St. Anton avalanche kills American snowboarder and 2 canadians

[comish]

Anyone know more info on this. I'm most interested in where this actually happened. What lift, slope, aspect, etc. That info seems surprisingly hard to find on Euro or Austrian avis.

RIP

Be careful Euro maggots with all this new snow and a most likely shitty snowpack.


VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- A missing American snowboarder was declared dead Sunday, raising the death toll to at least four in weekend avalanches that claimed the lives of daredevils seeking the dangerous thrill of skiing off-trail in virgin alpine snow.

Officials called off their search for the 31-year-old
American a day after the snowboarder was swept away by a
huge avalanche in the western province of Tyrol. It was
unclear whether authorities had managed to recover the
victim's body.

The snow slide that killed the snowboarder also killed two Canadians aged 40 and 57 at the popular resort of St. Anton.

The American was one of four U.S. citizens in their 30s
caught in the avalanche; the three others managed to claw
their way out of chest-deep snow. The Canadian was one of
four people -- two married couples -- who were enjoying a
ski holiday.

The avalanche, whose width was estimated as roughly equal
to the length of three football fields laid end to end,
struck at an elevation of about 7,550 feet in an off-trail
area popular with thrill-seekers looking for deep powder.

A second, even larger avalanche later Saturday struck a
party of five Germans snowboarding in the Gargellen region
of the southwestern province of Vorarlberg, killing one and critically injuring two others. Officials on Sunday identified the dead snowboarder as a 25-year-old from Stuttgart who held joint U.S.-German nationality.

It quoted authorities as saying that group also was snowboarding off marked trails when the avalanche, estimated at 700 yards across, thundered down the mountainside. About 80 rescuers aided by dogs recovered the body and rescued the rest of the Germans.

Officials had raised the five-step avalanche alert to level four in recent days after a combination of heavy snowfalls, strong winds and subsequent mild temperatures made snow cover unstable and prone to breaking away.

Experts warn that skiing or snowboarding off-piste in
unstable snow can be dangerous and triggers many of the hundreds of slides that annually claim scores of lives in Austria.

Officials who monitor avalanche conditions in the Alps
issued a statement Sunday warning people not to venture off trails known to be safe, avoid skiing or snowboarding alone and approach all areas ``with the greatest respect.''

[rippin]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AG6OAV8LD1.DTL

[rippin]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/nation...che050124.html

Another article releasing some of the Canadians killed plus news of another Avalanche that took out two more Canadians in the Swiss Alps.

[ulty_guy]

R.I.P to all

not to be harsh in a time of sadness, but north americans who come over to europe have got to realize that just cause you can go over there (and access it by lift) doesn't in any way mean that it's safe. the hyper regulation of norther american resorts has probably led to the "average" skier/snowboarders' insensitivity to the environment around them.

[Hicks]

....although the party affected was said to have been accompanied by a professional local ski guide. But again this is not the first incident when guides are involved - hiring those doesn't mean you get full life insurance in return. However before no further details are on hand about the incident's course I'd be careful with any bold statements.

[ulty_guy]

true, i don't know all the details. don't mean to come off too harsh, my intention was more to make a point of the difference in perceived risk. skiing with tom a couple of years ago in cham on a glacier and we come across 2 american college kids who had been setting up jumps on a glacier full of holes....one ends up falling straight down a crevasse and was lucky enough to catch himself before falling down to a very deep, icy grave. just showing my concern.

[freshie247]

RIP.That's yet another tragic story about not having the proper equipment.

[chill winston]

R.I.P to all

not to be harsh in a time of sadness, but north americans who come over to europe have got to realize that just cause you can go over there (and access it by lift) doesn't in any way mean that it's safe. the hyper regulation of norther american resorts has probably led to the "average" skier/snowboarders' insensitivity to the environment around them.

Yes, we definitely don't have any lift-accessed avalanche terrain in the states due to the hyper regulation of the resorts.

[bigtrubs]

RIP.That's yet another tragic story about not having the proper equipment.

in the case of the canadians at st. anton, all had avalanche transceivers on and while they were able to quickly dig the others from the debris, I think it was most likely the force/size of the avy that killed them, not the lack of equipment because one of the articles on it (posted on biglines.com) discusses this. This hits home as a kid in the Calgary/Rockies ski community is now less one dad and his mother is in critical condition. (I believe they were living in Panorama)

Rest In Peace, and here's hoping that this avalanche season will end.

[ulty_guy]

Yes, we definitely don't have any lift-accessed avalanche terrain in the states due to the hyper regulation of the resorts.

yes, the recent trend has been towards more open terrain the states, but it is still dwarfed by europe.

