Dropping in on top of Groups/Booting up behind another group

[gmorgg]

Reading CAIC reports today and what I saw in person this weekend was pretty wild out there even for summit county standards.

I thought this was basic backcountry etiquette if someone is already booting in the line you wanted to ski you pivot to a new objective or go home??

I know these are all super popular zones but still something needs to change or there will be a large scale accident on one of the classics.


Example: https://avalanche.state.co.us/observ...c-0b0dce6a1e21 (How many people are in that one picture)

Example: Quandary North Couloir 4/21 A group got dropped in on by another party knowingly cut a wind slab an flushed a different groups member down 1,000 ft.


I watched three separate groups all attempting shit for brains at the same time on Friday? one nearing the top another group in the choke and another group just starting to boot!

Reckless behavior? Is terrain avoidance the only thing being taught in AVY 1?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Resource scarcity, ignorance and selfishness




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[Buster Highmen]

I count between 20 and 17.


Not schmart.

[Foggy_Goggles]

I don't disagree with you but if that is your expectation don't ski trade routes in Colorado on the first fresh snow forecast low hazard nice ish weather spring day.

Reality is many to most backcountry skiers around here pretty much suck at backcountry skiing (and skiing generally for that matter.)

I DPd BP Saturday AM as I saw it coming. By the time I left at 9 the shit show was on!

The Green Means Go mentality was on full display this weekend and in both my opinion and supported by the obs, people got caught with their pants don't.

I'll let others speak to the AAIRE curriculum but avalanche education is to comprehensive backcountry safety or ettiquite.

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[gmorgg]

https://avalanche.state.co.us/observations/field-report/8724a3d6-6eb8-462c-a0fd-d12ac979fbf4

Quandary Report. Seems pretty selfish to me if you didn't like how they were skiing it or taking too long you should have gotten up earlier.

[m2711c]

triggering an avalanche that takes someone for a ride, and just skiing away? no attempt to assist in the rescue?




this is a different level. them snowboarders what set off that slide a few years back were prosecuted for much less…

[PNWbrit]

That's pretty fucked up to ski away.

You have to also wonder about this by the first group though

"Assesed conditions"

Sounds like they were fairly lucky to have not set it off themselves even if skiing it one at a time.

[Dantheman]

https://avalanche.state.co.us/observ...d-d12ac979fbf4

Quandary Report. Seems pretty selfish to me if you didn't like how they were skiing it or taking too long you should have gotten up earlier.

As described that's messed up.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Dropping in on top of Groups/Booting up behind another group

Seems pretty normal from my observations of people in the backcountry


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[I've seen black diamonds!]

Wow. That's cold.

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[::: :::]

As described that's messed up.

I can only guess we’ll hear more about it from other parties

[SKIP IN7RO]

Gatekeeping, localism, and trailhead beat-downs all need to come back into fashion.

[Core Shot]

I almost died twenty years ago
Sketch wind loading. We were survival descending (should have hiked back up)
Dude dropped in to the bowl (we descended the ridge one at a time)
Ripped half the bowl. Two thirds of the group got blasted by the staunch wall air blast and lightly buried. As we were collecting lost poles a three party dropped into the undslid bowl and we booked as fast as we could to get out of the zone.

Long story short. Don’t trust anyone above you

[Foggy_Goggles]

I can only guess we’ll hear more about it from other parties

Why do you think that? I'd think they'd hightail their flatbrims, wildcats and mustaches back to the Tacoma and keep it too themselves.

Something is fucked, but don't be so quick to just make shit up and bring the pitchforks. And before you ask, no it wasn't me or anyone I know. So I'll just ask these questions generically. Here is the forecast for the day https://avalanche.state.co.us/?lat=3...ate=2024-04-21

Under what conditions is it acceptable to expose more than one person to the hazard?

How do you break a line into multiple pitches?

When is it good form to allow faster moving groups to play through?

Does a novice junkshow that gets up early have to right to cockblock the line all morning as the temp warms up and the hazard level increases?

Maybe the offending party were total asshats, came down saw homie was breathing, sprayed him and peaced out.

Maybe group one was taking an exorbitant amount of time, looked to be eddied out in an island of safety, group 2 dropped and then a slow moving sluff knocked somebody of their feet?

We all have an obligation to not be an asshole? Part of that, when skiing in busy avalanche terrain, is to have your shit together and move swifty and predictably through terrain.

Personally, I avoid these type of scenes because I don't have any faith in the skills and being on the same wavelength in the punters. Thankfully the backcounty is a big place and seeing nobody all day is pretty easy.

[::: :::]

Why do you think that? I'd think they'd hightail their flatbrims, wildcats and mustaches back to the Tacoma and keep it too themselves.

Multiple parties at the event - only one perspective given. Nothing more than that.

Not pretending to attribute blame or judge from my faraway uninformed position. I wouldn’t know about whose mustache did what.