avvy ball

[Cpt.Caveman]

http://store.yahoo.com/skishop/k2avbal.html

[JayB]

I want someone to start selling avy-charges or a carbon-fiber avy mortar over the net so as to avoid having to deploy the avy ball. "When you've dug your pits and set your beacons and your still not sure about the slope...it's time for the BC Access Porta-Mortar....:

[hikerwa]

how about instead of the HydroBronc, the AVY-Bronc

?

if this doesn't work, HOW DO YOU POST PICTURES!!!

I'M A SUPER TOOL.... GO HERE: http://www.3zcompany.com/amazing_hydrobronc.htm

[Cpt.Caveman]

[AlpineK]

I saw one in real life. I guess they work, but you should remember that about 50% of the fatalities in avalanches are due to hitting trees, rocks or falling off cliffs.

[hikerwa]

yeah Cavey thats what I meant....

[mtngrrrl]

according to BD, most people (~80%) die from asyphixiation or suffocation. only about 10% of victims die from trauma, like being bashed into a rock. not sure about the other missing ~10%... heart attacks?

[JayB]

As long as we're on the subject....Yankee Doodle Lake, CONovember 28, 20012 backcountry skiers caught, 1 buried and killed (drowning?)Provisional Report -- Report subject to change as more information is learned.

Date & Time: November 28, at approximately 1300 hrs.

LocationYankee Doodle Lake, East side of Rollins Pass, Front Range, approximately 3.5 miles west of the Eldora ski area.

Elevation: 11,300 feet, at timberline

Aspect: Southeast (120 degrees)

Slope Angle: 34 to 36+ degrees

Avalanche DataThe avalanche was classified as HSAS3O/G (hard slab, artificial-skier trigger, medium size, running on old snow/ground). The crown (fracture line) was 2 to 5 feet, and 400 feet wide. About half way down the slope the avalanche was funneled to a width of 223 feet. The avalanche released from a southeast-facing slope and fell 600 vertical feet and stopped by crashing through the 10-inch thick ice of Yankee Doodle Lake. The displaced water resulted in a surge 10-12 feet tall along the south shore.

The snowpack at the crown was uniform and hard (pencil) except at the ground. The bottom 2 inches consisted of soft (4 finger hardness), loose, beginning faceted (sugar snow). In places along and immediately below the crown was old summer snow or neve. (We were not able to safely approach the neve. There is a possibility this "old" snow is not neve but is more recent snow (October) that developed a hard melt-freeze crust.)

Contributory weather factorsWeather data is still being collected. An estimated 12 inches of new snow fell in the area between November 23 and 28. "Heavy blowing snow" was reported at Eldora Mountain Resort on the night of November 26/27. The morning of the 28th dawned sunny.

Accident SummaryEarly Wednesday afternoon two local Boulder-county men were skiing the open slope above Yankee Doodle Lake when they triggered a sizable hard-slab avalanche. The avalanche struck the ice-covered lake and shattered the ice, dumping both men into the water. The pair were skilled and avalanche-savvy backcountry skiers who were well-equipped for a day in the mountains. One man died (drowned?). His friend escaped, but unable to find his missing partner, he hiked back to the Eldora ski area to get help.

This was the men's third day in a row on this slope where two days earlier they had enjoyed terrific powder skiing. Before starting their descent the pair dug a snow pit. Apparently satisfied with what they had found, they agreed to ski short distances one-at-a-time, taking turns watching each other while the other would wait at a "safe" spot. The first man (survivor) skied a short distance to flatter-bench area and traversed toward some rocks to avoid a much steeper cliff area. He glanced back over his shoulder and spotted his friend who had just started down. He then realized the entire slope was moving. The avalanche left both men in Yankee Doodle Lake.

The survivor ended up nearly in the middle of the lake approximately 190 feet from shore. Packed in shattered ice and water he struggled to the shore. Yells for his friend brought no response and he could not detect a signal from his friend's avalanche beacon. His waterlogged cell phone did not work, so he set out for help. He hiked down the Jenny Creek trail the 5 miles to Eldora Mountain Resort.

RescueThe Eldora Ski Patrol responded first followed by members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group. Arriving as darkness fell the hasty search was organized. Searchers tried to detect a beacon signal but could not, so probe poles were used to search likely burial areas. More rescuers arrived including avalanche rescue dogs. The rescuers could not search the shattered ice and water until later that evening when trained dive-rescuers arrived with specialized rubber suits. After 2300 hours that evening a dive-rescue team member searching the refreezing surface detected a signal. The missing man was found 91 feet off shore in the frozen snow, ice and water.

CommentsThese men were smart and savvy backcountry skiers who were doing things by the book yet still got into trouble. At the time of the accident (and in the days before the accident) we were rating the backcountry avalanche danger in all mountain areas at CONSIDERABLE. Triggered avalanche releases were probable, and natural avalanches were possible on NW to NE to SE facing-slopes near and above tree line. The avalanche the men triggered occurred on an ESE to SE facing-slope at tree line.

Before rushing to judgment, remember both men were backcountry and avalanche smart. They had the right equipment and knowledge to be out in the terrain, snow, and weather conditions. Boulder County Sheriff George Epp said it well in the Daily Camera newspaper (11/30/2001, page 5A) when he was quoted "If you try to get a lesson out of this...the mountains can be dangerous no matter how prepared you are."

This is the first Colorado avalanche death in Colorado in the 2001-2002 winter, and second in the United States. Incidents where avalanche victims are swept into water and drowned uncommon but not unheard of. In 1978 at Twin Lakes, California, a county snowplow and a pickup with two occupants were swept into the unfrozen Lower Twin Lake. The snowplow operator swam to shore. Twenty minutes later a motorist stopped by the earlier avalanche climbed on to the debris where he was caught by a second avalanche and swept into the lake. All three motorists drowned. In 1981, near Elko, Nevada, a snowmobiler was caught and swept into an ice-covered lake and drowned.

Atkins 11/30/01