TimL Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 12:11 p.m. Pacific Avalanche in B.C. kills two skiers from Seattle By The Associated Press E-mail this article Print this article Search web archive NELSON, B.C. — Two men from Seattle were killed by an avalanche yesterday afternoon while back-country skiing near Nelson, B.C. The men were identified as Ronald Gregg, 55, and James Schmid, 42, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment in Nelson, which is 34 miles north of the U.S. border in southeast British Columbia. Gregg and Schmid were with two other skiers in the Grizzly Bowl area of Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park when they were hit by the avalanche about 2 p.m., according to the RCMP. Both men were dead by the time British Columbia Parks police and rescuers reached them, said the RCMP's, Cpl. Grace Arnott. The skiers apparently hiked into the region and were skiing out when the avalanche occurred. The RCMP said they had no further details about the avalanche, nor about the other skiers who were with the two victims. Eighteen people have been killed in British Columbia avalanches this winter, including 14 in the Revelstoke region, about 90 miles north of Nelson. Seven teenagers from Calgary were killed in Glacier Park Feb. 1, and seven skiers and snowboarders were killed in the back country north of Revelstoke on Jan. 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Way bummer, man. Anyone familiar with this area have ANY idea why so many people have succumbed in this area? Is the avy danger super tricky to read or what? I know it's no snap anywhere, but anything specific to the Nelson area that makes it extra difficult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 GregW - Although I am more of a coastal skier, and don't have a lot of experience with the interior sno climate, I am about 1 hr drive from Nelson this winter, so I have a few thoughts on what's up... The snowpack is particularly bad this year. There are several layers that have persisted through the season, driving the stability down every time there is a new load on it. I have observed these layers (most of them surface hoar on sun/melt crsuts) as being moderate to hard on shovel and compression tests, while reacting fairl easily on rutschblocks (3/4). This leads me to feel that most of the snow pack is in the grey zone most of the time, making for tricky descision making. The Nelson area, and the rest of the Columbia Mtns are usually a intermountain snowpack, which seems to me to mean that we get the dumps like the coast but we get the problems of a Rockies pack. My memory (fallible for sure) seems to be that most winters see most accidents in this area, especially the big, newsworthy ones. I have not felt it worth doing much touring this winter. Partly because I have an awesome ski hill here that is not crowded so I can find Freshiez days after the last snow, but mostly because of the sketchy snow. The other factor that has affected the percption of this winter is the fact that there were two BIG incidents, a week or so apart. If either one of those had not happened we would be on an average kind of year. As it is, we are going way over average now. My thoughts, YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Thanks, fascist moderator of the freshiez*zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Greg_W said: Thanks, fascist moderator of the freshiez*zone. Don't forget I too stand ready to moderate the fuck out of you or anyone else for no reason.... In a normal year the interior ranges have a fairly stable snowpack. There are no long dry spells the temps never get that cold and the ranges never experience the kind of winds that are common in the Rockies. There is a reason why there are tons of hele ski operations in the interior ranges and next to none in the rockies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 AlpineK said: Greg_W said: Thanks, fascist moderator of the freshiez*zone. Don't forget I too stand ready to moderate the fuck out of you or anyone else for no reason.... In a normal year the interior ranges have a fairly stable snowpack. There are no long dry spells the temps never get that cold and the ranges never experience the kind of winds that are common in the Rockies. There is a reason why there are tons of hele ski operations in the interior ranges and next to none in the rockies. ya cause the Rockies are National Parks where commercial heliskiing is banned.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 AlpineK said: Don't forget I too stand ready to moderate the fuck out of you or anyone else for no reason.... Oh, you're so fucking scaring me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Greg_W said: Thanks, fascist moderator of the freshiez*zone. You are most welcome. Any thing else I can do for you? Uhh... forget I said that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Dru said, ya cause the Rockies are National Parks where commercial heliskiing is banned.... There's the whole western side of the range in BC that's not in a national park, and there's a lot of stuff north of Jasper that isn't in the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I think another reason is because the interior ranges just plain get more snow, not only safer snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 The fact they get more snow does make it safer. There's less time inbetween storms for wind crust or sun crust to build up. Also a deeper snowpack helps make the thermal gradient less severe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 valemount is heli-city, and 15 of my co workers just got back from Amiskwi, what's your point Kurt? if it aint in a NP its got lodges and heli skiiers, Rockies or Selkirks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I bet most of those helicoptors in Valemount head west across the trench into the interiors most of the time. You sure are grumpy today Drew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I think Valemount is in the Interior, and the Trench is to the East of it. Or I am lost??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I forget which side of the valley Valemont is on, but is right off the highway in the trench. Good heli acess to both ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambone Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 here is to fallen comerades R.I.Powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 i have to deal with the biologists who do all the ungulate winter range planning. goats, sheep, elk, caribou, none of em like thrice daily or more helicopter overflights.... i think i know where every heli lodge is from here to edmonton. sounds like the saturation poiint was reachedabout a year ago, but of course they'll go on to develop it to 3 or 4 times bigger than it is now, disneyland with avalanches. good thing coastal snow is suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son_of_Caveman Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Dru said: i have to deal with the biologists who do all the ungulate winter range planning. goats, sheep, elk, caribou, none of em like thrice daily or more helicopter overflights.... i think i know where every heli lodge is from here to edmonton. sounds like the saturation poiint was reachedabout a year ago, but of course they'll go on to develop it to 3 or 4 times bigger than it is now, disneyland with avalanches. good thing coastal snow is suck I'm gonna start calling you Ewel Dru Gibbons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 what a disastrous winter it's been. unbelievable. In about ten days I'm leaving for a week in the selkirks with SME and Reudi... my feelings are somewhat mixed right now. Maybe a trip to pub club will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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