Thoughts prayers are with you APD. Support is all around you, remember that and use it if YOU feel the need too.
Printable View
Thoughts prayers are with you APD. Support is all around you, remember that and use it if YOU feel the need too.
Sledford was over at my place last night and had the footage with him. He took it two days after on a tour with the Collins' and others. PM me and I'll call Steve for you if you want. Not sure if he can burn it or what, but we can hopefully do something for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze
it's scary out there, the mountains just don't give a shit... hang in there APD, I'm sure his family appreciates your communication... don't kill yourself with the "what ifs..." I will practice more because I read this thread, period.
APD,
Like I said in my pm, my sincerest condolences to you and the Eastman's. I for one appreciate your willingness to share what you can. The events you are going through are unimaginable. Early new years resolution: practice with my beacon, assembling my probe, getting my shovel out, etc. Like others have said, we are all here to support you.
Cololi
APD, just wanted to send support from Maine. RIP all and prayers for everyone's safety.
after going back today i now have a better understanding of how i would have done things with a clearer head. i can't say that they would have been much different with the visual and terrain information that i had at the time. i ran through the scenario and i think it took me between 5-7 minutes at the very most to clear an airway for him. as i looked back at the slope and ran over my route again, i realized how hard it was to travel and how many likely deposition zones there were. he was in the first. i was physically drained by reinacting it and now wonder how i could have done it when i was so tired to begin with. when i reached the pit today, i collapsed and laid on the ground infront of the pit. after some time i got up and assembled my probe and began looking for some of his gear. i found his car key and a few other items.
i took pictures to help myself later. the slope looked so menacing and in my mind it was like seeing the person that robbed you at gunpoint a week before. i can't explain the fear i have of it. there still is some collapsing on the shady slopes out there right now. the uac has lowered the danger rating, but the few slopes that are still ready to go will go big with bad consequences. please be safe.
:frown: :(
midway down the slide path looking up:
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic30962.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic30963.jpg
Good work. Keep it up, let it out. :(
Thanks for sharing man. I for one will be more careful in the backcountry as a result of these tragic events. It sounds like you did everything you could. A five to seven minute recovery in that area is amazing. Best wishes to all.
APD- I would say that you did a hell of a job to recover him in 5-7 minutes. I would think there was some trauma that hindered your efforts. Although it doesn't help any, and it won't make you feel any better, you did a good job!
Prayers go out to you and to his family. Sorry you had to go through this... it sucks however you look at it.
Good to hear from you again APD, and my hearfelt prayers go out to you and Zach's family.
One of the snowshoers who was killed in Mineral was a good friend of mine; it's been a rough week. :(
Condolences to APD, friends and families of those lost recently. Take care.
APD,
So sorry to hear your great job did not save your friend.
Sincere condolences to you and his family. :(
Got to see the Twin Lakes site for the first time today. That thing pulled out big, a lot of snow came down. Stunning to see, I've skied that a few times. Very sad.
On the return I was by the Twin Lakes dam & the wind was blowing through the railings like a flute playing for Zach.
Best wishes & peace to family & friends.
this is part of what i had been writing the following days after the incident. it should shed some light on what we were doing prior and what was going through our minds:
The day was supposed to begin at 7am with a skin up grizzly gulch but my partner had slept in after a late night hanging out with friends. I didn’t call to wake him for some reason. Instead I went to Snowbird and skied one lap before heading to Alta. Along the way I stopped to do a quick beacon drill at the new training center. It was quick and emotionless.
I skied a few laps and watched the control work before heading out the rope line on Supreme. I stayed outside of Alta’s boundaries as I made my way out to Rocky Point. Zach called me when I was atop Rocky Point and asked if I would wait for him and I said yes. I dropped cornices and dug pits and decided that it was safe to ski. A solo skier had taken a line down it prior to me. I skied from ridge to ridge while ski cutting in between them and then made fast arcs to get to a safe area in the flats. I skinned back up and talked to an Alta patrol while waiting for my friend. We took one more lap in rocky point and then I lead the way up the ridge to Tuscarora. Seagull had already slid so we decided to take that line. I tested and skied first down to a safe zone under a cliff at about midway down. I yelled to Zach and he followed to a separate safe zone. We were worried about the graupel that may have sloughed down to the bottom creating a weak layer so I skied it out first at high speed into the apron to avoid any slab activity. We then tried to take a safe route back to the west and toward Patsy Marley/Grizzly Gulch.
My friend, an ex-patroller from park city, took over the lead after I became too tired to continue. I had not eaten since 7am and was skiing inbounds from 9-12. We found instability on low angle east and southeast slopes that had hard slabs failing on buried surface hoar. It would not let us attain the ridge that we needed to be on but we still found our way to the North facing bowl near Tuscarora. We decided instead of taking the Patsy Marley ridge, to take a west facing line that had slid, into the flats of Wolverine Cirque. At that point we thought it best to go all the way to the bottom and then come up a Southeast slope that had been blasted and attain the twin lakes pass ridge. Half way down, Zach said that he would feel ok cutting back across to the usual skin out to the pass. We were tired, hungry and mentally drained as the light faded quickly. I did not question him, as I should have. I just didn’t think for some reason that we’d be under those slopes. At the time, it was the quickest way out and i was ready to call it end to a good day. We came around the corner and were only 2-4 min away from the ridge. I was in the first of two safe zones that I was going to use. I asked him if he wanted me to lead and he said no I’m ok. I think he thought I was asking if his legs were tired of breaking trail. I then moved up toward the second safe zone as he started across a new slope. I could not yet see what was above him, but asked him how it felt. He did not respond. I got to the safe zone and saw he was below a 35-degree chute that was North East facing. He stopped 3/4 of the way across the chute and turned to say that this is the type of slope that sketches him out. I said to move quickly to his next safe zone which I thought was only ten yards away. I should have said for him to come back. He took 3-5 more strides and the slope broke 30yrds above 2 feet deep. I yelled slide as soon as I heard it and for him to get off quick. He said nothing as he disappeared.
x-posted:
this is what is in the front of my mind days after:
first, take an oec or wilderness medicine course. they deal with a lot of extrication duties.
second, get a full size 10x12" or 12x12" shovel. always metal. the big ones move so much more snow in much less time.
third, don't let outside factors affect how you make your decisions. cold,wet, uncomfortable, storm coming in, tired, hungry, light fading? any one of those can change your mind and allow you to make a less safe choice.
