Avalanche Fatalities

Mort2112 · Jan 26, 2019

Reading about two today. There are not a ton of details but for the love of all that's good, be careful about what you ride on.

https://www.ksl.com/article/46476731/snowmobiler-from-layton-killed-in-idaho-avalanche

One of the links on the side is about the guy from Monticello, Utah that they recovered too.

RIP.

norsepeak · Jan 26, 2019

That makes 8 that I know of this season...

Colbymh · Jan 26, 2019

Brutal. I wonder why the groups beacons didn’t work and only the heli picked up the signal. Sad for all....

goridedoo · Jan 27, 2019

Colbymh said:
Brutal. I wonder why the groups beacons didn’t work and only the heli picked up the signal. Sad for all....

I wonder if anyone else had beacons. Seems like atleast a few of the deaths have involved a lack of gear. Sad stuff

Big10inch · Jan 27, 2019

There is an inherent danger to travelling in avalanche country. People are going to be killed. Here are CAIC stats back to 2009-2010 from their site. https://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/us/

So far this season, 5 sleds and 5 skiers reported dead by avalanche. Seems to be on track to be a pretty average year for fatalities. The highest listed number of sledders is 17 in a season, I think the lowest was 2.

I still do not buy into the idea that a bunch of gear is going to save you. Read the reports, rarely if ever was gear a factor. Almost always it was people in the wrong place at the wrong time and mother nature is unforgiving should you push your luck.

willjogervais · Jan 27, 2019

Big10inch said:
There is an inherent danger to travelling in avalanche country. People are going to be killed. Here are CAIC stats back to 2009-2010 from their site. https://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/us/

So far this season, 5 sleds and 5 skiers reported dead by avalanche. Seems to be on track to be a pretty average year for fatalities. The highest listed number of sledders is 17 in a season, I think the lowest was 2.

I still do not buy into the idea that a bunch of gear is going to save you. Read the reports, rarely if ever was gear a factor. Almost always it was people in the wrong place at the wrong time and mother nature is unforgiving should you push your luck.

I've read in the reports that two of the snowmobilers killed didn't have beacons or bags. That is a pretty obvious sign of not having correct safety gear being a factor. I agree that having the proper gear may not save your life in an avalanche. And it's always sad to hear the stories of people being killed, but why wouldn't you equip yourself with the available tools that may help you get home alive?

revrider07 · Jan 27, 2019

Being informed of the conditions recognize them and take them seriously will save more lives than equipment. The air bags give a false security blanket. The stats are misleading from the retailer according to a class I just attended. Big decrepancy between the two. Retailers say 95 percent and instructor says 14 percent if used in avalanche.

willjogervais · Jan 27, 2019

revrider07 said:
Being informed of the conditions recognize them and take them seriously will save more lives than equipment. The air bags give a false security blanket.

^^^^^^
You have struck the nail right on its head

SRXSRULE · Jan 27, 2019

Mort2112 said:
Reading about two today. There are not a ton of details but for the love of all that's good, be careful about what you ride on.

https://www.ksl.com/article/46476731/snowmobiler-from-layton-killed-in-idaho-avalanche

One of the links on the side is about the guy from Monticello, Utah that they recovered too.

RIP.

Does anyone know what happened and where? The reports are saying Fog Mountain, and shows a map with a pin location over in central idaho. The report also says it was near Victor, There is a location 4 miles south of victor called Fog Hill. Is that actually where the slide was?

Long Gone · Jan 27, 2019

SRXSRULE said:
Does anyone know what happened and where? The reports are saying Fog Mountain, and shows a map with a pin location over in central idaho. The report also says it was near Victor, There is a location 4 miles south of victor called Fog Hill. Is that actually where the slide was?

I was shown on a map my a close family friend and Fog Hill south of Victor is correct. The county line is close to Victor. I was told he did deploy an air bag and was found soon but had other trauma.

Sad day for both families and our sled community. Complacency will get any of us.

Big10inch · Jan 28, 2019

willjogervais said:
I've read in the reports that two of the snowmobilers killed didn't have beacons or bags. That is a pretty obvious sign of not having correct safety gear being a factor. I agree that having the proper gear may not save your life in an avalanche. And it's always sad to hear the stories of people being killed, but why wouldn't you equip yourself with the available tools that may help you get home alive?

