Feb 17 Routefinding skills or hospital bills
2/15/09
Europe
5266
12
Skied into Coleman Pinnacle yesterday. In the morning there was a nice clear area over the Wells Creek drainage but with a heavy fog bank over Swift Creek and east to Mt. Shuksan. While we lucked out to have good lighting on our ski runs, as we came out of the basin, a very thick fog bank enveloped the entire area with visibilities of 50-100'. All old ski tracks were pretty much covered. Without a GPS we navigated the old fashioned way using way points (groups of familiar trees and recognizable features) and hand rails (steepening slopes and the like). Even with good familiarity we found ourselves on some steeper slopes and had difficulty finding the notch below Table's SW'ern corner. In unstable snow it would have been an accident waiting for a place to happen. I haven't been in that thick of fog in 25 years.
I didn't quite finish my thoughts on this.
Even though we were never more than about 30-40 yards off route, we still ended up in a couple of places in avalanche terrain. One of those locations was only recognized because small sunballs had come down, indicating a longer steep slope above. With the problems of vertigo and the poor visibility it is very hard in such conditions to avoid such encounters. It is hard to imagine that even with the best modern navigation GPS and maps that the resolution would be great enough to read the terrain well enough from an avalanche perspective.
Another observation is that the the new snow became moist up to 4700' to 4800., even on north slopes. Although it is possible that strictly shady slopes - steeper, north facing that never see any sun this time of year - may not have been as adversely affected. The combination of high humidity and longwave solar radiation penetrating the low clouds on a day that was barely below freezing above 4500' was the nemesis. Ah spring! Or at least the first signs thereof. I suspect that with even higher freezing levels and persistent cloudiness over the mountains today more damage has been done.
Even though we were never more than about 30-40 yards off route, we still ended up in a couple of places in avalanche terrain. One of those locations was only recognized because small sunballs had come down, indicating a longer steep slope above. With the problems of vertigo and the poor visibility it is very hard in such conditions to avoid such encounters. It is hard to imagine that even with the best modern navigation GPS and maps that the resolution would be great enough to read the terrain well enough from an avalanche perspective.
Another observation is that the the new snow became moist up to 4700' to 4800., even on north slopes. Although it is possible that strictly shady slopes - steeper, north facing that never see any sun this time of year - may not have been as adversely affected. The combination of high humidity and longwave solar radiation penetrating the low clouds on a day that was barely below freezing above 4500' was the nemesis. Ah spring! Or at least the first signs thereof. I suspect that with even higher freezing levels and persistent cloudiness over the mountains today more damage has been done.
Appreciate your thoughts and words.....THANKS SO MUCH!
Yes, thank you Gary
You're welcome, Ryan, Skiguitarist.
I found that situation interesting and thought immediately at the time, "Whoa, I'm in avalanche terrain!" Then the reasoning part came into play and that part told me that in this snowpack, the situation was not particularly threatening. I merely descended to lower angled terrain. But it sure shows to go ya how easy it would be to get in trouble in flat light.
I recall a couple (few) years ago a guided party in Canada had such a situation and did trigger a significant avalanche. Fortunately their were no human consequences. It was discussed on TTips I believe and one of the clients had good information about the incident.
I found that situation interesting and thought immediately at the time, "Whoa, I'm in avalanche terrain!" Then the reasoning part came into play and that part told me that in this snowpack, the situation was not particularly threatening. I merely descended to lower angled terrain. But it sure shows to go ya how easy it would be to get in trouble in flat light.
I recall a couple (few) years ago a guided party in Canada had such a situation and did trigger a significant avalanche. Fortunately their were no human consequences. It was discussed on TTips I believe and one of the clients had good information about the incident.
