what its looking like it will be illegal to enter area's under extreme avalanche warnings, but its a little to early to tell. I sure hope they give the CAC more funds to conduct their work and work with them on a solution.

 

[Ox]

I want to say thinks for the blanket e-mail on this from the moderator.

I read and read and read through all the "who's safes" and was looking for Reebs name. I had a PM from him last week that said he was going and a quick check tonight showed that he had not posted since the night before the slide.

FINALLY somewhere around the 300 post mark I find something about him being OK.

I'm sorry - I didn't "know" the lost.

Glad I wasn't there.


.

 

[Flange]

Ingredients for recipe of an avlanche:
(Western Montana Avalanche Center)

1) slope

2) snow load

3) trigger (both types: natural or human caused)

An avalanche CANNOT occur without all 3 of them. What was the trigger at Revy?
Human? Gravity? Lack of friction between layers?

4) Weak layer

 

[oregunrmk]

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families that have lost a loved one. My sincere and heartfelt condolences.
I have read and watched about this tragedy on this and other forums. I am truly offended by some of our own who actually are supposed to be mature adults. There is a time and place for everything and the bickering, finger pointing and second guessing is for later. How about showing some compassion and a helping hand to not just the families who lost someone, but also the victims laying in a hospital bed broken and hurting. As Oregon girl said "time to honor the heroes". Its been almost a year since I had to stand over the lifeless body of my daughter and choke out the words to identify her. I only share this because I know what the familes are going through and they need our support and comfort in this time of loss and sorrow. Yes, as you can tell, this has really hit home with me and I cant help but try to make everyone try to look at this through the eyes of those who will never be the same, ever. Those of you who are already throwing blame, please think about what you are saying and read it before you post it. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Rest In Peace.

 

[Pit Crew]

mike weigle is chuckling his *** off, he has been waiting for ammo to try to regulate our access(sledders) to the backcountry, he has lots of $$$$$ and lots of influence with the powers that be.......... can we blame him? his helis have left guests stranded on the hill to participate in sledder avy rescues many times, he generates tax revenue in huge amounts for the BC gov.
This is who we are going to have to fight to keep our access and what happened last weekend (notice I have assigned no blame), is going to hurt our cause.....
























4444

 

[Pit Crew]

I believe that people are responsible for their own fate,

 

[born2sled]

One thing i know is that i really dont think anyone should be able to tell you what you can put on your sled, how fast you can go, where you can go( in good conditions) etc!

If the government gets there hands in here ..... well who knows what could happen!( now i highly doubt they would be able to shut down the turbos, and any sleds with 155 - 400 HP because think of the amount of people that have 30+ grand in them things!!( soon to have one myself)

I would much rather see them enforce laws towards Avalanche training instead of freaking out and .....................!!

What happened in Revy was very unfortunate but i dont see why they would want to use it to put limits on the back country!

I could see if they wanted people to have beacons, av backpack, shovel, probe, etc I mean that should come without say no?

ya they should just make it mandatory to have beacons shovel probe and to have taken an avalanche safety course which most of us have anyways

 

[gardingh]

mike weigle is chuckling his *** off, he has been waiting for ammo to try to regulate our access(sledders) to the backcountry, he has lots of $$$$$ and lots of influence with the powers that be.......... can we blame him? his helis have left guests stranded on the hill to participate in sledder avy rescues many times, he generates tax revenue in huge amounts for the BC gov.
This is who we are going to have to fight to keep our access and what happened last weekend (notice I have assigned no blame), is going to hurt our cause.....

The media has been collecting ammo continuously since Saturday. Watching the news I am disgusted at the attitudes that some of those guys portray. It is the image that they show the world that will cause this to be taken away. Blatantly ignoring avalanche warnings then shrugging and smiling when questioned as to why you did it?!? Do you think the public will have any sympathy for you when they see that on tv? Have some common sense and get your head out of your a$$. Granted you might die doing what you love but do you think that is an excuse for putting yourself and others at risk? I have a problem with that line of thinking. The people making the decisions will probably have no idea what being on the mountain can be like and will make a decision based on what they see and how those of us who love the sport are portrayed by these guys. Those of you that have this attitude, give your head a shake. Do you see the kids pictures on tv without fathers? The media will take that and rip the heart out of any argument you can put forth. Show some respect for mother nature and heed the warnings given. Otherwise we will lose our playground. That's my .02.

