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Avalanches Kill 3 at Stevens Pass, 1 at Alpental
- jj
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usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/19/10...ng-in-wash-avalanche
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- Shred13
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Looks like they have accounted for the other 8, what a sad day! Heard and seen lots of emergency personal driving past Skykomish.Details are just starting to trickle in.
www.king5.com/news/People-reported-missi...anche-139645233.html
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- Lowell_Skoog
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today.seattletimes.com/2012/02/two-peopl...che-at-stevens-pass/
Horrible. This may be the most deadly day of avalanches involving skiers and boarders in the history of Washington state.
alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/book/logan-1996.html
alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/web/www-avalanche-org.html
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- JPH
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- Don Heath
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We headed down around noon. I estimate I saw 30 skiers and a couple handfuls of snowshoers coming up as we went down. Epic skiing AND epic danger out there today. I overheard at least one group talking about decision making, and pre-setting limits on terrain and risk on the way up.
The ski down the south face was sublime even with a 40 lb pack. I hope everybody continues to make good decisions through the day and we don't hear of more casualties. We were passed by 6-8 emergency vehicles as we drove down the mountain.
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- RonL
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- trees4me
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FWIW, on a Kendall Stump tour yesterday we were getting shooting cracks in the new snow layer (12-24"). Got a 15' soft slab failure between switchbacks. That was in open areas of glades <4500'. The new snow seemed to be easily triggered on slopes above ~35deg, but not below. There was also a grapel layer in the new snow that was reactive (about 4-6" down at 3pm).
Be safe.
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- Snowolf
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Hope no one from here was involved.
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- VerticallyInclined
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This makes me cringe, thinking about which one of my friends it could be. Even someone unknown to me, I am sorry to see their lives lost. From what I have read, a skier up and above the three, triggered a small avalanche. It propagated and grew, running 3000+ feet. It is my understanding that the skier who caused the avalanche was not one of the fatal victims.
The accident occurred on the backside side-country running down to Tunnel Creek U-turn.
More information here: www.powdermag.com/stevens_pass-news/thre...vens-pass-avalanche/
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- Bird Dog
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Sad...
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- SeatownSlackey
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- haggis
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- z-bo
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Skiing mourns the death of three of the greatest in the northwest. Many tears will be shed tonight.
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- Marcus
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- Mofro
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The Alpental accident occurred on the 80's chute/E.S.A.D. past shot8. From staring out the front window and across the street it looks like a pocket above let loose or was remote triggered and flushed the rider out over ~300-400+ft of near vertical.
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- JimG
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Sincerest condolences to, family, friends, and all those who saw things today that they will likely wish they could forget...
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- mattgoyer
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Super sad day.
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- Plinko
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This ESPN article, Stevens Pass avalanche kills three , interviews Megan Michelson and Elyse Saugstad who were skiing with the group and has the most details I've seen on the accident.
Super sad day.
Matt,
Thanks for the link to that info.
In the article it states, "The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center rated the avalanche danger as "High" on Sunday morning for elevations 5,000 feet and above and warned of "widespread natural and triggered soft and wind slab avalanches" for the area around Stevens Pass, due to heavy snowfall and and strong winds. Stevens Pass ski area's base elevation is 4,061 feet and the summit elevation is 5,845 feet."
This is a comment I've heard echoed in much of the mainstream news reports. When they (and I) check the NWAC forecast in the morning before a trip, it's still the forecast from the day prior, and in this case, very different from the revised forecast that finally came out later in the day. I fully believe the good folks who compile the daily data on NWAC's behalf work hard and do an excellent job and I'm not in any way maligning their hard work. The timing, however, seems to present an issue since most people who relying on the forecast have already walked out the door with a day-old forecast and are in the heat of the fire by the time the updates are posted. Is there any way around this? Apologies if this is inappropriate time/place give the circumstances.
This is very somber news to say the least. Prayers for all involved.