Whoa there big shooter! You just made a HUGE assumption, a correlation that does not necessarily exist. Just because they didn't have beacons or bags does not make it obvious that the gear would have made ANY difference at all.

It isn't the tools that are going to help get you home, that is the myth that NEEDS dispelled in this community. The tools give a false sense of security as demonstrated by the dead sledder with a deployed airbag and a beacon... Without a 40-60 lb pack on your back, maybe you could ride out of danger, maybe the danger would have looked to great without the safety gear on your back?

Knowledge is key, gear is a band aid on a punctured femoral artery, it isn't going to save you...

SRXSRULE · Jan 28, 2019

Long Gone said:
I was shown on a map my a close family friend and Fog Hill south of Victor is correct. The county line is close to Victor. I was told he did deploy an air bag and was found soon but had other trauma.

Sad day for both families and our sled community. Complacency will get any of us.

Thanks for the info. I lived in victor for 2 1/2 years so I know that area very well.

RIP

Blk88GT · Jan 28, 2019

Knowledge is key to prevention. Failing that, you need knowledge when SHTF. You can't do anything after SHTF if you don't have the gear or knowledge to recover a buried victim.

The only way to stack the odds in your favor is with knowledge and gear.

richracer1 · Jan 28, 2019

SRXSRULE said:
Does anyone know what happened and where? The reports are saying Fog Mountain, and shows a map with a pin location over in central idaho. The report also says it was near Victor, There is a location 4 miles south of victor called Fog Hill. Is that actually where the slide was?

If I'm correct, it is the area a bit north of where people go into that area via Sheep Crk by Palisades Reservoir. They had gone in on the Victor side and went south.

Heard that by the time the other three had dug themselves out of the avy, too much time had passed to get the fourth guy out alive.

Sad day for sure.

Ride_The_Rockies · Jan 28, 2019

There was also a skier that was killed in an avalanche on 1/19/2019 at Electric Lake Bowl which is only a few miles from the Fairview hill climbs parking lot.

Body recovered in search for missing skier after avalanche in Emery County
https://www.ksl.com/article/46471847/body-recovered-in-search-for-missing-skier-after-avalanche-in-emery-county

Search crews recover body of Monticello snowmobiler caught in avalanche
https://www.ksl.com/article/46476507/search-crews-recover-body-of-monticello-snowmobiler-caught-in-avalanche

Big10inch · Jan 29, 2019

Blk88GT said:
Knowledge is key to prevention. Failing that, you need knowledge when SHTF. You can't do anything after SHTF if you don't have the gear or knowledge to recover a buried victim.

The only way to stack the odds in your favor is with knowledge and gear.

If you get buried you are almost always screwed. If you get caught in a slide major trauma is an issue your gear will not save you from. Beacons are most often used to recover dead bodies, not live ones, just a fact. If you use your head, you will likely never need the gear you insist on hauling around.

goridedoo · Jan 29, 2019

Big10inch said:
If you get buried you are almost always screwed. If you get caught in a slide major trauma is an issue your gear will not save you from. Beacons are most often used to recover dead bodies, not live ones, just a fact. If you use your head, you will likely never need the gear you insist on hauling around.

Trauma accounts for around 1/4 of Avy fatalities. I would bet sledders account for a lower amount. Skiers ride bigger terrain. The avys are larger and typically run longer. There likely is not a high percentage of sledders that die from trauma.

The first 10 minutes are crucial and there is a GOOD chance of survival (see next post) if your group has the proper gear and knows how to use it. I truly think with a little training and proper gear you should be able to have a victim found and dug up in WELL under 10 minutes.

One thing aside from gear/knowledge that you have in common with every other rider is that you NEVER go out to planning to get buried. Chit happens. If you have a 153”+ sled you’re riding avy terrain and theres always that chance... that or you’re riding the wrong sled. ZR’s are GREAT sleds.

goridedoo · Jan 29, 2019

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goridedoo · Jan 29, 2019

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Big10inch · Jan 29, 2019

Well, I don't buy the chit happens reasoning. I have yet to read an avy fatality report where you couldn't EASILY see the human error involved. They are almost always not accidents but consequences from bad decisions. I also do not buy into the assertion that if you are riding a mtn sled in the mtns you are in avy terrain. It is actually quite easy to avoid if you are paying attention.

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