Super sketch in AK Valdeeeez and Girdwood

[wstdeep]

11" of water in Ten days with lots of it rain. Gnarly

[Hacksaw]

11" of water in Ten days with lots of it rain. Gnarly

Wowzzers!!!

[comish]

Any updates from up that way?

[BFD]

like what? I have only been back a few days but the weather pattern has been pretty unsettled. Looks like when its been good the skiing has been good.

[comish]

Coming up on Friday. Not too many Trip reports or info being posted so just curious what it's been like.

[NBABUCKS1]

didn't feel like making a new thread but heli skiing slide outside of girdwood. "

“The company that they were skiing with attempted to recover the skiers but were unable to due to the depth of the snow,” McDaniel said."

Very thin on details right now...

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anch...-not-possible/

[californiagrown]

It is pretty wild to me how often people die on heli trips to AK/BC. I realize its backcountry skiing, and you get in 10x the laps you would if human powered (thereby increasing odds by 10x), and you also likely ski steeper more consequential stuff than if you were human powered. But, many of the folks i know going on these trips are just rich 50 year old black diamond resort skiers with ZERO realistic concept of the actual danger/risks involved. Its just a wild disconnect between how dangerous the activity is vs. how many clients actually grasp/appreciate the risks involved.

[RegCT]

https://snowbrains.com/multiple-heli...r-girdwood-ak/

Not good. Know some guys skiing up there right now.

[Dantheman]

It is pretty wild to me how often people die on heli trips to AK/BC. I realize its backcountry skiing, and you get in 10x the laps you would if human powered (thereby increasing odds by 10x), and you also likely ski steeper more consequential stuff than if you were human powered. But, many of the folks i know going on these trips are just rich 50 year old black diamond resort skiers with ZERO realistic concept of the actual danger/risks involved. Its just a wild disconnect between how dangerous the activity is vs. how many clients actually grasp/appreciate the risks involved.

How many people do you hear about dying heli skiing every year? If you were going to hear about them anywhere this would be the place, and it seems to be a rare occurrence.

[Bunion 2020]

The mere act of getting into a Heli, flying in the mountains to ski steep, snow covered and uncontrolled mountains should be a clue that this isn't Vail or even Whistler.

Take this with a grain of snow.
https://forum.whitecoatinvestor.com/...ble-risk/page3

[Dantheman]

Per that link heli is one fatality per 100k skier days and regular skiing is ten fatalities per million skier days, so exactly equal risk. The lifetime risk of dying in a car accident is 1 in 93.

[kinkilla]

Per Alaska state troopers, the victims were buried under 40-100 ft of snow. A friend who was skiing up there said it ripped from peak to river.

[skideeppow]

Per Alaska state troopers, the victims were buried under 40-100 ft of snow. A friend who was skiing up there said it ripped from peak to river.

Holy shit. I heard they looked for them for 90 minutes then had to head back because of the dark.
The operator was CPG

[goldenboy]

This article also says 40-100' burial, crazy. https://alaskapublic.org/news/public...d-troopers-say

[Benneke10]

There has been a PWL in the area for the last couple of weeks. Alaskans are not used to dealing with PWLs and the weather has been mostly bad recently so there have not been many opportunities to test it out. I was hoping to get on similar terrain this weekend, thinking that a stronger slab on top would neutralize the problem, clearly that is flawed logic up here.

[NBABUCKS1]

3 dead. Holy shit.https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventu...near-girdwood/

[soul_skier]

Multiple burials and such extreme depths, I'll be curious to see the report and lessons learned here.

[Ted26]

All speculation until we see a photo or get a hard location. There is a layer of buried surface hoar at 1-2’ depth now that mainly exists at mid elevations (1.5-2.5k) and mainly sheltered terrain. I personally have only seen evidence of it below 2500’ and only in more sheltered terrain. It was hot as shit yesterday too, 30+ deg at 3500’. I would guess possibly a mix of the depth hoar layer and wet slide hazard, possibly culminating in valley bottom terrain trap based on limited information available.

[tang]

Horrible.
3 clients all out on same slope, in considerable.
Can’t imagine the recovery plan if 40’+ buried. The Opus accident a few years ago was 20-30’ and I think they ended up using equipment.
RIP

[Ted26]

Most up to date info provided:
The avalanche occurred around 3:30 p.m. near the West Fork of Twentymile River, Alaska State Troopers said in an update Wednesday. The slide area is a mountain cirque about 9 miles northeast of Girdwood, in backcountry terrain accessible by air.The incident appears to be the first fatal avalanche this winter in Alaska and the country’s deadliest since an avalanche in Washington’s Cascade Mountains killed three climbers in 2023.Tuesday’s slide measured more than a half-mile long and was estimated to be 40 to 100 feet deep, authorities said.The men, all from out of state, were clients of Girdwood-based Chugach Powder Guides, according to a company spokesperson. The run they skied was part of the company’s regular list, and a guide accompanied them, she said.Witnesses saw all three deploy their avalanche air bags as the slide began, spokesperson Tracey Knutson said.The avalanche started at about 3,500 feet altitude and ended at about 700 feet, she said. One person who was also part of the group was not caught by the slide and was later extricated safely, Knutson said.Three guides “were on scene immediately initiating rescue response and an emergency alert,” Knutson said. They picked up three signals from the men’s emergency beacons below, she said, the lowest at nearly 45 feet deep.

[californiagrown]

How many people do you hear about dying heli skiing every year? If you were going to hear about them anywhere this would be the place, and it seems to be a rare occurrence.

Feels like i hear about at least one fatal incident per year on here. And thats not including the close calls. Maybe its just my perception?

[stealurface831]

Fucking nightmare fuel man. Vibes to all affected.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[gmorgg]

A friend from summit got slid on the same day very close to the same area with Triple Point Heli a few hours earlier than this icident . Took a beatering through some rocks on the way down but is mostly ok thankfully. Vibes to all those affected!

[cravenmorhead]

The fact that those sorts of rides (the beatering, not the fatalities) get reported on InfoEx in Canada but not publicly is pretty messed up.

Speaking of, I need to put together a trip report.

[Bunion 2020]

^^^In the US, lots of ski area close calls also go unreported involving both staff and public. And yes, very messed up.