AVY DEATH IN SUGARBOWL BACKCOUNTRY

My wife's brother was invloved in an avalanche this afterrnoon somewhere in the Sugarbowl backcountry. 3 burials, one partial-my bro-in-law, he freed himself, then dug up his friend, they both dug out freinds deceased girlfriend.

The woman was an experienced backcountry skier. Both men were very experienced RESORT skiers. I would say their backcountry skills were minimal at best. All three were properly equipped as well as the other 8 people at the Benson Hut. According to Placer County sheriff they did an excellent job with the search. Bro-in-law said all three went for a 300-400 yard slide. Bro-in-law was buried with only head and one hand exposed, friend buried so that only the tip of a glove was visible, the woman was under 4 feet of debris. Bro-in-law used piep to locate friend, shovel to dig out. No other injuries. All others at Benson Hut were summoned to assist in search for the woman. Bro-in-law said he had taken avalanche safety course many years ago, it all kicked in when he needed it to. Others in their group had skied the same slope earlier in the morning. Apparantly not a very steep slope and most everyone who has been to Benson Hut has skied or hiked the slope. It was not exposed or a slope that one would think of as avalanche prone. Seems to be many examples of unsuspecting slopes sliding this season no matter what mountain range you're in.

I was at Sugarbowl today, 8-10 inches of very wet snow on top of a crust layer.

Woman was a single mother.

http://wiww.fs.fed.us/r5/tahoe/docum...t_advisory.htm

...oh no...

Terrible news

:(

Hope the others are okay...

that's sad

My sympathy goes out to them. Very tragic.

Horrible. Sorry to hear that.

so sad to hear news like this. ++++ vibes go out to everyone involved and their family and friends. :frown:

hate to say it but unfortunately it needs to be said: you shouldnt go out in the backcountry if your inexperienced and dont know how to evaluate terrain and deal with backcountry situations. tradgedies like this will be much more likely...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hucksquaw

you shouldnt go out in the backcountry if your inexperienced and dont know how to evaluate terrain and deal with backcountry situations. tradgedies like this will be much more likely...

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no doubt. thats the price we pay for more laissez-faire bc policies.

Quote:

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laissez-faire bc policies.

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As they should be.

prayers for the surviving family, friends and most importantly the child

tragic :(

Yes, it is very sad. But wide open BC policies are a must. There is no rope keeping people from trying to surf Mavericks...


but, people need to be more informed....i know lots of kids that I work with that head into the BC around here with their 1080s and Pocket Rockets and Armadas looking for shit to huck off and they dont have a clue about avy danger....

Sad. Be careful out there Sierra Maggots.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...022010755.html

Very sad news. My thoughts are out to everyone involved.

i really hate to see these threads come up but it is good that it is shared. i really feel for those involved and the their families.

how sad.. Poor kid

+++++++vibes to kid, family and everyone involved.

My condolences to family and friends. :(

Sad news. Be careful everyone.

On a happier somewhat related note, leaving Mt. Baldy yesterday I was skiing down the parking lot run at the end of the day, and didn't notice that a total gaper decided to ski past the download chair was following me and the crew out. Just before we dropped in, she asked the standard gaper question:

"Where's the easy way down?"

Lady, there is no easy way down.

Did you not notice the sign that said: Experts only. Exposed rocks and creek bed and many other hazards exist. Well, too late, she had commited to the run by that point, so we led her down through some sweet steep pow that rapidly turned into some terrible choppy mank, and through the rocks at the bottom. She only blew up a couple times, fortunately in the middle of the run and the three of us caught her gear and pieced her back together.

It was only after we were in the car driving home that it really hit me. What the fuck would she have done without us? Totally in over her head, the next wave of the storm closing in, limited visability and alone at the end of the day, in exposed terrain with a couple traps and cliffs (not huge, but definately capable of breaking a leg or knocking someone out), and to boot, I think we were far beyond the normal end of day sweep for ski patrol. I guess I did my good deed for the day yesterday, but people just never seem to think about their actions before doing anything.

damn... hate to see this happen round the old home hill.

best wishes out to all those involved. lets play safe out there.

Slide and Rescue info.

http://www.thebackcountry.net/board/...p?TOPIC_ID=444

Saw that she was a nurse in Reno. Didn't realize a guy I know was with them and had rescued some of the people buried til I read the paper this am.

here is the official report below. damn, have been back there many times, and that slope is rather tame (though perfect 35 for avy)....make you think.

North Bowl Mt. Anderson-Behind Sugar Bowl Ski area, Truckee, CA
Backcountry Skiing
3 Skiers caught, 1 self rescued,1 rescued, 1 killed
Accident Report -Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue

Mt Anderson is located on the Pacific Crest about 3 miles south of Sugar Bowl ski area and north of Squaw Valley ski area.
There was a group of 11 backcountry skiers staying at the Benson Hut located on the shoulder of Mt. Anderson. They had been there the night before and awoke to do some nearby skiing. They had talked about the avalanche hazard and decided not to go over onto the lee side of the crest due to the wind loading that had taken place the night before and stayed on the shoulder of Mt Anderson and the slopes below the hut. Most were experienced backcountry skiers and had been in this area before, all had avalanche rescue equipment.

The group had divided up and 7 of the skiers went to ski some other terrain in the area. The North Bowl had already been skied that morning when 3 skiers, at around 11:30am, began traversing up and onto the slope with climbing skins. They were approximately 200' below the top and all on the slope when the slide was triggered. One skier was partially buried, one was completely buried with a hand sticking out of the snow and the other was completely buried. The partially buried skier dug himself out and went over to his friend, who just had a hand sticking out of the snow, and dug him out. There was another skier at the hut who heard what was going on and joined the search. They all searched for the buried skier and after 45 minutes recovered her body with a beacon search and probing.

During the search time a call was made via cell phone from the rescuers to 911 which connected them to Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol who helped aid in the rescue efforts. The skier in the group who came from the hut is an off duty doctor who pronounced death at the scene. The debris field was very large 400' wide by about 600' long. The debris from the soft slab avalanche was deep and unsupportive, skis were needed to traverse the area. The debris piles were set up in two different areas, one ran into a densely treed area and another ran down a relatively open gully that continued another 200'. The victim, once caught in the slide, was forced through about 50' of very tight trees and ended up against a tree buried about 4' deep. All the evidence at the scene pointed that death was caused by trauma.

The North Bowl of Mt. Anderson averages about 35 degrees and is around 1000' long. The avalanche had a crown line 1' to just under 3' deep and the bowl went completely. Sugar Bowl ski area had reported storm snow of 8-10'' of high density snow. The winds averaged 30+mph with gust up to 70mph from the southwest. The bowl was being top loaded and side loaded during the storm and is reflected in the crown line profile. They had several releases in the ski area that had crown lines of 3'. On the way out to Mt. Anderson, the search team noticed many natural avalanches and 1 skier triggered avalanche that was closer to the hut. For the most part, everything that was steep enough had released naturally in the area. There was no formal slope or snow profile performed. The Truckee Ranger station had a considerable rating for the avalanche forecast.

Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team, Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol, Placer County Sheriffs Department and CareFlight all took part in the search efforts.

Steve Reynaud
Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue

Very sad.