The one time I was avalanched was also in a fog situation, in the Canadian Rockies, above Bow Summit. As we ascended, conditions were fine, but then the fog developed incredibly fast. We were far above Peyto Lake and decided to descend back to the car, so headed south and east--and skied off a cornice in the fog, landing on a slope that then avalanched, carrying the two of us down about fifty feet--below the fog line, to the top of a cliff that fell a very long way down to Peyto Lake. We came to a stop about ten feet from the cliff edge. We tiptoed off that slope onto easier-angled terrain and got back to the car safely. After that episode, we were seriously gunshy about avalanche terrain for years.
--Pierre
--Pierre
author=nordique link=topic=12359.msg51720#msg51720 date=1235089646]
The one time I was avalanched was also in a fog situation, in the Canadian Rockies, above Bow Summit. As we ascended, conditions were fine, but then the fog developed incredibly fast. We were far above Peyto Lake and decided to descend back to the car, so headed south and east--and skied off a cornice in the fog, landing on a slope that then avalanched, carrying the two of us down about fifty feet--below the fog line, to the top of a cliff that fell a very long way down to Peyto Lake. We came to a stop about ten feet from the cliff edge. We tiptoed off that slope onto easier-angled terrain and got back to the car safely. After that episode, we were seriously gunshy about avalanche terrain for years.
--Pierre
Wow, Pierre, that's pretty scary!
Yeah Pierre, scaarry.
Just a note. We had two parties of two out the Mt. Baker side of Colman Pinnacle over President's Day wk-end (Feb 14-16).
We got snow all three days and most of it was blown over to the N side of the ridge, so we stayed high on the S side on the way back. Other option would have bee to ski way down to the flats on the N side then back around Table Mtn. somehow.
Just a note. We had two parties of two out the Mt. Baker side of Colman Pinnacle over President's Day wk-end (Feb 14-16).
We got snow all three days and most of it was blown over to the N side of the ridge, so we stayed high on the S side on the way back. Other option would have bee to ski way down to the flats on the N side then back around Table Mtn. somehow.
author=jhamaker link=topic=12359.msg51782#msg51782 date=1235170575]
Yeah Pierre, scaarry.
Just a note. We had two parties of two out the Mt. Baker side of Colman Pinnacle over President's Day wk-end (Feb 14-16).
We got snow all three days and most of it was blown over to the N side of the ridge, so we stayed high on the S side on the way back. Other option would have bee to ski way down to the flats on the N side then back around Table Mtn. somehow.
Yes. Routefinding is key, but all the new snow over P-day's weekend amounted to 3-6" in the deepest pockets. It was stable, and not high risk, but I did find it interesting how easy it is to make a small routefinding error even in familiar terrain when there is poor vis.
Same fog conditions on Mt. Bailey. However we also had extremely unstable snow conditions. Luckily there were many trees and a cat track to follow. However, if in an unfamiliar area, any tricks to routefinding (besides the obvious GPS)? Especially if doing a circumnavigation that won't take you past the same landmarks? Thanks for your great info too.
Pierre, scary experience. Yeah, I'm sure that would secure me in a desk job for a few years...
Pierre, scary experience. Yeah, I'm sure that would secure me in a desk job for a few years...
author=Stugie link=topic=12359.msg51906#msg51906 date=1235409296]
Same fog conditions on Mt. Bailey. However we also had extremely unstable snow conditions. Luckily there were many trees and a cat track to follow. However, if in an unfamiliar area, any tricks to routefinding (besides the obvious GPS)? Especially if doing a circumnavigation that won't take you past the same landmarks? Thanks for your great info too.
Pierre, scary experience. Yeah, I'm sure that would secure me in a desk job for a few years...
I don't really think there are any effective tricks when travelling in serious avalanche terrain in poor vis with higher avalanche hazard (except with very strong terrain familiarity - but even then?). At that point it really is all about trip planning and larger scale routefinding choices, i.e. not choosing a route that puts one in or near risky terrain.
This thread reminded me of one of the most frightening afternoons of my life in this same general location. The Artist Point/Table Mountain area was one of the first areas that I explored in my early years of back country skiing. I believe that a strong sense of geographical spatial relations is one of my few God-given talents. That ability and enough trips into the region made me very confident (perhaps too confident) in route finding there. So on an early April Sunday, some 20 years ago, I didn't have any reservations taking my then 11 year old son for a few hours of skiing to Artist Point.
