Close Call!!

[Choada_Boy]

http://www.colinhaley.blogspot.com/

 

Be safe!

[marc_leclerc]

sketchy! Skiing is dangerous... it killed Dougal Haston too...

[AJScott]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Dougal perished in a very small avalanche in really gentle terrain. It can happen anywhere anytime, I don't think the skiing has anything to do with it being sketchy. More like the lines they were on were sketchy! Looked like a bad place to be having wet slides rain down on you! Good read Colin, glad you made it out of there unscathed, I would probably be ready to hang my skis up if I watched two partners ragdoll down the mountain too. Glad they are both recovering and didn't perish.

[DanO]

After we had only skied a few turns down the face, Magnus traversed to skier's right to what looked like nice snow. He unexpectedly hit a big patch of blue ice, obscured by just a few inches of powder, and started sliding. Almost in disbelief, Nils and I watched as Magnus several times almost gained control on small bits of snow, but then hit more ice and kept sliding, eventually hitting a rock band and tumbling over it. After the rock band Magnus immediately starting tumbling down the 45 to 50 degree face, and in well less than a minute fell 700 vertical meters, to past the bergshrund. Jonno immediately called for a helicopter rescue, and I started skiing down as fast as I safely could. I arrived to Magnus just a few minutes before the helicopter, and, astonishingly, he was not only conscious but standing.

 

700 meters? Wow.

[sobo]

Keep reading down to almost the end of the page, where you'll find this one; even crazier...

Andreas fell "only" 200 meters, but ended up MUCH worse off than Magnus did. Just goes to show you it's not necessarily the distance that matters...

 

About 300 meters above the glacier the main couloir cliffs out, so just above the cliffs we traversed out of the gully to skier's left, Andreas going first as usual. It was quite warm, and just as I finishing the traverse out to skier's left of the gully, a large wet-slide avalanche came roaring down the gully. I scrambled to press myself as far against the left side of the gully as possible, and dug my whippets into the slope. The avalanche pulled hard on my backpack and the tails of my skis, and I was only just barely able to keep from being swept off the cliffs to my death. As soon as the avalanche subsided I quickly finished the traverse out of the gully and started cursing. I think it was tied with one experience when I was seventeen as the closest I've ever come to death, and needless to say, I was not happy about it.

 

Andreas had been around the corner and hadn't seen quite how close of a call I had had, but knew I had not missed the center of the avalanche by much time. We both knew it was dangerous, and just wanted to get down at that point. Above the next gully further to skier's left we set up a rappel on a rock horn, and rappelled into the gully. We traversed across to the skier's left side of the gully as fast as possible, where we were safe from any slides coming down.

 

From our safe spot on the skier's left side of the gully we tried to make a rappel anchor. We hoped to make an anchor as far to the side as possible, to avoid rappelling into the gully itself, but couldn't find any good placements. Eventually, I equalized two knifeblade pitons a couple meters further in, and we set up the rappel ropes. Andreas set off on rappel first, and kept his skis on. He had just rappelled about twenty meters down, into the gully and beyond where I could see, when a large wetslide avalanche came roaring down the gully. I felt the rappel ropes come very tight for a few moments, and then they went slack, so I knew almost certainly that Andreas had been swept off rappel. As the roar from the avalanche subsided I yelled to Andreas, but heared no reply. I immediately called the PGHM and asked for a helicopter rescue, and then began to take my skis off and put crampons on. From my position I could not see down the gully or the glacier below. I kept yelling Andreas's name periodically, and was extremely relieved to finally hear a reply. I couldn't understand what he said (it might have even been in Swedish), but I yelled back that a helicopter was on it's way.

 

[DanO]

I have of course been playing though my head possible scenarios of how we could have avoided the accident. I don't think we made any "wrong" choices, as of course everything is more clear and obvious after the fact, but these are some things I have thought of simply to learn from the experience:

 

-Our first potential way to avoid the accident was of course to not ski the Y Couloir in the first place. We knew it was southwest-facing and would therefore receive strong afternoon sun, but we didn't anticipate quite such warm temperatures that day.

 

-After my close call with the first avalanche, we could have waited on the rib between the two gullies until the face began to re-freeze. This could have taken several hours, and would have almost certainly meant descending to the valley by dark, but would have avoided the accident.

 

-From our safe stance at the rappel anchor, Andreas would have been OK if he had made a traversing rappel on the buttress to skier's left (as I did after the accident). However, he would have had to switch from skis to crampons to make such a traversing rappel, and from our stance we expected just a quick rappel through the gully and then more skiing below.

 

-Andreas might have avoided the fall if there were knots in the end of the rappel ropes. However, it might have been even worse for him to be stuck on the rappel ropes in the full force of the avalanche than to be ripped off the rappel ropes with the avalanche. Additionally, if there were knots in the ends of the rappel ropes the rappel anchor (two knifeblade pitons) might have been pulled out, and then we would have both taken the 200m fall (as I was clipped to the rappel anchor), and perhaps no one would have been able to call for a rescue.

 

I have been wanting to get into back country skiing, plan

to in the future and though I will never ski at this level

I learned a lot from this, thanks.

 

Dan

[Dane]

Hey Dan, I noticed this post on self arrest with ski poles in "Colin distilled" some time back.

 

"A link showing how to self arrest with ski poles, basically

you put the pole inside of your armpit and put all your weight

into it. Will not work on ice, actually works pretty well on

somewhat steep snow."

 

On even black diamond runs at a ski area a ski pole self arrest is of minimal use imo. I just didn't want to get into on that thread. While obviously some extreme skiing by Colin and his partners few rely on ski poles in the BC for self arrest.

