The total is up to (3) this weekend in MT.

[Scott]

Malfunction perhaps?
I know my old SOS beacon after time would not make contact when the plunger was installed... If you pulled on the cord it would shut off.
I had to tape it to get it to work.
I bought a new ortovox since then.

FYI for anyone with the old SOS black and yellow beacons... Seen more than one do the same thing.

We have 4 of those old black SOS beacons. 2 of them have the yellow plastic broken that sits down inside that presses on the little rubber plunger inside the unit. Non-operational now. We have two that still work. Hope that plastic doesn't break on them too.

Might need to pony up for new beacons.

 

[MTN_DOO]

I think SOS will fix those? I know my dad broke the dial on his (F1-ND) and they replaced it, maybe for a small fee?

 

[MTdream]

They may be gone by the the time you get your next snow fall. But if it snows a bunch on top of them you are right.

it might change, but it is invaluable for sleddars to share info like this for us to watch out for...

this is the information that if listened to, can save lives

 

[skibreeze]

Read the avalanche report again...... something the guy commented on, the avalanches will not be frequent but when they do it will catastrophic....

This is one of the trains of thought that is killing people. Tons of tracks for sure, but they do nothing to stabilize the conditions. All it means is that there are many LUCKY people out there.

I read the Colorado reports, not the Montana ones.

 

[JHG]

Hey Mr. smartypants, it just so happens that the guy that got killed is from Montana and one of my buddies from North Dakota helped dig him out. There are just as many dumba$$es from all states. We ride in the mountains as much as some people from mountain states. It's just that we live 12 hours away. Very sad for the guy that got killed. I guess his wife was there when they pulled him out.

Everyone be careful pointing fingers and calling people dumbazzes. Mistakes were made I'm sure but you weren't there and you didn't know these guys. That hill in Cooke was well traveled and it broke all they way to the rocks. Very uncommon. These guys were our neighbor's, co workers, riding partners and friends. Kirk's wife frequents this forum and I'm sure she doesn't need everyone flaming about how her dead husband was a dumbazz. Unless you were there, save your judgments until you have all the facts. Not everyone that dies in a slide is a dumbazz. I'm all about spreading the word and warning other people. I agree we need to be careful and some people tactics for getting peoples attention is more crass than others but blasting a guy that you didn't know that died in a slide is not only disrespectful but low class.

Be safe out there and enjoy life as much as these two guys did. RIP: Kirk and Travis

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

as far as the next cycle, its gonna get even worse as after diging a pit this weekend it looks like anything that saw windloading before this neverending high pressure system is gonna be even worse next time it snows.

the bad ice layer about a foot off the ground was in now way breaking down and allowing the snow to bond to the top apprx 4 feet of snow. this is after 2 weeks of warm sunny weather. the top layer is getting REALLY icy and is also total grainy sugar snow now as it has froze and thawed almost 20 times now since it last snowed. this hard icy top snow will NOT bond to anything unless it rains on the new snow. the snow was so hard i left about 1/4" deep tread marks in it when i walked on it. this to me means im not gonna be doing any great climbing until next year or MAYBE late spring if it settles then. all this blue sky warmth is setting us up for another BAD cycle, and the way i see it, we get more snow, it breaks of a half decent size slide it has a really good chance to break that layer near the ground making for some BIG slides. this is all speculation as to the future per current conditions, BUT, i think people are gonna get all excited when we finally get some pow again and its gonna be another wave of deaths.

condolences to the familys of all those lost, and to those of us who havent been in one yet, play it safe and live to ride again.

 

[Fearless Catman]

How does a beacon accidently get turned off?

He had turned off his beacon at lunch time. Forgot to turn it back on after lunch. I wasn't there when the avalanche happened since our group headed for town before 5. Our group played on that hill that morning and again around 4:30 on our way back to town. Before you fellas flame me, we knew the risks, had all the necessary gear, and climbed one at a time. While, I am fortunate that we weren't affected, I send my consolences to the victim's family.

 

[Burndown1]

Everyone be careful pointing fingers and calling people dumbazzes. Mistakes were made I'm sure but you weren't there and you didn't know these guys. That hill in Cooke was well traveled and it broke all they way to the rocks. Very uncommon. These guys were our neighbor's, co workers, riding partners and friends. Kirk's wife frequents this forum and I'm sure she doesn't need everyone flaming about how her dead husband was a dumbazz. Unless you were there, save your judgments until you have all the facts. Not everyone that dies in a slide is a dumbazz. I'm all about spreading the word and warning other people. I agree we need to be careful and some people tactics for getting peoples attention is more crass than others but blasting a guy that you didn't know that died in a slide is not only disrespectful but low class.

Be safe out there and enjoy life as much as these two guys did. RIP: Kirk and Travis

I was always taught to stay off of crown Butte. Its a bad slide area years ago and still is. It will be a bad slide area in years to come. People stay off of those areas or you will DIE. False sense of security with the detectors, use your brain. If you can read this you have one.

 

[themtguide]

I was in cooke city when the avy took place. It was hudge and that slope should have not been rode on since there was a avy on the other side that slid maybe the day or 2 before. Both slope were wind loaded. I feel for the families of the victums from this past weekend.... I just can't believe there wasn't another death in cooke this last weekend because every thing had marks on it... wind loaded or not... I think a lot of people cheated death up there.... We road saturday and sunday morning I was told about it at breakfast. I was told his name was travis and he was from livingston about my age so I thought it was a guy I knew. So we raced up there to find out it was a different travis from bozeman. But I have friends that knew him... It was the biggest slide I have seen and it really hits home when you see the recovery of a body!! PLEASE BE SAFE AND ALWAYS RIDE SMART!!!

