Last week in Cooke City MT with my Vohk built BD Pro. Prolly playing where I shouldn't have been, Got lucky lessoned learned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYfwveszf5k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYfwveszf5k
Turbo Pro in Avalanche (vid)
- Thread starter Iceman56
- Start date
You climb up two avy chutes in one of Cooke's worst years for snow conditions...good thing you're safe and Darwin didn't call your number.
I suggest subscribing to this:
http://www.mtavalanche.com/current/
I suggest subscribing to this:
http://www.mtavalanche.com/current/
Sounded like you deployed your avy pack. Did it feel pretty natural to do it?
Yes to my surprise one of the first things I thought of. Always wondered if I would even remember to pull it.
So did the slide run all the way down? Looks like it was fairly slow and benched out. Probably would have gotten ugly had it gone over and gained some speed.
Good call bailing and pulling the bag. Better to watch that from above I think.
Good call bailing and pulling the bag. Better to watch that from above I think.
Glad you're ok.
The turn down after the first run with the wind slab sluffing on the SE aspect was a giveaway - let it be a lesson for all of us, when you see something like that, off the hill. Particularly given the high risk conditions. It could have been much worse for any of you. Thanks for sharing.
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Sheepdog
Active member
You know, if your topic would have just said "sweet pull on a turbo pro" I would have been watching admiring your ride wishing it was me. Just goes to show how wrapped up we get when there are those lines that no one else has ridden and we want to be the first ones.
Thanks for putting me in check, I'm glad your ok.
Thanks for putting me in check, I'm glad your ok.
Yeah, from the title had me watching nervously waiting for the slide. Wasn't till the second watch I even realized what a sweet pull. Was riding with some guys their first time up and what I saw was a spring time heavily loaded sun soaked face with a bus size cornice at the top, what they saw was fresh snow. Luckily nothing happened but after I yelled at them and explained the situation, they were afraid to climb anything for the rest of the day.
We're all guilty of it at times, even the pros. Try to be smart and safe 100% of the time and just hope you're lucky when you make that 1% mistake. Could have been way worse, something you'll never forget.
Oh, and when we went back to that hill a couple hours later, that bus was at the bottom.....
We're all guilty of it at times, even the pros. Try to be smart and safe 100% of the time and just hope you're lucky when you make that 1% mistake. Could have been way worse, something you'll never forget.
Oh, and when we went back to that hill a couple hours later, that bus was at the bottom.....
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Bacon
Well-known member
Just for future reference, don't climb those two spots. If you would ever see the pile of avy debris at the bottom of that spot when it slides, you would crap yourself. You were very lucky the first spot didn't let go. I am not preaching, just warning cause I have climbed that in the past, but leave it alone now, no matter how many tracks are on it.
The whole chute slid but its like it all went but only went a couple hundred feet... there was about an 8ft pile on the bottom of the chute
Yeah I have been guilty many times hopefully this wakes me up and I'll pull my head out of my a$$ when I am on the hill now.
Like you said, about everyone has been guilty of it before especially if you like to hit the big stuff.
Hope this helps everyone think twice from now on.
amen, the whole SW montana area has been under multiple avy warnings for super high danger the last few weeks. bad year to be near anything steep, windloaded, especially with the last wind storm we just had.
there is a reason the middle of the tree'd hill is nothing but saplings. Glad you made it out, but lets hope that scared some good sense into you! check the report daily and dont trust the snow, especially this year. its a pile of bad layers right now.
Damn talk about a hard slab. You're insanely lucky those chunks stayed solid and didn't break up and start pulling you under. Looks like it took a few feet before you realized you could, but nice work getting off to the side.
And yeah saplings. That means 'this slides frequently'
Glad you're okay, thanks for the vid.
And yeah saplings. That means 'this slides frequently'
Glad you're okay, thanks for the vid.
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briand
Well-known member
Now that you have time to reflect on it, How do you feel about it now?
Only reason I ask is that happened to me in 03 same thing at the top of a climb turning out and boom whole hill sliding. I was lucky too but I had no trees on the way down and when I noticed it it was still in slab form and I was able to out run it. We were with more experienced people then us at the time and they felt absolutely safe there but even they were fooled so you just can't take it for granted. After I had time to reflect on it I had a really hard time to climb hills for about 2 years. Just played it extremely safe and stayed away from the hills after that. You just never know when it can happen. Hope it hasn't spook you as much as it spook me and you can learn from it. I know I sure have.
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Don't think it will spook me as much as it was a reality check and the fact that it can and will happen if I keep climbing where I shouldn't. Just need to start using my head and be more cautious
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roni87
Well-known member
The far right chute is just as bad.
Im glad you posted this, its a reminder to always be safe and be on the look out!! Im heading to Cooke tomorrow and seeig this before I go puts me on alert again!!! Thanks
Very good reminder to us all. I had a similar experience more than 20 years ago on a much shallower exposure. A few friends and I were playing in the foothills of Alaska near Mankomen Lake, AK. The two of on short tracks were racing to the top of about a 30 degree wind loaded (hind sight) slope. I had just past him when a gap opened up in front of me, about 20 feet deep and growing wider by the nano-second as I approached, if I had tried to stop I would have slid and fell into it, I made a slit second decision to grab the LoudHandle and jump it. I made it and found a safe place to park and watch for my friend who's only real choice was braking and riding the slab to wherever it stopped. The slab stayed largely intact, about 3-400 yards wide and 20-30 feet thick. The gap widened to nearly 100 yards before coming to rest. My buddy was fine riding that particular slab, on that slope, at that time, but a good reminder to all that ANY slope can and will let go in the right conditions with the right trigger.
It can and will happen to you at some point, do you feel lucky? Try not to push it, I know everyone loves a challenge ( myself included still) but choose those wisely! You want to be able to walk home to your families and loved ones not get carried home in the infamous pine box.
Play / ride safe my friends!
It can and will happen to you at some point, do you feel lucky? Try not to push it, I know everyone loves a challenge ( myself included still) but choose those wisely! You want to be able to walk home to your families and loved ones not get carried home in the infamous pine box.
Play / ride safe my friends!
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