Wa sledder killed

[winter brew]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Wash-snowmobiler-killed-in-Montana-avalanche-139851453.html

 

[PNWSKIBUM]

Damm makes you think, whats the best move go for help or keep looking?

 

[Wapow]

If you've both got the necessary gear and skills, keep looking. After 10 minutes buried, survival statistics are terrible.

 

[rmk2112]

Article says that he was found by searchers using his avy beacon signal.

Did his riding buddy not have one to search.......is that why he went for help instead? That'd be hard to live with...........Your buddy is buried with a beacon, but you don't have one to save him.

Going for help on a avy burial turns it into a recovery effort, not a rescue effort. Dig, probe, dig til you can't dig any more. Those first 10 -15 mins are precious.

I hope everyone uses this tragedy to think about where you ride and what you and your riding partners carry when riding.
Beacon, shovel, probe are just as important, if not more, than gas & oil.

Tragic story, my heart goes out to his family.

 

[kbl6z]

Very sad! Rest in peace

 

[Snodawg]

Our prayers are with the family.

 

[tek9tim]

Dang, sure does illustrate how important it is to have the gear and know how to use it. Motivates me to practice using my gear more often.

Another small lesson of the week for me, if you have a multiple burial scenario and 1 person has their head sticking above snow and is concious, leave them and look for the others that can't breathe.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. I know what you're going through...

 

[Bagger]

Tragic.
Gear is important Guys, but so is making the call on where/when to ride. I know riding time is limited, and sounds like they were on a trip, but still making the call to avoid dangerous areas is the best way to go home to your family.
We need to help each other make good decisions when we want to hit a slope so we all get to come home.

I wish his family peace.

Bag

 

[Matte Murder]

That is an odd story. Lot's of question's. Was it not having a beacon or not having the training or was the avy huge and the guy was located a long way from site last seen? It would be way easier to become over-whelmed or panic if you are by yourself doing a search. One reason I won't ride with just one other guy. A "group" of two leaves just one guy for your own rescue or leaves you alone doing a rescue. Hard to second guess when we have so little real info though.

 

[brapmaster]

Have to be blunt here--We need to remember that 1/3 of those caught in avalanches are dead before the snow brings them to a stop, from trauma of being tossed and hit by debris. I cringe when people say "don't worry I have a beacon" that is like car drivers saying "don't worry I have an airbag" and then driving off a cliff. A beacon gives some hope to those still alive, but don't choose where to ride on a high danger day based on the fact you have a beacon. Often, more times than not, a beacon helps find a body.

 

[jarwood]

They did have becons and he did look for him, but after a half hour he made a call to go for help. He was also buried by the slide, just not completly. He had to dig himself out and then go look for his friend-not sure how long it took? Also had another slide come down afterwards when he was trying to get out for help! I grew up with both of these people and I know that the surviver would never give up unless there was no other choice. There is alot more to the story that the news does not tell you. Hard to say what any of us would do in the same situation with one of your best friends buried in a slide, knowing that the only reason he is even there was because of you.
This world has lost one of the nicest people you would ever be lucky enough to know!

 

[jarwood]

He was found under his sled about 2.5' down with no helmet on or backpack with major head trauma-friend knows someone from flathead search and rescue who helped pull him. Also found out that the other rider was buried up to his neck with one arm sticking out, not sure how long it took for him to dig himself out? My friend died doing something that he truley loved!, his last words where "Ive been waiting all year for powder like this"
R.I.P Chuck

 

[rmk2112]

They did have becons and he did look for him, but after a half hour he made a call to go for help. He was also buried by the slide, just not completly. He had to dig himself out and then go look for his friend-not sure how long it took? Also had another slide come down afterwards when he was trying to get out for help! I grew up with both of these people and I know that the surviver would never give up unless there was no other choice. There is alot more to the story that the news does not tell you. Hard to say what any of us would do in the same situation with one of your best friends buried in a slide, knowing that the only reason he is even there was because of you.
This world has lost one of the nicest people you would ever be lucky enough to know!

Thank you for the clarification that they both had beacons and for giving us the real story.