Dec 12, 2006, Dog legged Chute AKA Gunnbarrel

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;D

thats classic!!

I have a split board but it is pointless when everyone else is without ,this year Im going to test out some Snoeshoes

Do not take this the wrong way but you might want to consider taking an Avalanche Awareness Course.

Many people have died skiing/snowboarding in the backcountry at Crystal when the upper mountain is closed.  The main reason they close the upper mountain is when there are high winds...high winds = wind loading, wind loading = high avalanche danger.

Don't get me wrong, a person can get out in the backcountry and ski/snowboard on high hazard days but not on steep chutes like the one you were on.

Avalanche Awareness saves lives...

Teter sounds like a close call and a wild adrenaline ride.  Glad you and company came out unscathed.

Check your pm's.

I TOTALLY AGREE ITS ALWAYS SMART TO UPDATE ON TRAINING..... i ADMIT THAT I JUMPED THE GUN ON THAT ONE AND IT IS STUPID TO SAY IT WONT HAPPEN AGAIN BUT NEXT TIME I WILL TAKE MORE TIME TO TEST A SLOPE

Glad to hear the outcome was good, that's a rather nasty chute when it goes. My recent experience in Bullion Basin was a HUGE wake-up call. As I've now done some serious reading / re-educating, I find a few things that seem too common. Complacency, basing decisions on similar slope trust factors, and not keeping well informed of current snow/ weather / avy danger come right to the top. It's all different after a close call & I'm sure you & your buds are "reflecting" on it.  Alive & learning is way better than being a dead "expert" ;)

Rippy,

Would you mind sharing the experience you had in Bullion Basin, and the exact location you experienced instability.    Knowledge is Power!

Thanks!

Nov 25th (Saturday) a partner & I had an up close and personal encounter with an avalanche at the break-over on East Peak. Burghdorfers book shows this as a potential avalanche slope & I'm very aware of it. (???) We were on a tight timeline with one run in mind, then head home to get some chores done. Being in a hurry causes "shortcuts" (mistake #1).  Arrived at E. Pk. summit about 10:15 a.m. We looked at 2 pits going up & checked stability at several switchbacks although not as extensively as we should have. We skiied Crystal the previous day & hit many slopes on differing aspects in the 35 - 45 degree range that were totally solid and stable so used that information to generally come to a conclusion (mistake #2). Skiied to the breakover at about 5,600 ft. Ski tracks went down about 100 feet to the right  and more about 150 feet on our left. No tracks in the middle face which was slightly steeper. Didn't ski cut the bugger first either (mistake #3) although the party below (we didn't hear or see them at the time) woulda been pissed about getting avalanched by a couple yahoos ski-cutting a risk prone slope. Clearly we should have bypassed that and taken a lower angle aspect. I have pondered whether that loaded slope would have gotten someone else that day considering the number of folks we saw up there. I'd estimate at least 40 skiers / Riders. That's an aside though. My partner was into turn 3 when it went, about 150 ft. across & a crown varying fron 12 to 18". It ran to the trail below and briefly buried another skier & covered some gear that was happily recovered later. My buddy was carried into a small cluster of trees & briefly buried upside down. By kicking hard and wriggling his feet & legs, he slipped deeper down into a tree well where he could get a few good breaths of air and start clawing back up. He popped out as I was crossing just above the trees I was certain he had slid into. No injuries but a hell of a scare.  So it comes down to this, get the current advisory data and pay attention to it. Do not overlook your safety because of time - dig pits & analyze.  Avoid "suspect" slopes, no run is worth getting killed or hurt over. If you do ski-cut a slope first, might want a short rope belay and be darn sure it's safe in the run-out zone.  Last, not all slopes are representative, there can be pockets such as this one that can go even when every other observation / indication looks good.

Wow -- glad you and your partner are still with us, Rippy.  Thanks for sharing...

author=rippy link=topic=5794.msg24219#msg24219 date=1166733231]
Nov 25th (Saturday) a partner & I had an up close and personal encounter with an avalanche at the break-over on East Peak.

Are you referring to the NE flank of East Peak? There's more than one break-over on that peak.

I was at the Elk last Saturday and Buster told me about that one.  Sounds like another close call.  Glad your okay.

Myself and some others had frequented that area the previous 2 days and on that 3rd day, Saturday, it was bluebird.  Anyways 2 days before Nomad and I broke trail next to the clump of trees skiers left/lookers right of where the slope avi'd.  Moderately steep with cliffbands seperating some gullies.  The skin track contoured the base of this until you enter the trees again before eventually following the normal trail into Bullion.

Well on the 2nd day our skin track was gone and the ascent we had taken the day prior was looking sketch so we broke trail thru the trees and up another smaller open slope.  Pits there revealed similiar conditions to the day before but 1-2ft more of snow on top.  Skinned up next to a small roll I knew would slide.  Later on I straightlined over it and it did.

On our 2nd lap we witnessed an older lady ski cutting the whole slope on a descending traverse cause conditions were too deep for her.  Yikes!

3rd day was bluebird and everyone and their mom was climbing East Peak.  Got up there first and Eli and I dropped in.  Wasn't as deep as the day before but alot colder and the sun was beaming.

Those people clearly chose a bad spot to take a break.  Right underneath an avi slope on a w-sw aspect that is clearly visible from the lifts.  20ft over and they would have been safe in the trees.  Also usually when conditions are epic and there is an area where tracks go this way and that way but none over here...  (I usually use this when I'm at Baker.)

Glad your okay!