[comish]

I actually agree with Ulty on this. Having just organized a trip to St. Anton for 14 Americans none of them knew that technically going off the groomed run was like going OB in the US. They were completely unaware of this.

It is sad and not the only reason for the tragedy, just like having gear didn't save the Canadians. It certainly didn't help the Americans that they didn't have gear and potentially didn't know the risks, but with an avi this size it would be tough to survive anyway and therefore you gotta try and not be caught in the first place. St. Anton is a dangerous place because there is a similar Pow frenzy to the US, but its all uncontrolled. We let the stuff where they were sit for a solid bunch of days before venturing back there. Ya, there were tracks, but there was still untracked and it was much safer.

RIP and best wishes to their families.

[Atrain505]

The Canadians were my roomates dad's skiing buddies. He was just about to leave to meet them there for the trip-now canceled. They were with two guides who they had used on previous trips to Europe and liked them a lot, so they hired them again. They had all the proper equimpment and all the proper knowledge. Another party set off the slide while they were already part way down the area.
Unfortunate events. Perhaps a case of not listening to the signs because of the aura of safety presented by the guides.
RIP

[KQ]

Read that yesterday (and what just about to post it). Came across this when I was looking for the online version of the Snowboarder death. This is a bit old but still tragic -

Man found frozen on snowboard outing

WHISTLER, British Columbia — The search for a 25-year-old snowboarder ended today when rescuers discovered a frozen body on the shores of the Cheakamus River near the ski resort town of Whistler.

Canadian police believe the man froze to death while trying to reach safety. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

His name has not been released. He was from Korea and was a resident of Whistler.

The man was last seen Wednesday at Whistler Mountain's Round House, where he was having lunch with his friends. After lunch, the man continued to snowboard by himself and advised his friends he was going to the peak.

Twenty-two hours later, the same friends reported the snowboarder missing, triggering a full-scale ground and air search by Whistler Search and Rescue and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"He was out there for nearly a day before we even knew he was missing," said police spokesman Const. Devon Jones. "As hours and minutes passed, the likelihood of survival decreased significantly."

Whistler is located 75 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Honestly - it seems like accidents are on the rise. I did a quick search for stats and came up with this 2001 article from the Denver Post:

"SPEED KILLS" MAY EXPLAIN INCREASE IN SKI ACCIDENTS
By Jason Blevins, Denver Post Business Writer
The Denver Post
Section: A , Page: A-13
January 19, 2001

Six snowriders dead on Colorado's ski slopes. Two paralyzed. Two fighting for their lives under the sweating brows of some of the state's most gifted surgeons. Could there be a reason beyond a statistical flare-up? Is it just an anomaly? Perhaps the proliferation of shaped skis, the prevalence of high-speed lifts, increased grooming and a growing number of half-pipes have helped pave the way for more injuries. Or more severe injuries.

Or maybe there's just more publicity about the deaths that occur.

"I think it's fair to say there's a strengthened awareness of skier safety and safety issues in the general populace," said Jim Chalat, a Denver attorney who specializes in ski-related cases. When shape skis hit the market a few years back, Jasper Shealy, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology said he anticipated an increase in knee injuries, specifically to the anterior cruciate ligament. For three decades he has followed trends in slope-related injuries and deaths.

Twenty years ago, instances of ACL injuries shot up, from 3 percent to almost 15 percent, with the advent of high, rigid plastic boots and more technologically advanced bindings. That number stabilized about 10 years ago and has remained relatively constant.

What Shealy has observed is a slight increase in injuries to more advanced skiers on shaped skis and a decrease in injuries to novice skiers on shaped skis. Beginners tend to fall less on the new skis, and skilled skiers tend to struggle with the transition from the longer, straight skis, he said.

"It's kind of like you spend your life driving a station wagon and all of a sudden you're in a sports car," Shealy said. "You tend to over-control." "If anything, they are safer because they are easier to control and if they are easier to control, you fall less," he said. "As best as I can tell, the effect of the new shaped skis will be an overall decrease in injuries." Critics of shaped skis, who point to the lack of stability at high speeds and the relative ease of learning, argue the supersidecut skis are providing snowriders with a false sense of security.

Scott Brewer, a professional skier who has appeared in several ski movies and works as a ski coach, said the proliferation of shaped skis, when combined with what he called overgrooming, will soon cause a rash of ski fatalities and injuries.

It's not often, Brewer said, that snowriders die on bump runs where they can't reach high speeds.

According to Shealy's numbers, most on-mountain deaths—like all six of Colorado's ski deaths this season—happen on groomed runs. "People are flying down the hill, lulled into a false sense of security by shaped skis and overgrooming, and they think they are better than they are. They just don't know they have exceeded their ability," said Brewer, a 36-year-old who grew up skiing in Colorado and still skis more than 100 days a year. "It's like everybody is in a Porsche."

