JHMR patroller unable to deploy airbag during slide, but not buried
From the JH News and Guide, today:
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort identified the skier injured in an avalanche Sunday as an on-duty ski patroller, who was unable to pull the cord on an airbag system while being swept 1,000 feet down a chute in Granite Canyon.
The patroller was not buried but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, resort spokesman Zahan Billimoria said. The skier was able to evacuate with the help of two fellow patrollers. The resort declined to identify the man.
“He’s going to be on rest for a little while,” Billimoria said.
The incident occurred as a fierce storm dumped 21 inches of snow at the resort in two days. The patroller was the third to ski the steep chute known as Double Dog Leg, located north of the resort boundary in Grand Teton National Park.
The patrollers were on routine reconnaissance, Billimoria said. The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center reported that the slide hit at approximately 8 a.m.
The slide had a 5- to 6-inch crown but gathered more snow from the sides of the slope as it ran, Billimoria said. Estimates put the elevation of the crown at between 8,600 and 9,000 feet. The slope measured between 41 and 45 degrees, the avalanche center reported.
The patroller was carrying an ABS Avalanche Airbag System, a backpack a skier can use to release an airbag during an avalanche to keep him- or herself on top of the snow. Ski patrollers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort wear the backpacks during certain high-risk operations.
The airbag did not deploy because the patroller was unable to grab the cord, Billimoria said. The avalanche center reported that he was swept roughly 1,000 feet down the chute.
Patrollers regularly do reconnaissance work in the Granite Canyon area, even though the chutes are outside the resort boundary and not patrolled, Billimoria said. “They maintain familiarity,” he said, explaining that patrollers sometimes assist Teton County Search and Rescue or the National Park Service on rescues.
Teton park officials said they were not notified of the incident.
The storm, which pushed the total snowfall for the season to 204 inches, continued to wreak havoc at the resort, as high winds gusting to 91 miles per hour lashed the mountain Sunday night and early Monday. A tree fell on the Bridger Gondola cable, delaying the lift’s opening by more than three hours on one of the biggest powder days of the season.
“All of our [gondola] towers have sensors, and when [workers] went to start the gondola, the sensors indicated something was not right,” Billimoria said.
An inspection revealed the downed tree had knocked the cable off the wheels near the top of the lift. No cars were on the cable at the time. It is the resort’s policy to take the cars off at night.
The gondola was repaired and opened at 12:42 p.m., Billimoria said.
More snow is expected Wednesday.
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- The story makes it sound like he wanted to deploy it, but in my mind is not 100% conclusive that this was exactly the case.
- imho this is another reminder that all of our safety gear, from helmet to transceiver to avalung to airbag, may indeed save our life. Or not. Don't let carrying any/all of it lull you into any sense of invincibility, or decisions you would make if you weren't wearing it.
