Posting to both Avalanche and Colorado sections.
http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012120129932
Snowmobiles tally high numbers in avy fatalities
Nationwide, sledders lead the pack
January, 22 2012
By Janice Kurbjun
summit daily news
A snowmobiler on Jones Pass smashed his sled and injured himself by hitting a large boulder buried under shallow snow last weekend.
Alpine Rescue Team members responded to the incident, which took place on the western edge of Clear Creek County. It's not an uncommon incident, Flight for Life paramedic Kevin Kelble said, who teaches avalanche resuscitation in several counties and takes the opportunity to spread the word about snowmobile safety.
“There are some people riding responsibly, but there are some people who aren't and it's going to be traumatic if things go wrong,” Kelble said. “It's the unexposed and shallowly buried obstacles (that are key right now).”
According to Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) statistics, 212 snowmobilers have died from sled-triggered avalanches since the 1950-51 season. Of those, 116 have occurred in the last decade.
By comparison, 178 skiers, 165 climbers and 29 snowboarders have died in avalanches in the past 60 years; 52, 27 and 17, respectively, occurred in the last decade.
CAIC director Ethan Greene said though snowmobilers lead the way in avalanche fatalities nationwide, the same isn't true for Colorado.
“We don't really have a very good answer for why,” he said. “It probably has to do with the proportion of snowmobilers, and motorized versus non-motorized recreational use (in Colorado). There are a handful of arguments, but nothing I'd want to hang my hat on.”
Greene said every backcountry user group has a progression in avalanche knowledge. It starts with a select few dabbling in the sport or activity, followed by a few others taking it to a new level in new terrain.
“Eventually, motivation and technology allows them to get into avalanche terrain more,” Greene said. “They start doing their sport in avalanche terrain a lot. That's when the group is vulnerable and there's a lot of accidents. (Avalanche safety) becomes part of that group's mores — what's viewed as valued and important.”
“It becomes part of the culture,” he said.
Skiers and snowboarders have gotten on the avalanche safety bandwagon and have lessened accidents dramatically for their user group. Greene said snowmobilers are “pretty far along in the cycle,” but are still in the midst of getting all users avalanche aware.
“Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides they want to be an avalanche expert. But people do wake up in the morning and decide they want to snowmobile these wide open slopes... Our motivation is to do these sports we love, and along the way, we realize that learning about avy safety is important to do the sports we want to do,” Greene said. “Our skill at the sport increases much faster than our knowledge about avalanches.”
Kelble sometimes refers to a sled-triggered slide in Revelstoke, British Columbia, during May 2010's informal event, the Big Iron Shoot Out.
According to a news source reporting on the incident, an avalanche slid into the base camp, where roughly 200 snowmobilers and spectators were gathered. Initial reports suggested dozens of people buried, but two were reported dead after the search was completed and all the missing accounted for.
Kelble called it “carnage,” saying rescue was chaotic and intense, with plenty of non-ideal factors — such as individuals wandering around with beacons still in transmit mode.
But things are progressing, Greene said. Today, dedicated snowmobile safety courses are emerging for sledders looking to travel in avalanche terrain.
Nonetheless, snow science is an imperfect science, and understanding the forces snowmobiles place on snowpack is even more imperfect, Greene said.
“They behave in very different ways than non-motorized users,” he said, though he did explain that the closer a force gets to a slab, the more likely it is to trigger an avalanche. Often, sledders get stuck while highmarking — competing to see who can get highest on a slope — and the snowmobile sinks into the snow. Movement of the driver and digging the sled out adds force exponentially to the slab.
A basic safety lesson
As part of his four-pronged basic safety repertoire, Greene jokingly warned, “don't help your friends,” in situations where they're stuck on an open slope. He explained, “You're better off sitting in a safe position and watching them while they get unstuck and ride it out.”
Greene also suggested keeping the avalanche beacon and avalanche equipment on your body, not in a pack tied to the snowmobile as many sledders do.
“A person can end up on the surface, but without the machine and the beacon, shovel and probe,” Greene said.
He warned sledders to find a safe spot to watch highmarking, which isn't the bottom of the slope.
“Sit off to the side,” he said. “Ensure you're watching from a safe location that's not threatened by the slope they're on.”
Lastly, he recommends having an escape plan and route, and having the kill switch on and ready in case of emergency.
“Most avalanche accidents — true regardless (of the user type) — typically very simple safety ideas and concepts would have changed the outcome,” Greene said.
Not the only ones
Greene said another complication for the snowmobiler user group is the plethora of riders coming to the mountains from popular sledding spots like Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and elsewhere in the Midwest — that are without avalanche risk.
“We do see accidents where people are really good riders coming to Colorado, but don't understand they need to know about avalanches,” Greene said. “They don't know the risks they are exposing themselves to because they are in a different environment.”
Typically, skiers and riders who take to backcountry travel learn quickly, through the existing culture and through exposure, that avalanche knowledge is important, Greene said.
“Most skiers and snowboarders start to learn about avalanches pretty quickly, especially if they hang around ski areas and know about the work ski patrol is doing. Directly or indirectly, it affects them,” Greene said, though they still become victims.
