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Hey we are both in that class with Mr. Stan Bones. Cheers to you for being avy savy too.Quote:
Originally Posted by acostiga
From http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2...cal/news02.txt
Two killed in avalanche
By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian
WHITEFISH - Two skiers died Sunday and two more were suspected missing after a massive avalanche swept through a popular out-of-bounds powder cache on the north side of Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Search and rescue teams worked until 9 p.m. before abandoning the backcountry site for the night, but planned to return at first light.
“It's big,” said Kim Gilmore. “It's big big.”
Gilmore, who was leading a team of three search dogs, estimated the slide at 250 yards wide and more than a quarter of a mile long. Searchers estimated the top six to seven feet of depth had cut loose in the avalanche.
A Whitefish man, whose name was not released, was confirmed killed in the avalanche, as was a second victim.
“We don't have a positive identification on him as yet,” said Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan, who was working the incident command center at the Canyon Creek trailhead.
Canyon Creek, located about five miles north of Columbia Falls on the North Fork Road, is the jumping-off point for an extensive system of groomed snowmobile trails. A major artery leads to the summit of Whitefish Mountain Resort, and skiers commonly drop onto that trail after leaving the in-bounds slopes for backcountry lines.
That's exactly what the victims had done Sunday, when the avalanche filled the canyon from the other side. The avalanche area was 12 miles from the trailhead.
Brad Treat, who works law enforcement for the U.S. Forest Service, was in the area at about noon, looking for a moose that has been attacking skiers and snowmobilers, near a ridge known locally as Fiberglass Hill.
“Two snowmobilers flagged us down,” and reported the slide, Treat said. “They said they couldn't believe the size of the avalanche.”
The snowmobilers reported seeing the two victims killed in the slide, as well as two other skiers lower down in the canyon. It was those two others who searchers were seeking late Sunday night.
“They absolutely confirm that they saw two more skiers get swallowed up,” Meehan said. “However, we still don't have two people who are reported missing.”
Meehan said it appeared several skiers were in the canyon bottom, hiking up the groomed track after skiing down the north slope of Big Mountain. A lone skier was above them, on the south-facing slope of Fiberglass Hill.
“He made two turns,” Treat said of that lone skier, “and the whole thing cut loose,” rushing down onto the skiers hiking up from below.
The avalanche, Gilmore said, raced down, slammed into the canyon, and rushed quite a long way up through the trees on the other side.
A longtime Whitefish resident and his brother-in-law - who recently moved to Whitefish - were making their way uphill near the top of the canyon, Meehan said, when the brother-in-law yelled “Avalanche!”
“They scrambled in two different directions,” ripping off skis and running for the trees, Treat said. Both were buried - the Whitefish man partly, and his brother-in-law completely.
Other skiers in the area raced to dig out the skier who triggered the slide, said snowmobiler Tyler Pierce, and he was found almost immediately. The skier soon died, however, because of trauma sustained in the accident.
The Whitefish skier, meanwhile, dug himself out, and with help from several volunteers began looking for his brother-in-law. Neither was wearing an avalanche transceiver, however, and searchers hunted for hours before finding the second victim.
“We took the call at just after 12 noon,” Meehan said. Treat had called it in on his Forest Service radio, having arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of the accident.
The first skier already had been uncovered by 10 or so skiers and snowmobilers who happened on the scene, and had died. So the search began for the missing brother-in-law, with help from the Whitefish man who pointed probe teams to the general area where he had last been seen. His body was recovered at about 4:30 p.m.
Searchers speculated he had not died instantly, as there were no signs of trauma and it appeared he had been able to move his head, carving out a cavity for breathing.
He was buried in three feet of snow.
In other areas, the slide buried the groomed track in the canyon bottom to a depth of more than 30 feet, complicating the search for the other two skiers reported swept away by the eyewitness snowmobilers.
“The dogs were all hitting on something, all of them in one spot, and we covered it completely,” said search dog handler Phil Frey. “We probed and probed and probed, but we didn't turn anything up. In some places, our probes weren't even reaching the bottom.”
That, said patrol commander Dave Leib, is a problem still looking for an answer.
“There's a lot of debate,” he said, “about how to scrape off the top layers so we can look deeper.”
And where to look remained a mystery late into the night.
“It's such a huge area,” Meehan said. “We don't even know for sure that they're missing. Maybe they're home safe and sound. Or maybe their car is parked right here in this parking lot” - or in the Whitefish Mountain lot.
