Respect The Conditions

There have been 2 deaths this week, in the moderately gentle, (for Chamonix) area of Le Tour. The second victim is British and has been found just off piste under a snowslide.
http://www.chamonet.com/whats_new_article.php?id_whats_new=6127&id_back=1

I watched a short video clip included in my regular emailing from Henry's Avalanche Talks this week, where Henry described being able to start a slide in current conditions "simply by coughing".

http://www.henrysavalanchetalk.com/

The recent intense cold has destabilised the existing snow base, and with the added weight of the new snow, has made for high risk conditions away from marked, secured runs.

There has already been at least one death in Switzerland too. Conditions have been a bit critical with the amount of wind we've been having lately.

Last weekend I was on a lift looking at a slope of less then 30deg, Avalanche danger was 3, but there was considerable amounts of wind loading on it. This slope was directly under the lift and accessible without traversing. Under most conditions you'd think it should still be ok, but riding just beside the piste we saw the snow was really consolidated and slabby with a wind crust in places. We decided not to go on that slope.

The next run up there were two avalanches directly under the lift. One small one triggered by a boarder who managed to ride out of it. The second was further up and much bigger and was spontaneous.

Except for how slabby the snow pack was, and the seeing the wind loading from the lift we would have thought a slope of that gradient and exposure would have been safe.

Moral of the story... If in doubt DON'T go and respect wind loaded slopes no matter how shallow the gradient.


Just read that at least 5 people are dead in Italy within a few hours. Many of them mountain rescue workers. (Sorry link is only in German).

Another slide, this time in Anzere, Valais, 11am Sunday. Short report in French...

http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/romandie/story/Une-coulee-de-neige-emporte-deux-skieurs-25070702

1 person missing, one with injuries. The search continues with dogs. This apparently happened on a secured track.

Une des deux n'a pas encore été retrouvée, alors que l'autre, souffrant de plusieurs blessures, a été héliportée à Sion, a indiqué la police cantonale.

Une colonne de secours est sur place avec cinq chiens d'avalanche, a précisé Markus Rieder, porte-parole de la police cantonale valaisanne, à la Radio suisse romande. On ignore pour l'instant si cette avalanche, qui est descendue sur une piste sécurisée, a été déclenchée par quelqu'un, a ajouté le porte-parole.

(ats)

Someone was recovered the other day after a long time (maybe Xmas eve) in Europe. They were found with a RECCO receiver not wearing a transceiver, as far as I gathered/can remember.

Something to think about when buying your gear.

Pablo Escobar wrote:Someone was recovered the other day after a long time (maybe Xmas eve) in Europe. They were found with a RECCO receiver not wearing a transceiver, as far as I gathered/can remember.

Something to think about when buying your gear.

That is quite remarkable. The survivor must have been so fortunate to have an active Recco Search unit in the vicinity.

Can you find a link for this Pabs?

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179820

There you go!

Edit,

Also here:

http://www.freeride.se/forum/thread.php?t=59434

I have a couple RECCO reflectors retrospectively attached to my boots, a quick Google about suggests they don't distribute them separately any more.

Pablo Escobar wrote:

http://www.freeride.se/forum/thread.php?t=59434

I have a couple RECCO reflectors retrospectively attached to my boots, a quick Google about suggests they don't distribute them separately any more.

The headline is misleading, it's most certainly the first live recovery this winter but it's also to my knowledge the first ever live recovery of a skier, a pedestrian was recovered some years back but after a similarly long burial time. It's questionable the RECCO altered the outcome in either case. It's not very impressive after 26 years of use. It's a neat example of the problem with RECCO's, 20 minutes is a long burial time and your survival chances have dropped from 93% at under 15 minutes to around 70% and falling very, very quickly so by 25 minutes you'd be at 50%.

RECCO started out with all the best of intentions with the inventor having been involved in a personal loss, unfortunately it's never proved effective and has been used as a marketing tool by equipment manufacturers who sew the reflectors into jackets to identify them as being more technical than another similar products. I would suggest apart from this marketing use it would have died the death a long time back.

Right now the snow's unstable and poorly consolidated but not incredibly dangerous in the scale of these things, it's just holiday time and you tend to see these incidents a lot.

ise wrote:


Right now the snow's unstable and poorly consolidated but not incredibly dangerous in the scale of these things, it's just holiday time and you tend to see these incidents a lot.

Chris Radford H.A.T wrote:
The local professionals are describing the current risk as a "high 3" rather than a "normal 3". This is because the risk factor is really "very considerable" in the locations described by Meteo France. This risk may be localised but it is very concerning and many of the pros have been taken for a short ride on a small releases triggered by their skiing activity.

This weak layer that has developed through the recent cold weather is quite widespread and looks deep. It was made worse by the cold weather and will remain under the snow pack for the whole season.

Here's why: there's a weak layer that is sitting under that new snow in many places at the moment. I, and all of my 'off-piste friends and colleagues', are very concerned about this layer (Wayne Watson from Alpine experience put it simply, "..the base is rotten!"). We're concerned because it can collapse with the weight of just one skier - that collapse can then release a slab avalanche under a person's feet or even on a steeper slope above them. Météo France is warning about this layer.

The HAT guidance relates to French ski areas, and Henry Schniewind, has been giving Avalanche Awareness talks to skiers since the 1980's.