 

[greendrake]

Hey guys, sorry to chime in here... I'm a skier and climber who uses snowmobiles to access the backcountry, but my sled is a real piece of crap and gets parked when it starts getting steep. But I thought I'd throw my perspective out there, sorry if I'm stepping on toes. First and above all I'd like to send my most heart felt wishes to the families and friends of Shay and Kurtis and all those who sufferred in the Revy avalanche. I've been to my fair share of funerals of friends who were out there pushing the envelope and its easy to say that they died doing what they loved but in the end they are dead and I am stuck here lamenting the fact that they are gone forever. That said I think you should know that snowmobilers in the backcountry are not all that different from the rest of the backcountry users out there. I live in SW Montana and if you keep up on the news you might have heard about Saddle Peak in the Bridgers avalanching a few weeks ago. The similarities to the Revy Avalanche are eerily similar however the folks on Saddle were a lot luckier, even though there were at least 4 people skiing it when it slid they all were able to get to a safe zone and survive. If it had happened an hour later the news would have been different. The lessons learned were the same as Revy and I won't repeat them here (ad nauseum). A few things people haven't mentioned and I want to bring up are these:
1. It seems that a lot of people at the event were parked on a knob that they assumed was safe, maybe some of the locals who have been around for more than 10 years and have seen the big slides could have swung by and told them they weren't, even if they were ignored.
2. You guys are getting a bad rap in the press but don't think it is just you, backcountry skiers are getting the same down here. And believe me we have our fair share of unknowledgeable folks accessing the backcountry. I trully believe that most of the people at Revy were much better trained and equipped than many of the skiers accessing the backcountry around here.
3. If you go into the backcountry in the winter you are accepting a certain level of risk, hell you could be riding through a flat meadow and get taken out by a slide coming from above or you could be high pointing on a 45 degree chute that you are pretty sure is safe. When I go ski the backcountry I dig pits and analyze slope stability to the best of my knowledge mostly due to self preservation but also because I would hate to cause a slide that might bury other people. I know the locals around here certainly didn't dig any pits on Saddle Peak the day it slid. The peak had hundreds of skier tracks on it and I think everyone was lulled into complacency because of that fact. My risk level is a little lower than it used to be and I haven't ventured out there this year, but I don't begrudge any one who did. All it took was a skier knocking off a chunk of cornice on the sweet spot to make it go and it went big. It's not a wake up call though, its a reminder that we are all pushing the envelope and %$^% can go wrong no matter what we do. But I'm going to keep on doing it and be a little smarter next time I go out there. Keep the faith!

 

[sledRevy]

hey does anyone know about Joey M the guy who saved his son and took the brunt and is in cridicle condition? Is he going to be ok?

I got some emails about Joeys condition and its heart breaking......
and I know hes not the only one who is hurt bad and with saying that theres some guys who lost there lives and some guys in the hospital in real bad shape!

So everyone what can we do for them and there families I realy am done hearing why who what when we could grieve and come together as a sledding community to help some good people out

any ideas guys?

 

[somefear]

I forwarded Susie Rainsberry's letter to the media as well....I think it was very well written and helped to dispel some of the myth that most sledders are just reckless rednecks with a deathwish. People can take it how they wish. It won't change their perception.

First, I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. I have mixed feelings however about the avalanche tragedy. The BC backcountry had 6 wks of unprecedented avy bulletins out there. You would have had to be living under a rock if you didn't hear them in your local rag, on TV and the radio. The warnings were very high on the weekend that this tragedy occured. In fact 10 avalanches had let go naturally on Friday alone. These sledders chose not to take the warnings into consideration, or maybe they didn't know better....they were sitting at the worst possible location that you could sit on that mountain at that time. North facing aspect, late in the day with all that new snow that fell the day before it was a ticking timebomb.

There were mistakes made....I don't want to speculate, but I have heard that one sledder was stuck near the top, another chose to highmark above him and that's when it all broke loose. The 200 + sleds sitting at the bottom had only mere seconds to react.

It is a true miracle that only two passed away in all of this. True it is two too many. It took the organizational efforts of a few very knowledgeable backcountry sledders that came into the area right after it happened. That is what I was taught during my AST 1 course. Assign a leader to take charge, switch beacons to search, make sure the area is safe from any more slides and then do your beacon search, probing and shoveling. From the reports I have read most of the burials weren't deep so that was the miracle in all of this considering the snow was 30 feet deep in places.

Something I read today made me really question why some of these people even head out to the BC backcountry in the first place.....the widower of one of the victims said in an interview that "You know, the locals knew what was going on, [but] these are Alberta boys. They've never seen an avalanche," she said Monday.

This statement to me is very puzzling and it will only lead to tighter regulations of our B.C. backcountry.

My opinion is this: if you don't have the proper avalanche gear, the proper training (at least an AST1 course)and don't read the avalanche bulletins before you go so you can plan where it is safe to ride....YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OUT IN THE BACKCOUNTRY. Having a turbo sled and that fancy ABS pack won't save you.

Unfortunately, people like to blame others when a tragedy like this happens. Realistically though, we are all masters of our own destiny. The backcountry in B.C. is just that, there are no patrols being done or out of bounds gates put up to let us know that the area is safe or not. It is up to all of us sledders to use the backcountry in a responsible, safe manner that doesn't put our lives or our sport at risk. I fear that after this incident things will be changing and I don't think it will be in our favour.

 

[scaredycat]

ideas

Just a thought and im not looking for any arguements--just solutions

a fund is always a good idea -- affected families first
any other monies could go towards more rescue equipment
A serious plan needs to be developed to hit the goverments plan
of changes head on - This wont work with 100 signatures - major media coverage is required I dont understand why the government is using this
tragic event to propose licensing and insurance ? This made me sick.