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- stoudema
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- haggis
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- Team Wally
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- E_N
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Sad day.
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- z-bo
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Matt,
Thanks for the link to that info.
In the article it states, "The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center rated the avalanche danger as "High" on Sunday morning for elevations 5,000 feet and above and warned of "widespread natural and triggered soft and wind slab avalanches" for the area around Stevens Pass, due to heavy snowfall and and strong winds. Stevens Pass ski area's base elevation is 4,061 feet and the summit elevation is 5,845 feet."
This is a comment I've heard echoed in much of the mainstream news reports. When they (and I) check the NWAC forecast in the morning before a trip, it's still the forecast from the day prior, and in this case, very different from the revised forecast that finally came out later in the day. I fully believe the good folks who compile the daily data on NWAC's behalf work hard and do an excellent job and I'm not in any way maligning their hard work. The timing, however, seems to present an issue since most people relying on the forecast have already walked out the door with a day-old forecast and are in the heat of the fire by the time the updates are posted. Is there any way around this? Apologies if this is inappropriate time/place give the circumstances.
This is very somber news to say the least. Prayers for all involved.
i find this more inappropriate than releasing the names. these guys were more than capable of making their own avalanche decisions. With or without an avalanche report that probably isn't specific to Stevens pass. Lets keep the armchair forecasting to its own thread.
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- fwb
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On the others. Saturday eve I made a snow check when I left work. I bailed on BC and returned for a morning of resort turns. Trashed from very little sleep all week I was up for only a short day. I the typical early lineup wait I ran into "everybody" in the morning. Was happy for known faces and ski buddies to tag morning runs with.
After the incident several out of bounds exit points were closed (and manned). Rumors had avys also in other areas too. Patrol said a slide in Highland bowl, but didn't know anything else. Now maybe I see they just closed any exiting to the side/slack country?
I heard a few hours ago the names of those trapped on the radio (6:20pm). It has taken a little bit for the shock to set in. It was so different when it was just some anonymous skiers. Now it’s hitting hard when people I’ve skied with and know. I’d expected a bunch of the typical yahoos you see hiking out of bounds… Not so.
...still processing it all.
I'm glad to have had the moments skiing good times with them. And a sorrow to have turns only in memories. RIP guys, you are missed
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- lrudholm
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- andybrnr
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Will be interesting to see how the WX this week evolves... the rain event for Tuesday will trigger pretty much anything that hasn't gone under 6k ft, I think, and everything above is going to get such a massive load placed on it (UW WRF-GFS 12km run is putting another 32" of dense snow on top of stuff above 7k-ish) that it'll likely make everything that didn't get rained on go. The 24hrs from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon is looking like a good time to be anywhere but avy terrain. On the up side, precip with falling freezing levels Wednesday afternoon/night will hopefully yield a consolidated snowpack with the new stuff well bonded and right side up... here's hoping, anyhow.
Thoughts and prayers with the families of those who lost loved ones today.
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- Jason_H.
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- Lowell_Skoog
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I didn't know the victims, but I've been staggered by the scope of this tragedy. I've been trying to process it mentally. I reviewed my notes about avalanche accidents in the Northwest through 2011:
alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/book/logan-1996.html
alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/web/www-avalanche-org.html
Losing more than one member of the skiing and snowboarding community in single day is a horrible shock. It has only happened twice before. In 1999, one snowboarder and one skier were lost in the huge Rumble Gully avalanche just outside the Mt Baker ski area. In 2007, three snowboarders were buried at their emergency bivouac in Union Creek near Crystal Mountain. Yesterday, we lost three at Stevens Pass in a single avalanche and another at Alpental in a separate accident. It was deadliest day for avalanches involving skiers and snowboarders in the history of Washington state.
There have been even worse days in history, but they involved climbing parties. Fatal accidents involving multiple skiers are extremely rare in this state. I think that's why this event seems so overwhelming.
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- ryanl
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- snoholic
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Zack
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