Crystal Avi Death!!!!!!!!

**fubar** · 02-24-2007, 08:06 PM

http://www.komotv.com/news/6066021.html

Please everyone, be careful.

**iggyskier** · 02-24-2007, 08:11 PM

shitty news. Weird to think i was just up there.....

**Mofro261** · 02-24-2007, 08:17 PM

Significant wind loading today. We triggered some small slab-alanches today, looks to be increasing danger with more new falling.

Bummer to hear of the death.

**grrrr** · 02-24-2007, 08:39 PM

I was hit by a waist deep slide inbounds at Baker today. Care must be taken.

Condolences to family and friends. Every loss is a toll too high.

**karma** · 02-24-2007, 09:11 PM

I'm guessing it was in Kempers, back side top of six... Hate to say it but it was only a matter of time till it happened since the park stopped allowing Crystal Patrol to conduct Avalanche control of that path...

My condolences to the family and friends, I've got alot of friends up there hopefully its noone I know.

**PNWbrit** · 02-24-2007, 09:11 PM

Fuck.

Please be careful everyone!

**FREESKIER_FIVE-0** · 02-24-2007, 09:14 PM

Damn....

**altasnob** · 02-24-2007, 09:24 PM

That sucks, and my condolences go out to the friends and families, but it occurred in a permanently closed area on a day when the inbounds was going off. What were they thinking.

**girlski0912** · 02-24-2007, 10:16 PM

Ug...not good news. It's silly to drop rope lines, like altasnob was saying. But everyone drops into that area (and I have done it many times myself) because the turns are so good. But everyone also knows that it's a well established slide path and with conditions the way that they are...it's gonna rip.

Shitty shitty...

**Uncle Rico** · 02-24-2007, 10:29 PM

News said he was wearing a transceiver - implies they must have had some knowledge/awareness. Maybe unfamiliar with history of Kempers...sucks - back to reality for all.

**nutcase** · 02-24-2007, 10:37 PM

Damn that sucks.

**karma** · 02-24-2007, 11:04 PM

Near but not in Kempers... I'll have more info soon.

**altasnob** · 02-24-2007, 11:09 PM

Of all the resorts I've skied, I have to say that the Crystal patrol seems to open sketchy avy prone terrain faster than just about anyone. Stated differently, while some will bitch about their local patrol being overly cautious, I think the opposite is true at Crystal. So if Southback is closed, there is a pretty good reason for it. I generally use Southback's open/closure status as a barometer to decide whether to venture out into the BC (the uncontrolled variety).

**Tippster** · 02-24-2007, 11:12 PM

Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...Please let it not be a maggot...

**sfotex** · 02-24-2007, 11:26 PM

Fuck, this is getting old.

**highflyingpilot** · 02-25-2007, 12:24 AM

Shit, I was gonna head up today but I was far too hungover...How could they miss all those signs warning about Kempers. They specifically say that it's closed and avi-prone.

**Jumper Bones** · 02-25-2007, 01:17 AM

Are we sure it was Kempers? I'll go on to what Altasnob's said - inbounds was plenty good, why go o/b esp. in a time of mass snowfall, high winds, and heavy windloading?

**iggyskier** · 02-25-2007, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by Jumper Bones

Are we sure it was Kempers? I'll go on to what Altasnob's said - inbounds was plenty good, why go o/b esp. in a time of mass snowfall, high winds, and heavy windloading?

someone on Turns-all-year said while they were on 6 they saw 4 patrollers and a dog rush to the chair. When they got to the top then they ran and got the sled ready and went to the location of the slide, so it seems like it was somewhere at least in the kempers area (which was also said by Karma above)

BK · 02-25-2007, 01:31 AM

Bummer.

I just saw the news. Condolences to the family and friends.

**ccwaskier** · 02-25-2007, 09:52 AM

bump for more info

**Norcascadielady** · 02-25-2007, 12:28 PM

Positive vibes go out to family and friends...any more news on this?

**MrClean** · 02-25-2007, 02:16 PM

Seems King5 has more info buried in an Avi Control article:
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stor....10ec5640.html

**Uncle Rico** · 02-25-2007, 03:33 PM

There's a name in here:

From King 5 website:
But on Crystal Mountain a skier was killed when he was buried in an avalanche in an out-of-bounds area.

He was identified as Stanley Lowell Quande, 54, of Burien.

Ski area spokeswoman Tiana Enger said the avalanche occurred about 3 p.m., when Quande and a male companion were in an area that was roped off and marked as permanently closed to skiing. The area is on the back side of the resort and within the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. The ski area is just east of the park.

"He was wearing an avalanche tranceiver which enabled us to zero in on his location pretty quickly but by the time we had dug him out he was unconscious and not breathing and pronounced dead," said Enger.

The second skier was not hurt.

More than 60 inches of snow has fallen on Crystal Mountain in the last six days.

**Monique** · 02-25-2007, 04:17 PM

Fuck. Long time Xtal family, not really a friend of mine but an acquaintance...sold him a pair of skis for his daughter a couple of years ago. She's in her teens and I think he may have other kids too. Feeling pretty bad for them right about now.

From the description I'd say it could have been Kempers or, given conditions, it may have been an attempted 410 run. In any case, he's a local and would likely have known both the history and the likely hazards.