Epic day and reminder to watch yourselves out there.
Just got back from an epic, waist-deep day here in Cache Valley. The snow was deep, light, bottomless and fast. Truly sick and I didn't have to drive 2 hours to get there.
http://www.skilimited.com/eccStoreFr...umb/UD-JMS.jpg
Even after reading about Frozenwater's tree-well incident, I was skiing the unpatrolled and uncontrolled backside of Beaver by myself in snorkel-depth snow. I hit a heavy drift, somersautled and landed on my face and slid waaay under the snow. By the time I had wiggled enough to get my head above the snow and then cleared the snow out of my faceguard, I was blacking out. The snow was completely packed in between my faceguard and my goggles and for a minute I couldn't even figure out which way was up.
I wasn't panicked - I simply could not breathe. It took me a good 5 minutes to get my heart rate back to normal.
I spent the rest of the day skiing with a friend and we leapfrogged, keeping each other in sight all of the time.
Just another reminder that it doesn't take a massive cliff or an avalanche to kill you. By leapfrogging and not getting to far spaced apart, the uphill skier can watch the downhill skier until he stops. Uphill skier skis down, rinse, repeat. It slows down the runs, but just think - if you see your buddy take a header in waist deep snow and he doesn't come up, will it matter that you are close enough to see him? If you're way downhill (in deep snow, that's like 20 feet!) and he's suffocating, he'll die before you get there. That ain't how I want to go out. Seems silly to worry about it, but my incident today reminded me how easy it can be to get yourself fucked on a really deep day, which we are having many of right now.
And on massive powder days, I'm taking the faceguard off my fullface helmet. I'm convincved it was that thing that almost did me in. Anyone else had this problem?
Re: Epic day and reminder to watch yourselves out there.
Quote:
Originally posted by Twoplanker
And on massive powder days, I'm taking the faceguard off my fullface helmet. I'm convincved it was that thing that almost did me in. Anyone else had this problem?
Yes, when caught in a big sluff slide last year. I also couldn't stand skiing with the damn thing and having it fog up in Chile/Arg so I have ditched my full face and gone with a leedom.
Best damn thing I ever did. I'll take a knee to the face (having done it) over not being able to see and almost dieing. I'll only wear my full face again on the definite tip that I am going hucking big that day.
Good to hear that you came out okay though.