 

[I.P.Yellow]

BigHoe, Bacon was just defending the comment made earlier by someone else saying that it is those "flatlanders" out there that don't know what is going on. I was also in Cooke over the weekend when the avy took place. Our group heard about it in the Miners on Sat. night. We wanted to head up to Daisy after breakfast on Sun. to check it out. When we got up to Daisy we dropped off after talking to a ranger and witnessed the recovery efforts. We sat there for a while (half hour) and saw that there was not that many volunteers that would be able to relieve the first team (probe line) that was set up. There was second team that was being set up to help. I decided to walk over to the ranger and ask if they needed help. He said, yes since the first team would need to be relieved after about an hour but you had to go back to town to sign up so you could be accounted for in case something else happened up on the mountain. I conversed with the other three guys in our group and decided to head back in to town and sign up. I put myself in this man's shoes since I thought if I was buried my wife would need the help of fellow snowmobilers to recover my body for closure. I didn't know this man from "Adam" since I had never met him before but you know what, he was one of us that enjoyed the sport like we all do and I was willing to give my time as well as others in our group to help his family and riding buddies out. I helped pull him out and sobbed with his buddies after we found him and felt like I lost a friend although we were total strangers. We (I mean all) snowmobilers need to pull together and unite as one group who all fight for the right of sledding. We have to quit pointing fingers at each other and start treating each other with respect. I witnessed an event on Sunday that I will never forget. The recovery effort was well organized and I can't say enough about the dedication of the Cooke City Search and Rescue. They did an awesome job and were there until everything was wrapped up. Guys and gals please be safe out there and make sure you have the proper gear on you. I am talking not only beacons but also the probes and shovels. Thanks, Rick.

 

[skibreeze]

He had turned off his beacon at lunch time. Forgot to turn it back on after lunch. I wasn't there when the avalanche happened since our group headed for town before 5. Our group played on that hill that morning and again around 4:30 on our way back to town. Before you fellas flame me, we knew the risks, had all the necessary gear, and climbed one at a time. While, I am fortunate that we weren't affected, I send my consolences to the victim's family.

The batteries in my beacons last for an entire season, why in the world would someone bother turning it off for lunch? That seems ludicris to me. I've never seen anybody that I've ever ridden with, turn it off until we are back at the trailer. I also like how my beacon is automatically turned on when it is buckled around your waist.

 

[JHG]

Rick, I didn't necessarily intend to single out bacon in my post, his was just the last one that I saw that was some what related to to what I was talking about. It was not meant to be a personal attack to him directly. The Bozeman community suffered a a great loss this weekend that I don't think can be fully understood or felt form a thousand miles away. We're not a huge city and most of the sledding crowd all knows each other indirectly if not directly. Kirk was a citizen of Belgrade, a much smaller community, and a business man in Bozeman. He was active in Citizens for Balanced Use and widely known in the area. Your help in Cooke I'm sure is greatly appreciated by Travis's friends and Family. There have been several posts in several threads making reference to the decisions these guys and others have made. Their family's and friends need the support of the sledding community and not finger pointing and blame being laid. There is fault on someones behalf in almost every accident, avalanche, car wreak or otherwise. I was just asking that people keep in mind that while for many on here these guys are just another statistic, for several they were friends and family. Our local community morns the loss of these two riders and it would be nice if that during the efforts to prevent further tragedy we all remain respectful to the fallen riders and those that were close to them. Once again, I apologize if it seemed as if I was pointing the finger directly at one person.

 

[Spaarky]

Tid bit from this mornings report..... addressing all the tracks on the hill, and hills around...

The mountains around Cooke City still have slopes that are unstable. It may be hard to deduce this from all the highmarks everywhere, but it’s true. A rider was killed in an avalanche on Saturday on a slope with many dozens of tracks on it. He went higher than anyone but got stuck 1,000 feet up the hill. While freeing his sled it started to roll downhill where it hit rocks and a thinner spot on the slope triggering the slide. We have a uniform layer of faceted snow near the ground. On many slopes this layer has gained strength and is supporting people playing on it quite well. But others are not. Like falling dominoes, a collapsing weak layer will fracture entire slopes if it gets triggered. You just have to be unlucky enough to tip that first domino which will propagate outward and create an avalanche. Tracks are not reliable signs of stability. It’s hard to wrap our heads around this fact, but our lives depend on it. We’ve got a photo posted on the web taken minutes before the fatal avalanche showing all the tracks: http://www.mtavalanche.com/photos/photos.php

 

[Bacon]

Some of the biggest slides I have seen have been on tracked up hills. Just because fifty people didn't bring it down doesn't mean that fifty-one won't. I don't know where the idea comes from that a hill with tracks are safe, because they most definately are not. I just hope that all this talk will make people think the next time that they hit a big open hill.

 

[jErM-OvErThEtOp]

Sorry

Hey to the guys from SD. I didnt mean to pint fingers at anyone but your right. everybody makes mistakes. my apologies.

 

[Spaarky]

Paragraph from todays Avvy Report... just a reminder what can happen...

22 January 2009
Good morning. This is Ron Johnson with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory issued Thursday, January 22, at 7:30 a.m. This advisory is dedicated to the memory of Andrew Greicar from Pisek, North Dakota. Andrew died in an avalanche while snowmobiling near Cooke City six years ago today. Andrew’s Friends and Family sponsor today’s advisory. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

I remember this incident. If I remember right it was in the same dang spot as last weekend....

 

[Xrider]

I can't believe how tracked up that hill was prior to sliding.