Be Careful Out There!!!

The subject of this post may be self-evident to backcountry skiers, but I feel compelled to get on my soapbox after reading all these early season trip reports. For various reasons, it seems, people are extremely motivated to get those first turns of the season in, perhaps at the risk of serious injury. I see these posts that say "only hit a few rocks", "bottomless", as if to justify the risk that we take when skiing in the early season. Those "rocks" in the "bottomless" could very well end your season (or your skiing career), right then and there!

I'm always called a stick in the mud when I bring this up...OK maybe I am a bit jealous that I don't have the guts to push it. But I ask you to weigh the risks vs. the rewards of getting out there when the snowpack is so obviously meager and unconsolidated. I have a close friend who had his right leg below the knee amputated after an injury sustained while skiing in a low snowpack. His ski went beneath the sharp edge of a boulder; his foot and leg did not, effectively clothes-lining his knee. The lower leg was almost completely severed, infection later set in, etc. ... I also know of people that have had similar accidents with downed trees. As a ski patroller, I see that there was only one way to prevent these accidents: don't take such needless risks.

This being a b/c ski forum I suspect that I'll receive replies arguing all sorts of reasons to justify this behavior; all valid I'm sure, but there are ways to minimize the danger: 1) stick to permanent snowfields or glaciers 2) use a snowboard 3) stay on known (to you) grassy low angle slopes 4)avoid scree fields (duh) 5) ski on lift-served slopes that have been packed down by groomers (after they're covered with fresh!) I'm sure you can come up with more...

So don't let ego, over-exuberance or inexperience cause you to make a serious mistake...it sucks to have to carry your buddy's lower leg off the mountain! So be careful out there...charge like a rhino, not a wino!

That being said, I skied yesterday at Sunshine Village (open; f**king zoo!) and today at Schweitzer (not open yet)...

-Bill

Use a snowboard?
I would rather amputate BOTH legs!

Ya dude, boarder digs are nog first brah :

I think you disseminate sound advice, Bill.

I wish your post had been a few years earlier.

It may have saved me from what was probably the most painful fall I ever took.  It involved an early season hidden "snowsnake" rock, which ripped off one of my skis and sent me flying.  I landed on a pointy rock which impacted right in the middle of my thigh, which, at the time, happened to be instinctively rapidly coming forward to protect my belly and set up for a roll.  I remember the impact being so hard that I thought it should have broken my femur, but I knew I would have heard it snap had it broken.  I think I was very lucky it did not.  I equated the impact to being hit with a 12 pound sledgehammer being wielded by a large man that knew how to use it.  The pain was somewhat debilitating.  The subsequent bruising extended clear around my leg and lengthwise from my hip to my foot.  And I do not bruise easily.

Sometimes I miss life's subtle clues, but somehow this one did not slip by me.  Now I stick to grassy slopes and permanent snowfields until the base gets built up.

Just one more good reason to know what is under the snow you're skiing on, eh? 

This is all good information, if you choose to only ski at an established ski area with a solid base. However I beleive that once you head into the backcountry it makes no difference how deep the snowpack is. Hidden hazards can be present at any depth. So if you already choose to ski in the backcountry then your automatically risking injury to yourself. So whats the difference really? Ski what you feel comfortable with, if it looks hairy, slow down. Just ask my buddy who went sailing of a waterfall drop and busted his head open in January.

Thanks for the advice - I needed another excuse  to use my snowboard.

BTW, the grassy slopes of Alpy and the scree field (if you're not scared off now) of Lower Nash had very nice coverage this morning. MW8 mentioned scraping one rock at the cut over from upper nash but other than that it was sweet and deep, even the creek crossings are a breeze right now, after Weds, those hidden dragons might be out again.