 

 

Black Diamond Whippet

 

Colin, "I scrambled to press myself as far against the left side of the gully as possible, and dug my whippets into the slope. The avalanche pulled hard on my backpack and the tails of my skis, and I was only just barely able to keep from being swept off the cliffs to my death. "

[tomtom]

On even black diamond runs at a ski area a ski pole self arrest is of minimal use imo.

 

[i_like_sun]

These two accidents are pretty scary...

 

Holding an axe or ice tool in my front hand while riding steep lines on my splitboard seems to be a very efficient self-arrest position. Touch wood for avalanche safety and good decision making skills... Christ....

[hafilax]

I think I would rather kick steps down a slope than ride with an ice ax in my hands. Between the adze and the chance of getting the bottom spike in the leg it would make me really nervous.

[tomtom]

Others disagree.

 

[hafilax]

Still seems like a bad idea to me. YMMV

[Dane]

I think I would rather kick steps down a slope than ride with an ice ax in my hands. Between the adze and the chance of getting the bottom spike in the leg it would make me really nervous.

 

Walking or climbing down is always a smart option under stressful terrain.

 

Think an axe in your hand is bad? Try a broken ski pole and how many ways it can add another hole in your body.

 

The big boys (that stay alive) use a real axe or Whippets as required.

 

Colin again:

"He unexpectedly hit a big patch of blue ice, obscured by just a few inches of powder, and started sliding. Almost in disbelief, Nils and I watched as Magnus several times almost gained control on small bits of snow, but then hit more ice and kept sliding, eventually hitting a rock band and tumbling over it. After the rock band Magnus immediately starting tumbling down the 45 to 50 degree face, and in well less than a minute fell 700 vertical meters, to past the bergshrund."

 

Self arresting on blue ice is just about impossible to do no matter what you are using or your skill level. Better pray for a good run out if it happens.

 

Soloing technical ice is fun and secure done with the right gear. Skiing similar terrain or anything that would require a rope for protection in a fall...not so much.

[eldiente]

I have carried an ax while snowboarding. My thoughts.

 

*On steep/icy terrain I am genrally moving slow, often side-slipping. In this situation the ax is useful, especially on the toe side as I can quickly get a good stick. Very helpful when I need to take a break and am worried that sitting on my ass will lead to a slide, tool goes in and I hang off it while taking a break. Very important on icy slopes where I might need to switch back into pons.

 

*Less steep/faster. Once you start moving at speed the ice tool has limited value, a fall and you are going to rag doll the slope. In this type of terrain I put the tool away as there is no chance of arresting a fall, plus this type of terrain is usually on softer snow where a fall means lost hats and laughs.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2010 by eldiente

[cascadesdj]

Guess I'll stick to the logging roads and clearcuts I've been skiing around on in Kittitas County for almost 40 years. No ice axe required.

[DanO]

Hey Dan, I noticed this post on self arrest with ski poles in "Colin distilled" some time back.

 

"A link showing how to self arrest with ski poles, basically

you put the pole inside of your armpit and put all your weight

into it. Will not work on ice, actually works pretty well on

somewhat steep snow."

 

On even black diamond runs at a ski area a ski pole self arrest is of minimal use imo. I just didn't want to get into on that thread. While obviously some extreme skiing by Colin and his partners few rely on ski poles in the BC for self arrest.

 

I have not tried it on black diamond ski runs, so I don't know

how it work in that steep of angle. It is more useful if your

moving slow and slip and then go into self arrest position. It

is just another skill in your tool box, if I was going to ski

on a really steep hill. I would certainly practice it and try

to figure out the limits of this self arrest method. I have also

read where the whippet style of handles for self arrest have their

limitations.

 

I have went out and ran down a steep section jumped and landed and

then moved into self arrest position with the ski pole in my arm

pit, pretty steep hill, I would think in black diamond range of steepness, but not sure. It worked for me, it won't work for ice

or really hard crusty snow. Carefully note this, this method

allows you to use your ski edges to dig in as your digging in with

your ski pole. I can't imagine that being as easy with a ice

axe or whippet tools, right???????

 

If you get a chance try it out. Many people stow the ice axe and

use ski poles a lot and this skill can be helpful, as in save your butt. One climber I know carries a ski pole in one hand and a ice axe in the other in mixed terrain, that seems to work pretty well for hiking.

 

Dan

Edited April 27, 2010 by DanO

[JoshK]

I gotta say I love my whippets even though I don't think there is much chance for self-arrest while skiing very steep slopes. they come in handy for many things like steadying yourself during switchbacks on steep icy slopes, hooking tree branches, pulling dynafit levers, a little self belay, etc. Though years ago I did use my whippets for exactly what Colin describes there - digging in to a slope with all my might as I shat myself hoping the slide going over me wouldn't take me down with it. Who knows if they helped keep me on the mountain, but I was happy to have them.

 

As for the original topic - I can't believe that dude took a 700m tumble and stood up afterwards...holy crap.

[AlpineK]

Sometimes conditions on snow can be really deceiving.

 

On one of my earlier climbing trips I descended soft snow, but found out there was solid ice under it. I fell while trying to retrace a few steps. I had an ice axe and went into proper self arrest form, but on solid ice the ice axe was of no use beyond giving me some control of my angle of slide. Eventually I came to a stop on snow with no ice under it.

 

There was no skiing involved in that. No matter what kind of axe you have they won't always stop you.

[billcoe]

Been there done that Feck! Nice to come to a ledge and not a drop off at the end too:-)