We continued up through Austin Pass even though the clouds/fog got thicker. "I know this area like the back of my hand", I thought, "I'll just follow the usual geological signposts".By the time that we reached the level area north of the parking lot, visibility was maybe 10 feet. At one point we could hear voices (for the last time), but still driven my my cocky confidence, we continued with our lunch break. It hadn't snowed for some time, so as we started to retrace our steps, we were constantly lead off route by tracks heading towards the cliffs around the Blueberry Chutes. Even though I had a compass and knew that we had to travel in an easterly direction, we still kept going around in circles. The temperature was a bit above freezing and we were getting wet from condensation, perspiration and stress.
After several hours of futility, I decided to follow the cliff line until we reached Austin Pass. At one point we had to drop about 15 feet to get around an obstacle. I looked up to see a huge "snowball" coming toward us. I grabbed my son and a nearby tree top and hung on for dear life. Fortunately, it didn't knock us over the edge into an invisible hell. With tears in my eyes, I hugged my son, told him that I loved him and asked him for forgiveness. We then scrambled back up to safer ground, but with darkness approaching, my concern shifted to hypothermia.Uncharacteristically,(likely because of my over confidence in route finding), I had neglected to bring over night survival gear. I knew that there would be a time when we would have to stay put because visibility would be nil.My wife was aware of the general area that we would be skiing in, but I knew that we would likely spend a wet, cold night before she could instigate a search party.With mere minutes to spare I stumbled upon the "100 step chute" and recognized features of Austin Pass. It was almost dark when we reached the safety of my car.
Besides the fear and guilt felt, the experience of my innate compass failing me was very humbling. Image an author suffering writer's block or a skier forgetting how to edge his skis and you get an idea how badly this misadventure hit me. Needless to say, I have learned a lot since that fateful day and my son still likes to ski with me. :)
We continued up through Austin Pass even though the clouds/fog got thicker. "I know this area like the back of my hand", I thought, "I'll just follow the usual geological signposts".By the time that we reached the level area north of the parking lot, visibility was maybe 10 feet. At one point we could hear voices (for the last time), but still driven my my cocky confidence, we continued with our lunch break. It hadn't snowed for some time, so as we started to retrace our steps, we were constantly lead off route by tracks heading towards the cliffs around the Blueberry Chutes. Even though I had a compass and knew that we had to travel in an easterly direction, we still kept going around in circles. The temperature was a bit above freezing and we were getting wet from condensation, perspiration and stress.
After several hours of futility, I decided to follow the cliff line until we reached Austin Pass. At one point we had to drop about 15 feet to get around an obstacle. I looked up to see a huge "snowball" coming toward us. I grabbed my son and a nearby tree top and hung on for dear life. Fortunately, it didn't knock us over the edge into an invisible hell. With tears in my eyes, I hugged my son, told him that I loved him and asked him for forgiveness. We then scrambled back up to safer ground, but with darkness approaching, my concern shifted to hypothermia.Uncharacteristically,(likely because of my over confidence in route finding), I had neglected to bring over night survival gear. I knew that there would be a time when we would have to stay put because visibility would be nil.My wife was aware of the general area that we would be skiing in, but I knew that we would likely spend a wet, cold night before she could instigate a search party.With mere minutes to spare I stumbled upon the "100 step chute" and recognized features of Austin Pass. It was almost dark when we reached the safety of my car.
Besides the fear and guilt felt, the experience of my innate compass failing me was very humbling. Image an author suffering writer's block or a skier forgetting how to edge his skis and you get an idea how badly this misadventure hit me. Needless to say, I have learned a lot since that fateful day and my son still likes to ski with me. :)
Interesting story, Telemon. We all strive learn from our mistakes and hopefully don't make the same ones again. The amazing thing (I'm speaking for me) is that despite all of these mistakes, I'm still alive.
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