Wow!
Thank you for sharing that. I'm sure it wasn't easy.
And good points.
Condolences again.
this sad news is poops as my japanese friend would say. Rip
rip
it up in
peace
This year for some reason mother nature has a bite. Japan has seen record typhoons as has florida. this funky weather could affect us be careful
RIP
My God...
I'm reading about this from across the country about the problems in my old stomping grounds. I am speachless. APD, I am very sorry for your loss, as well as to the family. I cannot imagine what you must be going through. Keep talking about it, it will help to heal deep wounds.
To the rest of us, please be careful out there...
Daaaaaayum that sux! :(
wow.
Just plain chilling.
I can't possibly offer anything other than best wishes to you and to Zach's family and friends. Take the time to heal APD.
APD,
I'm sure there isn't much any of us can say or do that will really help. But, for you to have made the recovery you did, as fast as you did, in that terrain is simply amazing. You did as much as anyone could have done!
Keep well.
This thread gives me goosebumps. So incredibly sad and sobering. APD, sounds like you did all you could. I hope in time you will be able to find peace. I'm sure going back to the site was completely surreal. I can't imagine the ache of retracing those steps.
Whenever I hear of an untimely death like this a song by The Flaming Lips always comes to mind. Below are some of the lyrics.
"Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die?
And instead of saying all of your good-byes
Let them know you realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round"
It sounds like you guys were working on "the good things" in life. And I don't think the sun has gone down. He will continue to live on in others as an organ donor. He's saving lives. Maybe somewhere in another forum, on another stretch of internet there lives a heartwarming thread. Somebody is posting with tears of joy as the organ they needed for their child or loved one just became available. RIP Zach.
:(
Amazing APD... You have my deepest condolences. I understand how you feel right now. I hope you are staying strong and dealing well with your emotions.
It sounds like Zach was a great person. He lived well, and he died well. I can only hope my last day on earth will be as enjoyable as Zach's was.
And, I also want to say thank you. Your coming in here and talking about it is truly awesome. You are doing an incredible service for everybody who reads your words. - I have spent many, many days studying and learning about snow & avalanches, but I think I may have learned as much from your story as I have in all of those classes put together. You and Zach have inspired me to be better, learn more, and practice harder.
Thank you.
First off, APD, my sincerest condolences to you, Zach, his friends, and especially his family. I know it's a difficult time- but I'm sure you know all of us are here for support. Know that you did all that you could to help save his life. No matter what you do, sometimes, it's just that time :(Quote:
Originally Posted by meatdrink9
As for MD9's thoughts- they are right on. There is a moving documentary on OLN about Chris Klug, the Aspen snowboarder that took the bronze in parallel GS at the SLC Olympics after just 1.5-2 years from a life-saving liver transplant. Chris was given only a few months to live, unless the unfortunate incident occurred and a liver was found (in his case, a 14 year old boy was shot to death near Denver). He also had a chance to meet the 'family' of his donor after the Olympics. Awkward, but emotionally moving.
Zach will be with us all as we rip lines in the winter, but also providing a lifeline to another person. R.I.P., Zach. May you find peace and joy with the endless everlasting, 'perfect' run.
These are important words APD. Something like this just shows it only takes one short lapse in judgement to cause a tragedy. Thanks for sharing this experience and my condolences to Zach's family.Quote:
Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze
When I took the shuttle to Alta Friday the driver mentioned the recent avalanche fatalities and of course the slide your friend caused was one of these. It's the first time I've ever had any personal connection, however tenuous, to something like this.
Wow. APD, just wanted to let you know how valuable this information is. Knowing how to travel safely in the backcountry is a direct result of other peoples experiences. Thank you.
I stopped off on Friday at the practice rescue range. I did three seperate searches. The first one, a two person burial, went very well. I found the first beacon in about two minutes. The second one was tough. I found it quickly, but the snow was so hard my probe couldn't penetrate the snow. I broke the snow up with my shovel and found it. The buzzer sounded as my probe struck the target and I collapsed. 7 minutes of searching left my absolutely drained. I couldn't imagine doing what you did.
woodsy, bobmc and everybody else from the bcc side,
i'd like to let you know how grateful i am to the patrollers from brighton and solitude, but especially solitude. those guys and gals were extremely professional and instrumental in getting my friend extricated and to the chopper. ian was the first responder and was the only thing keeping me focused after help arrived. those patrollers risked a lot to get over to where we were. once they began working on zach they did not stop, even when things looked bleak. you mags are in great hands over there.
Marvin runs a great group.Quote:
Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze
I can put you in contact if ya want.
Actually as I was driving up today I was thinking that I may e-mail him your recolection of the events with your permission.
They were out & up so fast that day it was un real.
keep your chin up mang, unfortunately I have had to help a few friends through this exact type of thing.
if you need anything PM me.