Word of injuries and deaths spreads quickly in ski towns. On Jan. 12, a Vail school canceled its weekly ski day—a day after two men were paralyzed in separate accidents on Vail Mountain. "A doctor called from the clinic and said that there were two paraplegics and a high rate of fractures, and he recommended we think twice about going out," said Honore Everly, with the Vail Mountain School. "We canceled the ski day. It was the first time we canceled for that reason."

The resorts do not report the number of ski patrol or safety personnel on the mountain on any given day, or whether those numbers have increased from year to year. The best evidence is anecdotal: skiers such as Andrea Godfrey, who sports a 41/2-inch scar from her encounter with an out-of-control skier. As a lifelong skier, Godfrey said she has watched her beloved sport mirror a crowded freeway.

"On the highway I'm practicing defensive driving, and now it's defensive skiing," said Godfrey, a longtime Summit County local. "I know I have to accept some risk when I go skiing, but I should not have to worry about my life on a casual day of skiing.

"So many people are talking about this this season. A guy I know was hit twice in one day. Ski patrollers I know are coming back home overworked because of all the injuries."

Experts agree on one thing: Helmets have reduced the number of head traumas.

"There's no question we are seeing the value of helmets," said Dr. Craig "P.J." Perrinjaquet at High Country Health in Summit County. "We are seeing fewer head injuries, and the head injuries we are seeing are people without helmets. Please tell people to wear helmets."

[epic]

The big avy in St Anton was on the backside of Rendl. There's no way anyone should have gone there (I guess that's obvious). HMan knows more about this than I do, so maybe he can tell us more. Supposedly the victims were with one of the best guides in town and had no avy gear. They were using dogs doing probe line searches for days trying to find the last victim.

[powderfinger]

I was in Kitzbuhel at the time and it was snowing like crazy. There was a break in the storm only one day out of 6.

We had waiste deep snow in some areas and there was also an avalanche death in the Hannenkahm area when we were there.

[H-man]

The big avy in St Anton was on the backside of Rendl. There's no way anyone should have gone there (I guess that's obvious). HMan knows more about this than I do, so maybe he can tell us more. Supposedly the victims were with one of the best guides in town and had no avy gear. They were using dogs doing probe line searches for days trying to find the last victim.

Some of the info that Epic stated is wrong. When I skied with him I told him this info, but like usual the initial info is often wrong. I am working on putting it into my TR.

I was skiing on the Rendel when it happened and have some pics of the initial heli rescue flights. It did happen on the backside of Rendel. To the best of my knowledge at this point, there were two groups, the first the Canadians that were in town for the recently canceled Euro Powder 8's which had just been cancelled. There was a lot of pressure on the ski instructor to come up with the goods for this group. This was probably the issue that effected the situation the most. Unlike originally stated this group did have appropriate avi gear and training.

The second group was a group of American snowborders with one beacon amoungst the four of them and no other gear. They apparently followed the tracks of the first group into the area. This group started the slide above the Canadian group, burying the four Canadians I believe, and one of the Americans completely and the three other Americans partially. From this point on, my details are still a little sketchy.

An Austrian I know on the mountain rescue that initially responded said the the instructor was not buried and called for help on his cell. He searched for the Canadians with beacons. I am not sure what happened to one of the Canadians, but I believe one is OK. The instructor was able to locate the others, one woman supposedly extricated and taken to the hospital in a coma, died a couple of days later, the other two dead when dug out. The fourth burial was one of the Americans without a beacon. My Austrian friend called another friend of mine living in town and told him to head for the helicopter landing zone to be brought up to the site to help search since the area was so big. I think he said that the debris pile covers 350 square meters. He didn't say what the depth was. The area was not safe to ski down to the site and the helis could not get to the site so they were dropping rescuers off below the site and then they needed to skin up to the rescue. They had about 60 people in the area looking for the last burial when they had to start flying people out for darkness. Six helis, and twelve dogs involved at this point. They were bringing teams in from all over the Tirol.

They started again the next mornign and were unsuccessful that day also. At that point, they started to bring in the Austrian army to provide the manpower. To the best of my knowledge, they searched for a day and were un-successful. On last Tuesday, I went up the Rendel for more skiing and saw the soldiers being down loaded on the cable cars. The avi danger was back up to level four, so I am assuming that they called it off. I have heard rumors that they have abandoned the search until summer at this point.

This is just a quick collection of my thought and hear-say on the accident. Some of this data is incomplete for sure, and probably still in accurate. I decided to post what I had heard, even though some of it is un confirmed.