Avalanche - Berthoud Pass 1.19.14 - VIDEO Skier hucks into slide with airbag...

[summit]

Wow...
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/01/1...nche-on-video/
Or CNN main page if you prefer: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...-cam.kcnc.html

"There were other tracks" ... "Random chance"

Considerable... persistent slab... terrain hazards...

It looks like the crown breaks above and behind the skier. He is near the cliff band when the snow breaks up, and several waves of snow come down after he stops in the debris. If that is the case, he probably triggered the slab form an area where it thins out, below the majority of the wind drifting, and with plenty of rocks and trees to make the snowpack even shallower. The crown was estimated at 6 to 8 feet at its deepest. Again, that fits with the Persistent Slab triggering from shallow areas and propagating through much thicker slabs. ... debris up to 10 feet deep.

I guess the only thing I can comment here is he was getting tossed around in that crappy slab on top, couldn't even keep his skis together, then scrubbed so much speed he almost chewed rock the whole way down his "huck." Lucky he wasn't buried? Ya... that too. Lucky he didn't get pulverized tomahawking down that rock!

[grskier]

There is an arrogance there.. can't put my finger on it.. but it peaked with the, "then I just straight lined it."

[Lindahl]

Haha, was thinking the same thing. If I'm gonna drop a line like that in these conditions, I know my launch point and lz really fucking well and sure as hell don't scrub any speed, especially when a slide kicks off. The stomp will also be well within my abilities. Looks like your common dumbass hack who luckily avoided some bruising and straining. I'm sure someone here will come up with a snide retort to my comments, so 'fuck you very much' in advance.

[that dude who did that thing]

Why do people insist that because they don't understand something, it must be "random chance."

[hortence]

A perfect example of why "youth is wasted on the young."

Instead of arrogance I just got a fatalism and nihilism. Yeah he 'knew the risk and what to look out for' and choose to ignore it. Why would he do that? Does he want to be the the latest spokes model for the airbag industry? Or, in a more general sense, is he that starved for attention?

But as he was rolling his dice, how many people got into their vehicles after a few too many beers? How many close calls did they have? But there is no dramatic video and it is something so mundane and familiar to most people that it passes without notice.

What this guy does is statistically anomalous (and mind bendingly dumb), so I guess that makes it teevee nooz.

[Danno]

When people say that airbags will increase some skiers' risk tolerances, I suspect that dude is one of the people being referenced.

[RegCT]

Yah...he definitely fell off that cliff, and I was not able to identify any straight lining.

[Bromontana]

It looks like both feet impacted the ledge about 10 feet down and it pushed his feet out forward. I'm curious why he chose to go over the cliff if he knew about the slide. With the mature trees nearby he could have tucked in, maybe? Seems like he could have turned right while the slab to the left of the cliff flushed.

[skiingfiddler]

It looks like both feet impacted the ledge about 10 feet down and it pushed his feet out forward. I'm curious why he chose to go over the cliff if he knew about the slide. With the mature trees nearby he could have tucked in, maybe? Seems like he could have turned right while the slab to the left of the cliff flushed.

I wondered the same thing, here's c&p from the main Berthoud thread

Maybe things were happening too fast, but the way he says "so I decided to straightline over the cliff" I'm wondering why he wouldn't try to stop and let the slide run its course?

Killclimbz's photos definitely show the crown line above where the skier was at when it was triggered. Pretty sure he was going off that cliff no matter what.

[TheRealPoop]

Monday morning QB here, why not stop on top that cliff? Seemed like he would have been safe there.

As was stated above, it does not look like he wanted to take that line off the cliff, or if he did misjudged the speed drastically.

Did the airbag do anything? It did not appear that snow was coming down his line.

He did seem arrogant in the interview, specifically where he was talking about other people being up without knowledge. I don't know if it's possible to do a interview like that and not come off as arrogant.

[mikedski]

Boy, you guys are sure quick to judge. I'm glad he had the balls to share his story so we can all learn something from it.

[summit]

It has always been OK to judge people for their hucking steez

[Danno]

Boy, you guys are sure quick to judge. I'm glad he had the balls to share his story so we can all learn something from it.

what did you learn from this story?

[old goat]

The Volkswagen ad before the video was better than the video itself.

[digitaldeath]

his form is garbage...


also it seems he decided to huck the rock - he could have stopped right -

[capulin overdrive]

Also choose the VW ad!

[jrbd]

Lance Light said he was prepared but says things could have ended differently for anyone who doesn’t know the risks.

Good thing he knew the risks, otherwise he might have been caught and carried over a cliff. Oh, wait....

[Toadman]

The Volkswagen ad before the video was better than the video itself.

I always suspected Abe was a pedophile, and the VW ad proves it!

[grskier]

Boy, you guys are sure quick to judge. I'm glad he had the balls to share his story so we can all learn something from it.

Good chance it's the way the story is cut....

[JONG Q Public]

what did you learn from this story?

That some people think that since some skiers don't have any avy gear that you must be somehow safer then them just by owning and carrying avy gear. I also agree with your previous comment about people like him taking more risk because of the gear they carry.

I am sure if I was interviewed on TV I would look like an idiot and pretty much everything he says makes me think WTF.

[Hott Butt Mud]

He had a full-face helmet, c'mon guyz!!!

[grskier]

That some people think that since some skiers don't have any avy gear that you must be somehow safer then them just by owning and carrying avy gear. I also agree with your previous comment about people like him taking more risk because of the gear they carry.

This is a good summation.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Check:

-Beacon
-Shovel
-Probe
-Full-face
-Airbag pack
-GoPro Helmet mount
-Adobe Premiere CS6

Seems like he had all of the right gear to huck ze gnar!

[MakersTeleMark]

Good thing he knew the risks, otherwise he might have been caught and carried over a cliff. Oh, wait....

Better than being tossed off by your newlywed.

[cyborg]

Wow. This makes me feel better about myself. Knowing when to keep it conservative (most times in the backcountry) is a big part of any dangerous sport.

I know this isn't everyone who gets caught in a slide, but I have to think that a lot of victims end up victims because they think like this guy.

Did anyone else feel that the newscasters made it sound like "if you've got the gear and the know how, you can go to completely outrageous and stupid "extreme" things"?

Edit: basically what hotbutt said.