“It's easy to write a certain user group off, but that is rarely true and almost never helpful,” he said.
http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012120129932
Snowmobiles tally high numbers in avy fatalities
Nationwide, sledders lead the pack
January, 22 2012
By Janice Kurbjun
summit daily news
A snowmobiler on Jones Pass smashed his sled and injured himself by hitting a large boulder buried under shallow snow last weekend.
Alpine Rescue Team members responded to the incident, which took place on the western edge of Clear Creek County. It's not an uncommon incident, Flight for Life paramedic Kevin Kelble said, who teaches avalanche resuscitation in several counties and takes the opportunity to spread the word about snowmobile safety.
“There are some people riding responsibly, but there are some people who aren't and it's going to be traumatic if things go wrong,” Kelble said. “It's the unexposed and shallowly buried obstacles (that are key right now).”
According to Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) statistics, 212 snowmobilers have died from sled-triggered avalanches since the 1950-51 season. Of those, 116 have occurred in the last decade.
By comparison, 178 skiers, 165 climbers and 29 snowboarders have died in avalanches in the past 60 years; 52, 27 and 17, respectively, occurred in the last decade.
CAIC director Ethan Greene said though snowmobilers lead the way in avalanche fatalities nationwide, the same isn't true for Colorado.
“We don't really have a very good answer for why,” he said. “It probably has to do with the proportion of snowmobilers, and motorized versus non-motorized recreational use (in Colorado). There are a handful of arguments, but nothing I'd want to hang my hat on.”
Greene said every backcountry user group has a progression in avalanche knowledge. It starts with a select few dabbling in the sport or activity, followed by a few others taking it to a new level in new terrain.
“Eventually, motivation and technology allows them to get into avalanche terrain more,” Greene said. “They start doing their sport in avalanche terrain a lot. That's when the group is vulnerable and there's a lot of accidents. (Avalanche safety) becomes part of that group's mores — what's viewed as valued and important.”
“It becomes part of the culture,” he said.
Skiers and snowboarders have gotten on the avalanche safety bandwagon and have lessened accidents dramatically for their user group. Greene said snowmobilers are “pretty far along in the cycle,” but are still in the midst of getting all users avalanche aware.
“Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides they want to be an avalanche expert. But people do wake up in the morning and decide they want to snowmobile these wide open slopes... Our motivation is to do these sports we love, and along the way, we realize that learning about avy safety is important to do the sports we want to do,” Greene said. “Our skill at the sport increases much faster than our knowledge about avalanches.”
Kelble sometimes refers to a sled-triggered slide in Revelstoke, British Columbia, during May 2010's informal event, the Big Iron Shoot Out.
According to a news source reporting on the incident, an avalanche slid into the base camp, where roughly 200 snowmobilers and spectators were gathered. Initial reports suggested dozens of people buried, but two were reported dead after the search was completed and all the missing accounted for.
Kelble called it “carnage,” saying rescue was chaotic and intense, with plenty of non-ideal factors — such as individuals wandering around with beacons still in transmit mode.
But things are progressing, Greene said. Today, dedicated snowmobile safety courses are emerging for sledders looking to travel in avalanche terrain.
Nonetheless, snow science is an imperfect science, and understanding the forces snowmobiles place on snowpack is even more imperfect, Greene said.
“They behave in very different ways than non-motorized users,” he said, though he did explain that the closer a force gets to a slab, the more likely it is to trigger an avalanche. Often, sledders get stuck while highmarking — competing to see who can get highest on a slope — and the snowmobile sinks into the snow. Movement of the driver and digging the sled out adds force exponentially to the slab.
A basic safety lesson
As part of his four-pronged basic safety repertoire, Greene jokingly warned, “don't help your friends,” in situations where they're stuck on an open slope. He explained, “You're better off sitting in a safe position and watching them while they get unstuck and ride it out.”
Greene also suggested keeping the avalanche beacon and avalanche equipment on your body, not in a pack tied to the snowmobile as many sledders do.
“A person can end up on the surface, but without the machine and the beacon, shovel and probe,” Greene said.
He warned sledders to find a safe spot to watch highmarking, which isn't the bottom of the slope.
“Sit off to the side,” he said. “Ensure you're watching from a safe location that's not threatened by the slope they're on.”
Lastly, he recommends having an escape plan and route, and having the kill switch on and ready in case of emergency.
“Most avalanche accidents — true regardless (of the user type) — typically very simple safety ideas and concepts would have changed the outcome,” Greene said.
Not the only ones
Greene said another complication for the snowmobiler user group is the plethora of riders coming to the mountains from popular sledding spots like Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and elsewhere in the Midwest — that are without avalanche risk.
“We do see accidents where people are really good riders coming to Colorado, but don't understand they need to know about avalanches,” Greene said. “They don't know the risks they are exposing themselves to because they are in a different environment.”
Typically, skiers and riders who take to backcountry travel learn quickly, through the existing culture and through exposure, that avalanche knowledge is important, Greene said.
“Most skiers and snowboarders start to learn about avalanches pretty quickly, especially if they hang around ski areas and know about the work ski patrol is doing. Directly or indirectly, it affects them,” Greene said, though they still become victims.
“It's easy to write a certain user group off, but that is rarely true and almost never helpful,” he said.
