San Juans - the Nose

[skiracer88_00]

I googled North Dakota avalanche death but could only find a North Dakotan who died in Montana.

it was most likely a roof avalanche. I think those are included in the statistics as avalanche fatalities.

[adrenalated]

it was most likely a roof avalanche. I think those are included in the statistics as avalanche fatalities.

Roof avalanches are included in the statistics.

[meter-man]

vibes, love, peace, and acceptance for those affected.

Fuck.

Given the state of the snowpack, AND the conditions that we're currently living under (the stress, isolation, uncertainty, restrictions, unemployment, political insanity/hatred, etc.) we should consider that most of us are at an increased risk of dying in an avalanche this year.

Everything is harder right now. It's harder to get work done. Harder to be a husband and a father. Harder to be empathetic to people you disagree with. Harder to stay sober. Harder to give a fuck some days. I strongly suspect that we collectively have a diminished capacity to make good decisions, including decisions about where to ski and where not to ski.

It's easy (and tempting) to read these reports and think "I wouldn't make that mistake." But if I ask myself, "When have I let my guard down in avy terrain and gotten away with it" I have no trouble thinking of examples. Same if I ask, "when have my partners pointed out important details (snowpack, weather, terrain) that I overlooked?"

We are intermittently rational creatures with incomplete understandings of what drives our behavior. We are all capable of unwittingly acting against our best interests and better judgement. Especially now. Take it easy out there.

Thanks for this - couldn't agree more.

[warthog]

Thought some might want to see this amazing tribute.
https://mountaintownnews.net/2021/02...Jg6jlo0HgnJ7hw

[powdork]

If you're on facebook it's worth checking out the San juan Office of Emergency Management's writeup of the recovery operation. There's also some feel good stuff on there to brighten things up a bit.
https://www.facebook.com/sjcoem/

[muted]

If you're on facebook it's worth checking out the San juan Office of Emergency Management's writeup of the recovery operation. There's also some feel good stuff on there to brighten things up a bit.
https://www.facebook.com/sjcoem/

Holy F. "Our team broke 8 shovels..."

Instant donation after reading that. Days ago i was seeing the recovery pics with them with only regular avie shovels digging 20' down through essentially concrete and I thought, "Holy F. That is brutal."

[MakersTeleMark]

Holy F. "Our team broke 8 shovels..."

Instant donation after reading that. Days ago i was seeing the recovery pics with them with only regular avie shovels digging 20' down through essentially concrete and I thought, "Holy F. That is brutal."

You missed the chainsaw? That will forever be in my terrain trap brain.

This brought more than a few tears to my eyes:

https://www.facebook.com/EagleCounty...3832559700649/

https://www.facebook.com/sjcoem/phot...21161468151172

[MakersTeleMark]

Here is the incident timeline:

Silverton Colo. Thursday February 4th: The three deceased backcountry skiers from Monday’s Ophir Pass avalanche accident were recovered by helicopter this afternoon. The San Juan County Coroner Keri Metzler verified that they were Seth Bossung age 52 , Andy Jessen age 40 and Adam Palmer age 49 of Eagle Colorado.
Incident Timeline
● February 1st, Monday 3:30pm: A group of 7 skiers triggered a large avalanche at 11,500’ near treeline Four of the skiers were caught, carried and fully buried by the avalanche. 1 skier triggered an airbag was fully buried and was rescued by the 3 not caught in the avalanche. The group started rescue efforts for the others and one skier sent out a SOS message with a Garmin InReach.
● At 5:20 pm: The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department and San Juan County Search and Rescue initiated an operation to recover skiers from the Ophir Pass area.
● At 11:00pm: The SAR Team called off rescue operations due to darkness and deteriorating weather conditions.
● Tuesday February 2nd 7:00 am: The rescue operations resumed with a multi-agency effort including, San Juan County Sheriff's Dept, San Juan County Search and Rescue, Silverton Medical Rescue, San Juan County Office of Emergency Management, Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Telluride Helitrax helicopter service and La Plata County Search and Rescue. Avalanche mitigation was conducted on the avalanche accident area to reduce the hazard for rescuers. The buried subjects were located via a beacon search and the teams began excavation. At 12:45pm: SAR rescue operations were suspended due to naturally occurring avalanches around the accident zone and rapidly warming weather conditions. By 1:45pm, 17 SAR members skied out of the avalanche accident area and were safely out of the field by 3:15pm. Snowmobiles were stuck behind the natural avalanche which blocked the Ophir Pass Road.
● Wednesday February 3rd 6:00am - 6:00pm: The SAR team resumed the recovery operation. The 3 skiers were all located by beacons and the SAR team began extrication of the skiers. All 3 were deep burials and required chainsaws and other mechanized equipment to cut through the dense debris.
● Wednesday end of day: All 3 skiers were excavated and prepared for extraction by helicopter. All motorized equipment was recovered from the previous day by a separate team that had to cut through debris with chainsaws. Due to time of day and weather conditions, the helicopter operation was scheduled for Thursday.
● Thursday February 4th 4:00pm - 6:00pm: All 3 skiers were retrieved by Helitrax from the accident area and transported by San Juan County Coroner to the Medical Examiner's Office in Durango CO.
● Thursday 7:00pm: The San Juan County Coroner positively identifies the victims as Seth Bossung, Andy Jessen, and Adam Palmer of Eagle County.
San Juan County would like to extend their condolences to the Bossung, Jessen and Palmer families, friends, and the Eagle County community. As a small rural alpine community ourselves, we understand the grave loss of community stakeholders like these three gentlemen. Our thoughts are with you Eagle County Community.
San Juan County Sheriff’s Dept, SJC Office of Emergency Management & Silverton Medical Rescue would also like to thank our neighbors in San Miguel County, Ouray County and a big thanks to La Plata Search & Rescue, Telluride Helitrax and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) for helping with the recovery operations. We also appreciate the help from the USFS Columbine Ranger District and the Colorado Department of Transportation in area closures and public communication on the incident.

