Stampede pass Avalanche!!!

[Ultralord]

Dont kid yourselves The cascades are big time Dangerous. We were on the main road to Easton It took us about 2 hours and 4 or five sticks on the road to get back 1/2 towards the tower snow was so deep and heavy it was all we could do to climb the powerlines and it took severl attemps to do that on a 1300 king cat and new m8s. We were busting trail and then the rs hill just gave way and missed the last rider in group by inches and then we spent 2 hours digging out a road accross the slide to get him back. Side hilling is a big no no that is what caused this.And it was a simple going down the road cut up to the high side.

 

[no_uh]

It seems like you guys know what you are doing, but that hillside has to be at least 60 degrees... sidehilling that after the past couple weeks is definitely going to cause an avy unless you are threading trees.

 

[xpspenziv]

Glad noone was caught in it. Thanks. Its gonna be a spooky weekend. I already told my son hes not going. only been up 1 time.

 

[Ultralord]

IT was simple going down the road and grabing the rh side and going up 10 ft and back to the road the groomer would have cut where he went and that groomer would have been over the side> We all ride the area a lot and were equiped with Air bags shovels beacons, probes and some Avy training But The guy in the back lost sight of the rider in front due to the slide and was worried he was burried but the beacon did not pick him up we all had radios and were in quick contact with each other.

 

[Ultralord]

more pics

More pics 3/2/11 4 pm

 

[MVR]

Not at all surprising results on a slope like that given the conditions and forecast. The forecast for yesterday was either considerable or high for that area. Good time to stay off from and out from below avalanche terrain.
Glad to here no one was injured and that your group uses some safety protocols (carries all rescue equipment and radios/watches out for each other).

Close one.

 

[ruffryder]

sidehilling that after the past couple weeks is definitely going to cause an avy unless you are threading trees.

The only time trees are thick enough to negate potential avy problems is when they are too think to ride in. Otherwise they are just parts of the meat grinder.

 

[paulharris]

dang blake, good thing that hill didnt continue up much higher. good that you guys are ok.

 

[no_uh]

The only time trees are thick enough to negate potential avy problems is when they are too think to ride in. Otherwise they are just parts of the meat grinder.

Not really true. Besides, HAVEN'T YOU SEEN CHRIS BURANDT RIDE?!?!

 

[ruffryder]

Not really true.

It is absolutely true..

 

[MVR]

The only time trees are thick enough to negate potential avy problems is when they are too think to ride in. Otherwise they are just parts of the meat grinder.

They say if you can ski the trees then the slope can still avalanche...that's probably a little thicker even than can be ridden. Great point though...trees don't always equal safety, sometimes they are the weak point in the snow pack at or near where the slide is initiated. A lot of the time the crown line of the slide will go from tree to tree to rock, etc...like it connected the dots to those things that penetrate the snow pack.

 

[no_uh]

I can think of some areas around GC where the slope angle is around 35 degrees, plenty of area to ride between trees, and there is literally no chance of a slide below the tree line. I take avys as serious as anyone on here, but there certainly are areas where someone with average ability could ride without danger, on a slope, with trees. Most of the people that are injured or killed by trees in an avalanche are caught in an open area that runs out into the trees.

I don't want to argue with you here, as I think it's a good idea for everyone to be incredibly careful out there, especially this weekend.

P.S.-Just wait, I'll be the one guy that gets wrecked by a slide this weekend just for talking like this.

 

[xpspenziv]

Not really true. Besides, HAVEN'T YOU SEEN CHRIS BURANDT RIDE?!?!

ya and isnt it convenient that the camera man is right on the other side of the tree for every trick. Staged all of it, but looks cool.

 

[MVR]

Here are the ingredients needed for an avalanche:

Slope steep enough to slide: 25 to 45 degrees 38 being optimal +

Snow containing a weak layer/instability and a cohesive slab+

Human trigger (adequate load applied by sledder, skier, snowboarder, snowshoer, etc)= avalanche

Trees open enough to ride are open enough to avalanche. Period. Especially in the 35 to 40 degree range.
Riding an area that has seemed super bomber on many occasions can lead us to believe that it could not slide...when in fact, it has just not slid while we were present. We can think of hundreds of areas that have lead us to believe that it could never slide just because we haven't witnessed it.
Applying the avalanche recipe above with careful consideration of the forecasted danger rating and we can begin to identify which slopes we don't want to fool with. We must be careful identifying a particular slope in this range of slope angle to be always safe, no matter what. We happen to be lucky and have a snow pack that is stable a lot of the time. But stuff happens.

I don't mean to offend...just inform.
Thanks

 

[wasatchcomm]

i saw a little hill at helens that had come down last weekend, i was shocked it came down, i never thought that little hill would/could slide.
i've been up it 1000x's its steep but very small, anyway,,,
someone was in it as well, you could see the hole they dug the sled out of, i hope they were ok.
anyway, never take it for granted, they can happen anywhere anytime....
designate a spotter for every climb
one at a time on the climbs this week/weekend, the snow is very unstable.
be safe!!!

 

[Tmann]

Keep an eye open when digging out too. When you are stuck on a hill and dig a hole 4-6 ft deep you have just change the angle of the slope drastically and may be creating an avy potential. I was at Stampede 3-2-11 and the snow was wet on top of ice layer around 3 ft down. The pic is taken about 4 ft off the road edge from a guy turning around at the first set of power lines after the main "y" in the road. The slop wasn't steep until you remove a few feet of snow... Keep in mind it only takes a second for all hell to break loose.

All be safe out there and have a pre ride talk about contacts and safety protocol.

 

[rmkboxer]

you need a turbo, glad no one was hurt, close calls always wake you up. had one several yrs ago

 

[deepdiver]

Here are the ingredients needed for an avalanche:

Slope steep enough to slide: 25 to 45 degrees 38 being optimal +

Snow containing a weak layer/instability and a cohesive slab+

Human trigger (adequate load applied by sledder, skier, snowboarder, snowshoer, etc)= avalanche

Trees open enough to ride are open enough to avalanche. Period. Especially in the 35 to 40 degree range.

Avy Factors...I think you can also add higher temperatures and rapid changes of course as pertinant factors.

Another factor is something that isnt a riders fault and that is the White stuff addiction....yep more than one type! It is the freedom one feels by a special opportunity of the snow with the beauty of the mountain settings. There is an energy in the mountains similar to what is in the ocean that draws one in. I think it is this profound strength of drawing the mental piece in that causes bad decision making and the denial of "this slope has never slid before ever" Like MVR said so well...just because you havnt seen a hill slide, does not mean that it didnt happen before. It also of course means tht we should never try to second guess anything...everything we do is a calculated risk.

Ride careful guys..

 

[Ultralord]

you need a turbo, glad no one was hurt, close calls always wake you up. had one several yrs ago

It was the firts day I missed the turbo apex and the nytro. I was days like that that made me build them just not enuf days to justify the weight of the sleds for our regular riding conditions

 

[rmkboxer]

It was the firts day I missed the turbo apex and the nytro. I was days like that that made me build them just not enuf days to justify the weight of the sleds for our regular riding conditions

yep, I was looking to pick up a turbo, but don't really need it for the riding I do here but would be nice in mccall