Pierce, who knows the two snowmobilers who witnessed the slide, said they “are absolutely straight guys who know what they're doing. If they saw two more skiers, then there were two more skiers.”
That, in fact, was the assumption Meehan and all other searchers were working under.
They also, unfortunately, were working under “a very scary crack,” part of the overhanging ridge that still hasn't cut loose, Gilmore said. “We're pretty nervous about that.”
The cornice was the primary reason searchers were called off for the night, Meehan said, as encroaching fog was making it impossible to monitor the snowpack above.
Meehan said about 60 professional searchers responded, as did dozens of volunteer skiers and snowmobilers. On Monday, he expected teams from Eureka, Libby and Lake County to join his deputies, North Valley Search and Rescue, Flathead Valley Search and Rescue, Whitefish Mountain Resort responders and the Glacier Nordic Ski Patrol.
Sunday's avalanche occurred in a prime avalanche area. Fiberglass Hill was even named as such because of the many snowmobile pieces left behind after earlier accidents and avalanches.
It's the same area where a pair of avalanches caught snowmobilers in December.
In the first instance, late on the morning of Dec. 19, three snowmobilers were riding on a south-facing slope when one of them triggered a slab avalanche that partially buried him and his machine.
He was carried about 300 feet and suffered a broken femur after hitting a tree near midslope. His companions quickly found him - his head was above the snow - and one of the teenagers went for help, alerting the Whitefish Mountain Ski Patrol.
The next day, also late in the morning, a lone snowmobiler was on a groomed trail in Canyon Creek - very near the site of the previous day's avalanche - when his machine became stuck in deep snow.
While struggling to free the machine, the snowmobiler heard a sharp noise and looked uphill - where the snow was starting to move. He had no escape.
According to the Glacier Country Avalanche Center Web site, the snowmobiler decided to stand his ground, and watched “the snow move all around him, deflected from his position by upslope trees.”
When the slide stopped, his snowmobile, helmet, jacket and shovel had been covered. Eventually, after realizing he would not be able to find the clothing or equipment, he started walking toward the trailhead.
Sunday's avalanche deaths were Montana's first of the season.
Wow, just wow. That's a huge avalanche. And a couple of those guys in the backcountry that were caught in the slide didn't have beacons?:nonono2:
+++Vibes+++ to all involved in the slide.:frown:
good God. 250'x7'x1/4 mile is ridiculous. Hopefully no others under there. Please keep us posted if names are released, getting nervous for a Whitefish buddy
Horrible. What a huge slide and deep fracture. Can anyone give a description of the area? How steep is is, whats the aspect, elevation, etc?
More shitty news. No beacons out of bounds:nonono2:
+++Vibes for family and friends
just heard that the two confirmed victims were college age, from kalispell. other details are still sketchy. i guess this was on the today show, and cnn as well. got a few calls from friends back east. scary stuff. we're all still pretty worried about what might happen with today's search...
That was the most humbling thing I have ever witnessed, I'm in shock.
Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with the blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
Throwing out hopes and prayers for all involved. It is scary to hear about an area you have been on.... rip out with such magnitude. Good luck to the search teams
Gripping read. Thanks for posting the article.
That sort of thing absolutely makes me both sad and furious all in one. :frown: :nonono2:<sigh>Quote:
So the search began for the missing brother-in-law, with help from the Whitefish man who pointed probe teams to the general area where he had last been seen. His body was recovered at about 4:30 p.m.
Searchers speculated he had not died instantly, as there were no signs of trauma and it appeared he had been able to move his head, carving out a cavity for breathing.
He was buried in three feet of snow.
Holy crap that sounds huge..
+++vibes+++ for friends and family
My thoughts exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by powstash
Me too. I'm not going to go on a rant about how easily he could have been saved because for the most part, I think everyone here knows. Really sad that this kind of thing happens. Condolences to all affected and let's hope no one else is involved and that the searchers stay safe. It's really spooky out right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonnie
+++VIBES+++ to all family, friends and those touched by this unfortunate incident.
My heart skipped a beat driving to work this morning when I heard about this on the news as I had friends playing in the canyon this weekend... thankfully they weren't there yesterday.
I'm just trying to orientate myself and figure out where exactly the slide took place.
