Vail Avalanche Deaths

Saw this on FB:

Hunter Schleper is in Vail, Colorado.

Yesterday was a extremely heavy day out in the Backcountry... as our group of 6 were heading back to the trucks, we were notified by a group of riders that a couple of Timbersledders were buried in an avalanche. We all rushed as quickly as we could to help assist in locating the guys. Between 10 of us, we each dug and dug for hours. The riders were buried so deep that none of our probes could reach them. We finally located each of the riders at a depth of around 20 feet. It was clear that there was no chance of survival from early on. Everyone involved in the search executed the quickest recovery we could, but after 5 hours of digging and uncovering the riders, Vail Mountain Rescue finally arrived and we were immediately told to suspend the recovery. They felt it was too late into the evening and we were still in avalanche danger. We all made it out of the woods around 9pm, hearts heavy. We want to thank our friends and other riders who worked alongside us no questions asked to get the buried riders out. We extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families... @ Vail, Colorado

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorad...ay-2020-02-16/

Fuck - vibes to those affected


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Lots of photos here. The last few show how deep the people really were. RIP.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pFplqpaQ1/

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Originally Posted by sfotex

Saw this on FB:

Hunter Schleper is in Vail, Colorado.

Yesterday was a extremely heavy day out in the Backcountry... as our group of 6 were heading back to the trucks, we were notified by a group of riders that a couple of Timbersledders were buried in an avalanche. We all rushed as quickly as we could to help assist in locating the guys. Between 10 of us, we each dug and dug for hours. The riders were buried so deep that none of our probes could reach them. We finally located each of the riders at a depth of around 20 feet. It was clear that there was no chance of survival from early on. Everyone involved in the search executed the quickest recovery we could, but after 5 hours of digging and uncovering the riders, Vail Mountain Rescue finally arrived and we were immediately told to suspend the recovery. They felt it was too late into the evening and we were still in avalanche danger. We all made it out of the woods around 9pm, hearts heavy. We want to thank our friends and other riders who worked alongside us no questions asked to get the buried riders out. We extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families... @ Vail, Colorado

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorad...ay-2020-02-16/

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You answered the call, and did your best. Five hours is strong work. Hoist one for the lost, and hoist one for the fellow first responders. Again, Strong Work.

What is a timbersledder vs just a sledder?

wondering if remote trigger from road or side hill riding

https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...=744&accfm=rep

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Originally Posted by powdork

What is a timbersledder vs just a sledder?

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This is a Timbersled or motorized snowbike:

https://cdnmedia.endeavorsuite.com/i...2000000001.jpg

Vibes. Were the two that were fully buried wearing beacons?

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Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead

Vibes. Were the two that were fully buried wearing beacons?

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They must have been if the probes weren't able to reach them but they still knew where to dig.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

They must have been if the probes weren't able to reach them but they still knew where to dig.

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I guess it wasn't clear to me whether they knew where to dig or not.

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Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead

Vibes. Were the two that were fully buried wearing beacons?

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I have not seen anything that said definitively, but assuming the details in that Instagram post are accurate (20' burial depth, too deep to probe, victims located by lay rescuers ie no RECCO or dogs) I don't know how the victims could have been located any way other than with beacons.

The other bits that made me wonder were the bit in the Vail Daily report that the partially buried rider extracted himself and went for help, and that 10 people dug for 5 hours without getting to the deeper burials. But maybe I'm just underestimating what it takes to get down to a 20' burial.

Reminded me a little of this story: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.co...alanche-rescue

I would guess that a full depth slide would involve some fairly compact debris compared to the BD link.

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Originally Posted by tBatt

Lots of photos here. The last few show how deep the people really were. RIP.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pFplqpaQ1/

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And how short the slide was for how deep the burials
Terrain traps are evil.

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

I have not seen anything that said definitively, but assuming the details in that Instagram post are accurate (20' burial depth, too deep to probe, victims located by lay rescuers ie no RECCO or dogs) I don't know how the victims could have been located any way other than with beacons.

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From the CBS link:


"It took a long time to locate them," Schleper added. "The beacons were showing four to five meters, even when we were directly above."

Ah. There we go. Spooky.

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Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead

Vibes. Were the two that were fully buried wearing beacons?

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Wouldn't have mattered at that depth. Seems like they were if they knew where to dig.

Full report is available here: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...nv&view=public

Holy shit. That is a mellow slope. Brutal.

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The group spent the entire day playing in dense trees or on low-angle slopes, specifically avoiding avalanche slopes. At the end of the day they decided to enter an unfamiliar drainage, and attempted to turn around and retreat when they saw the steeper slope. Maybe the only thing they could have done to avoid this situation is to use maps or a mobile phone app to look at the area before they left the road. Both the open nature of the slope and the slope angle over 30 degrees are apparent in satellite imagery and contour maps.

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Fuck!

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Originally Posted by Bunion 2020

Fuck!

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Right? Even the "steeper slope" really wasn't all that threatening. Aside from a couple spots it was sub 35 degrees. It was well supported, etc. This report sketches me out because I could see myself traveling below a slope like that (likely crossing one at a time, but still) on a "moderate" day.

Sobering.

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Originally Posted by glademaster

Sobering.

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Indeed...

RIP to the departed condolences to loved ones

Scary to think how you can make good decision pretty much all day, and still get killed by a quick slip up.