I emailed the MLA after i heard this bull=== Im sorry people died and were injured so lets tax them. This should fix the problem --idiots How do they get elected?

Just another note - The government / politicians don't own the BIS
A lot of people are saying I hope THEY dont cancel it..Who are THEY?

THEY is us - we as a group dicate what WE want to do..not THEY

It's our sport and the backcountry is ours - sorry if anyone is offended by my post but its just an opinion... Scaredy

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

might not hurt to set up a collection on all the forums..put part of it to the families that were affected directly..and give the rest to those SAR groups that were deployed as a way to pay our way..to show that we arnt a bunch of worthless redneck drunks hellbent on self destruction..but rather extreme outdoor activity types that take responsibility for our actions....just a thought here....

 

[sandorsnow]

hey cat woman,

sorry for ''off topic'' but, after reading many many tasteless posts from OT, and now he's started another post wanting to collect donations?

I will gladly change my "basic member'' to "premium member" with a little extra if

1. You can stop ot from obviously stirring the pot. boot him, he isn't helping.

2. you (snowest) take the "extra" and donate it for me to the recovering families.

thanks

 

[sledRevy]

fund raiser how about taken avy classes and fun raiser show that us sledders take this searious. We can take the wind out of the medias sail dont you think?

 

[gogirl68]

I have been reading this post for days now and woke up again at 3am in the morning with the need to post something for my first time on SnoWest.

You see I have been snowmobiling for 6 years now and mainly I do it for the fun and people I meet, as well as the love of my husband who lives and breathes it. He is a great rider and a smart rider and we have had many conversations since Saturday about this tragic event. I said to him that I could see myself sitting at the bottom of that hill watching everyone and not realizing the risks and his reply was, "You would not be there because I would not have taken us out with the an avy risk that high." The reason I state this is it shows that even though my husband is a knowledgeable and smart snowmobilier, I clearly am not as cognizant or aware of the dangers. Much like those out there on Saturday. We ride with many, many different people of various skill levels, however out of all of them I am sure there would be several we know who would have been out there as well, and they are probably the most experienced. This despite being active in clubs and well aware of the dangers of avanlanches. This my friends is what we call life and many times the choices we make lead to suffering, pain and in this case families changed forever.

I have seen a great deal of blame, bashing and arrogance on these posts and that saddens me because 2 people who were obviously full of life and enjoyed the outdoors, like myself, were tragically lost due to NO ONE's fault. Their choices that day lead to their family's loss, however not much different than many I have made in my life and I am sure many of you at one time or another. Just like many skiers, boater, drivers, motorcyclists, etc....have made in their life.

If you are so arrogant and uncaring to believe that blame needs to be placed, please keep it to yourself and do not express in an open forum where friends and family of those lost can witness it. Don't you believe your family would deserve the same respect?

For those experiencing this loss and still dealing with those injured, I share something with you. NEVER again, will I sit at the bottom of a hill watching my husband climb without thinking of your loss and how it has affected us all. And NEVER again, will I sit at the bottom of a hill without knowing what the avy conditions are that day. So I want you all to know that their loss has changed my life and this community forever and for that I am grateful!! God Bless and my thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[ESCAPE TIME]

First of all,some people need to show some respect here please!I had not read this tread until now, because I have been drowning in the whole emotional ordeal myself, with out any outside interaction.I lost two very good friends on Saturday and very nearly lost a third that was unburied and then revived.
What happened can not be reversed, but we can all learn a lesson or two from this.I, for one am very lucky to be here and so must many of the other survivors.I have never experienced such a horrific event, nor could I have even imagined the enormous power and force that we were exposed too.
The reason I wanted to post was to let people know how greatful we should be for being apart of this sledding community of ours.I had always hoped that my safety equipment and training to protect myself and others would be redundent.I know now that was some what of a false sense,but regaurdless of why? or how? This slide occured and there is no changing that fact.
The first aiders on the mountain were excellent,the banding together with the prob line,the organizing of the beaken search,the people digging others out,those starting fire to warm the many in utter shock and disbelief.It was all so surreal.There where heros all over this carnage area,kids with there boots blown off their feet,gloves blown off hands,torn jackets and pants,just totally unbelieveable.
I know we can't change this horrible happening, but the people that helped in so many ways need to be commended,the rescue crews, the heli people the medical staff at the hospital, the victum services people, everyone jumped in to help out.I have never been so scared in all my life from the beginning, into the midst and the unknown end of this experience.
My heart goes out to the families of Shay and Kurtis,may they rest in peace. Also to the ones that will spend months recovering both physically and emmotionally it is going to be a long time healing battle,God Bless us all!
Thank you to the community of Revelstoke and there fine little hospital for there actions and all there support.I know we all ride with a love and passion for our back country sport,and I know everyones intensions are good,but for the sakes of our families and loved ones lets all learn from this experience.We love our sport, but I can tell you from my experience now, that I never want to leave my loved ones behind.Thanks to my wife Lisa for coming to my rescue, to hold me and guide me home,I love my family as I'm sure you all do also. Prayers go out all!!!