When standing on top of flower point looking at the chutes on the other side of the canyon, where is Firberglass Hill? Did the avalanche occur on the ski hill side of the canyon or the other side where the chutes are?
It wasn't really fiberglass hill that slid. It was what we call Skooq chutes or Skooquelia (sp?). When hiking out of the canyon back to chair 7 they are the cutes toward the top of the hill on your right. Just before you get to the part where you skate back on the groomer. It was the South facing aspect that slid not the North facing side, which is the side most people ski coming immediately off of flower point.
Conflicting reports all over the place right now. I have a solid source who has been discussing this with patrol and NOBODY really knows how many people may or may not be buried. Apparently the skier who triggered it was a 19 y/o skiing on spats with no avy gear and wearing headphones. He was the first one to be found all beat to hell atop the debris. I'm hearing three deaths but can't confirm more than two. Very sad to think that there could be more bodies out there without any way to know if or where anyone might be.
So all of you guys know, the area that this slide occurred is VERY popular for bilers but more so for lift accessed BC riders. There can be dozens of people back there at any given moment. Our hearts go out to those who were caught in it and Ash and I are so happy to hear that Danimal is okay. Dan sent me a pm saturday night telling us that he was heading back there for sunday and my heart sank when I heard about the avi. I was so relived to hear his voice. Humbling to think that he and Ash were riding that same terrain only a couple of months ago. Humbling to think that any of us could have very easily been there.
"Involuntary manslaughter occurs where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence..."Quote:
Originally Posted by AsheanMT
That would be scary enough but the article says 250 YARDS wide. So that's 750 FEET wide by about 1300 feet long by 7 feet deep.:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by telepow
Jeez. Hope there aren't any more under the debris. This is the kind of thing that could hamper recovery till spring melt.
Trigger and first fatality was a 19 YO kid on spats wearing headphones. Unfortunately, in spite of the lack of gear, sounds like he could easily have been a lurker, if not a member here.:nonono2::frown:
More thoughts to all involved and all whitefish locals.
True. Thats the scariest part of this in my mind simply because this spot is SOO FKN POPULAR and easy to get to that it draws hoards of people many of whom have absolutely no knowledge of avi's and just want to get an epic run. We can cast blame all day long but it does nothing to change the fact that there are so many riders out there these days that just have no education/awareness and thus no respect for snowpack. They honestly don't know any better.Quote:
Originally Posted by beaterd
looks like they had to blast the rest in order to keep searchers safe.
Quote:
UPDATE 11:30 a.m.
Blasting in the area of the avalanche was successful, releasing a small portion of unsafe snow mass, according to a press release from Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan.
The blasting team is exiting the area and, when the scene is safe, about 60 trained responders from several area search rescue organizations will resume searching for the two missing skiers.
damn. i was out there not two days ago but the weekend prior. we skied what they called the skooklia (sp?) area with some guys who know the terrain well. they did beacon checks, we dug a pit, everyone was equipped, etc. the ridge up there had a pretty huge cornice from what i remember.
the spot we were at and route skied down was the side without the cornice, facing back towards the canyon creek drainage/ski resort. the other side with the cornice, was facing away from canyon creek. the more i learn about this incident, the more spooked i am getting. i'm still not really sure where the slide took place- just can't visualize it. did it happen on the side that is reached from the access by the t-bar? where you ski down from the t-bar, hang a left and then hike for maybe 15 minutes? from there, you ski down and finish at the bottom of the canyon- where the snowmobilers roar past. did that side slide, or the other?
it was tough to sleep last night.
that area is super-high traffic because it's so easily accessed. scary. just got an e-mail from school administration that one of the victims was a 2006 graduate of our high school, and has two sisters at the other high school in town. RIP.
asheanMT, glad to read that you're in the avy class. i hope that stan goes over some of the details tomorrow night. i'm that nerdy looking dude sitting toward the front, taking copious notes. danimal's dead, thanks for the details. it's weird how bits and pieces keep streaming in, and it's tough to know what's just rumor and what's true. i did hear on the radio a few minutes ago that fwp took out that crazy moose, so at least that's a good thing.
Update: The names of the two riders have been released.
Quote:
Two killed in avalanche are identified
Associated Press - January 14, 2008 4:14 PM ET
WHITEFISH, Mont. (AP) - Flathead County authorities have released the names of 2 backcountry skiers, killed yesterday in an avalanche near the Whitefish Mountain Resort in northwest Montana.