That is fucking nuts in so many ways. Naturals swamping their equipment up to the pass road around them while trying to chainsaw out the victims? Wow. Next level fucked.

[goldenboy]

"1 skier triggered an airbag was fully buried and was rescued by the 3 not caught in the avalanche."

It will be interesting to learn more about this when the full report is released. I'm a fan of airbags and use one until spring, but that said I'm amazed an airbag helped if they triggered the slide from below in that gully. It's always been my impression that they aren't very useful in that type of scenario. RIP

[uglymoney]

I feel exactly the same. If that airbag actually helped in this scenario that is extraordinary.

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[powdork]

maybe there was enough flow he/she got pushed up the other side a bit? or maybe just a coincidence

[MakersTeleMark]

Or just slowed them down enough to let shit pass for a bit. Who knows.

[raisingarizona13]

"1 skier triggered an airbag was fully buried and was rescued by the 3 not caught in the avalanche."

It will be interesting to learn more about this when the full report is released. I'm a fan of airbags and use one until spring, but that said I'm amazed an airbag helped if they triggered the slide from below in that gully. It's always been my impression that they aren't very useful in that type of scenario. RIP

Maybe the caboose of the four buried and towards the upper end of the slide path? I figured that had to be the one that survived but who knows?

It looks like their route down skiing was the right call but probably should have made a skiers left into those trees and towards the snow covered jeep road. Maybe theres a cliff that we can't see in the photos that forced them down into the gully?

[raisingarizona13]

Here is the incident timeline:



That is fucking nuts in so many ways. Naturals swamping their equipment up to the pass road around them while trying to chainsaw out the victims? Wow. Next level fucked.

It really drives the point that we should be thinking of how our decisions can impact others and put them in danger. Ski touring is not the place for us to be selfish.

[biggles]

It really drives the point that we should be thinking of how our decisions can impact others and put them in danger. Ski touring is not the place for us to be selfish.

I had to read his post a couple times, but I don't think that's what he was saying.

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[raisingarizona13]

I had to read his post a couple times, but I don't think that's what he was saying.

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It was my point. Not the post I quoted. Our decisions have a much far reaching impact than just ourselves when things go awry. That's a big part of my risk analysis when I'm touring.

I made that point because of how much risk the SARS team was put into because of the incident. Make sense for ya?

[biggles]

It was my point. Not the post I quoted. Our decisions have a much far reaching impact than just ourselves when things go awry. That's a big part of my risk analysis when I'm touring.

I made that point because of how much risk the SARS team was put into because of the incident. Make sense for ya?

Makes sense. I see what you're saying. The decision put recovery personnel in danger as well.

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[raisingarizona13]

Makes sense. I see what you're saying. The decision put recovery personnel in danger as well.

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No, you still aren't reading me right. I'm sure things get lost over the internet.

I'm not judging their decisions. I have no idea what any of that was based on our what they were thinking. I'm simply pointing out something out to learn from the report.

I'm simply pointing out a part of the thought process experienced back country touring skiers may have and this is an example of how accidents can have negative impacts on lots of other people. As I've gotten older I think more about consequences and less about my desires to ski something. Risk management and such. It's possible this group had fantastic reasoning for their route and a lot of us may have gone along with their plan. I'm not judging them, I don't go there.

[DaHeel]

We had a small gathering last night just to console the survivors, wives and friends. Painful for sure. Very little talk about decision making. Now is not the time to asses decisions. We will grieve first. Losing 3 friends in one moment is in fathomable for the tight knit crew. For all of you who need to focus your input on speculation and criticism, please wait.

[DaHeel]

Sorry for your loss.

[goldenboy]

Final Report: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...70&view=public

[nortonwhis]

Gutwrenching stuff. Feel for rider 4. Likely never get over that, cant even begin to fathom how he must feel.
Important note at the bottom too.

The group and search and rescue personnel both detected two transceiver signals in close proximity at one of the burial sites. This led them to believe that Riders 2 and 3 were buried very near each other. They eventually determined the signal came from a single avalanche transceiver that was over 10 years old. Over the last 10 years the standards for avalanche rescue transceivers have improved. Although not common, modern transceivers can sometimes recognize the signal from certain old transceivers as two signals, a primary and ghost signal. In this case the age of the skier’s rescue device did not play a significant role in the outcome of the accident. However, it is a good reminder to make sure you understand the performance of the equipment you and your partners are using. Most avalanche rescue organizations and transceiver manufacturers recommend retiring devices that are more than 10 years old.

[AK47bp]

Gutwrenching stuff. Feel for rider 4. Likely never get over that, cant even begin to fathom how he must feel.
Important note at the bottom too.

So saddened by this and the Utah slide deaths.


Good call out on that note. Is there some kind of resource that can tell us what transceivers may be out of date?

Obviously this isn’t the thread for this discussion but something we should all consider.

My ortovox is about 10yrs old.

Found some stuff but would be nice if there were a list of obsolete transceivers.

https://backcountrymagazine.com/stor...transceiver-2/


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

So saddened by this and the Utah slide deaths.


Good call out on that note. Is there some kind of resource that can tell us what transceivers may be out of date?

Obviously this isn’t the thread for this discussion but something we should all consider.

My ortovox is about 10yrs old.

Found some stuff but would be nice if there were a list of obsolete transceivers.

https://backcountrymagazine.com/stor...transceiver-2/


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Email Ortovox?


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[Kinnikinnick]

Ugggghh

Calamity of errors



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