The victims were 19-year-old Anthony Kollman of Kalispell, and 36-year-old David Gogolak of Whitefish.
Up to 100 searchers are on the scene of the avalanche, using probe poles and canine teams in an effort to locate any other victims.
A U.S. Customs helicopter was requested and is also on the scene.
Sheriff Mike Meehan says search efforts will continue throughout the evening hours, as long as conditions are safe for recovery crews.
But the sheriff says weather could hinder rescue efforts. The National Weather Service is predicting high winds -- up to 50 miles per hour-- and up to 8 inches of snow after midnight tonight.
wow, scary stuff. had one of the more fun runs of my life back there the one trip to big mountain i've had which makes it een more surreal.
hoping for the best for anyone else who may have been in the area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AsheanMT
So were the people who were buried and killed just skinning straight up the avalanche terrain? I would not call it involuntary manslaughter, especially not yet. It could very well be the victims fault that they were traveling in an unsafe zone. Unless the kid on spats KNEW that there were people traveling below him before he dropped in, I would not say that it was his fault. It is all part of backcountry skiing. Not only do you have to asess the snowpack/terrain/weather, you have to take into factor that there might be a total dipshit dropping in right above you.Quote:
"Involuntary manslaughter occurs where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence..."
Sad day for all, but I dont want to get the rope ready for this kid just yet.
i believe he is already among the deceasedQuote:
Sad day for all, but I dont want to get the rope ready for this kid just yet.
I hope we all have respect for a situation like this, but in light of recent events on the board I want to say that one of the deceased is a family man and best friend to a maggot. Please just pray and refrain from casting blame.
Hunter
Folks, just posting hypotheticals. Many folks talking about lack of education with regards to OB and snow conditions etc, etc. I just took the "education" angle a bit farther just to open up some debate. Would a few prosecutions for manslaughter change that? Would charging for rescue attempts (like they do with forest fires)? I dunno.
What I do know is that way to many folks have departed from this earth this winter due to the white death and it saddens me.
Sorry I hijacked the thread. If I get motivated (which I'm not right now), I might post a new thread with some non specific criteria just for the sake of debate.
its now the top story on cnn.com
My Friend just told me about this, apparently his boss' close friend was one of the victims. The brief report he gave me, probably passed on from the brother in-law. They had finished skiing the area, don't know if the were on a different slope or not, when the 19 year-old dropped in and triggered the slide above them. The were standing right next to one another. Very sad, here's the cnn link http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/14/mon....ap/index.html
I hope there was no one else involved.
Just found this.
Wow, very personal yet to the point.
This is the new reality.Quote:
Originally Posted by fluffballs
Its not what you do. Think about how many morons could be above you.
R.I.P.
wOW.
45678
Jesus. 30+ feet of debris is fucking terrifying.
+++++++++++
Very sad. My thoughts go out to all he family and friends of the victims.
It hasn't been officially reported yet but I have it on good authority that the two people that the snowmobilers saw getting swallowed up could be a European couple (one person told me Austrian the other person told me Swedish) that have not been back to their hotel room in a couple of days.
One of the patrollers I talked to said that the search is very difficult due to the depth of the snow and todays windy and snowy weather. They have been conducting their search by probing down 8 feet at a time and then removing that layer of snow with a cat and then going back over with the 8ft probe and again with the cat. Over and over again.
Friggin brutal. Kudos to the SAR teams to get these people back to their loved ones, even if they don't realize they are "missing" yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by AsheanMT
Thanks Ashean 4 the update.
AP said the search was called off due 2 avalanche risk, is that still in affect?
Yup. No searching going on right now. Currently its snowing rather hard and the temps are dropping by the minute as a system is moving in from Canada. HEAVY winds at the summit of Big Mtn right now are hitting gusts of 60mph creating heavy wind loading. Avi danger is currently being rated as HIGH all through NW montana. We had some early snow this year followed by some rains that created a crust fairly deep in the snowpack in and around Dec 3rd followed by lots of snow since then. Recently, before the current storm system and right before this avi, we had warming temps and some rain that percolated down onto the Dec. 3rd slab creating a nasty ice sheet. RIGHT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE GOING BACKCOUNTRY UP HERE. In fact, I don't think its gonna be safe til the spring melt/freeze cycle. (exceptions occuring only very high up where a rain crust had never developed)Quote:
Originally Posted by My Pet Powder Goat