Slides at Paradise

NWAC report

A climber is missing after triggering a slide and being caught in Edith Basin above Paradise on Mt Rainer Tuesday. An early morning snowpit Wednesday in the area revealed the weak layer at the crust when failure occurred about 4 feet down on the crust with compression test 5 and Rutschblock 4.



seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/344152_rainier.html


PARADISE, Wash. -- Rescue personnel are searching an area on Mount Rainier for a man swept away by an avalanche.

Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher said two men were on a snowshoe trip Monday when they were forced to turn back near the tree line due to heavy snow and high wind.

"On their way back down, one of the individuals trigged a snow avalanche and was swept down the slope," Bacher said.

The other man searched for several hours before hiking back out to report the incident to park officials.

At daybreak on Tuesday, 12 searchers and two avalanche dogs set out to look for the missing man, but winds are very strong and Bacher said the avalanche danger is higher today than it was on Monday.

"The conditions are pretty poor up at Paradise at the moment," he said. "That's going to be a concern for our searchers and we will be proceeding pretty cautiously."

The missing man is from the Lynnwood area, but his name has not been released.

Terrible news

NWAC report

seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/344152_rainier.html

Very sorry to hear that. I would call this an unusually dangerous period. One where backcountry skiers and even off-piste skiers in previously unbroken snow need to ask whether the risk can be mitigated or accurately evaluated on steep slopes. With the layering the slides could release on lower than typical angles and can easily be triggered 4 or 5 feet ddp in certain situations.

Lynnwood-area man disappears in avalanche on Rainier
By Christina Siderius

Seattle Times staff reporter

Search crews are looking for a Lynnwood-area man who may have been buried in an avalanche on Mount Rainier.

On Tuesday morning, the 22-year-old Kirk Reiser and his best friend left Paradise to go on a day-trip on snowshoes to Camp Muir, which is about a five-mile hike, said Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher. The two had to turn back about halfway there because of high winds and bad conditions.

One of the men triggered an avalanche at about 1:30 p.m., said Bacher, and then Reiser disappeared into the snow.

His hiking partner, 23-year-old Troy Metcalf, searched for him for hours but was unable to find him. Metcalf returned to Paradise at dusk and reported his friend's disappearance to park service rangers.

Based on his friend's descriptions, Reiser could be about one mile out of Paradise near Edith Creek Basin.

Rescuers set out at about 8 this morning, along with two avalanche search dogs. Bacher said the crew's goal is to pinpoint the location of the missing hiker and do as much searching as possible amid worsening weather conditions on the mountain.

"The extent to which we are able to search really depends on those conditions," said Bacher.

Bacher said a person buried in an avalanche has about a 30-minute survival window. After that, the chances of surviving are slim but not impossible, he said.

"One of the things that may increase the chances is that we don't know for sure that he was buried by an avalanche," said Bacher. "It is conceivable that they [the men] may have been swept apart."

Rescuers are hoping Reiser was able to make a snow cave to stay in overnight. He was equipped with food and water but was not carrying overnight supplies.

Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com

---

Avalanche on Mount Rainier buries snowshoer

01:03 PM PST on Wednesday, December 19, 2007

KING5.com Staff

MOUNT RAINIER, Wash. - A search crew is on Mount Rainier, looking for a 23-year-old man who was buried by an avalanche.

Kevin Bacher of Mount Rainier National Park says Troy Metcalf and Kirk Reiser left for a day of snowshoeing Tuesday morning but turned back due to poor visibility and high winds.

At about 1:30 p.m., while leading the way down, Reiser triggered an avalanche and was swept down the slope.

"His friend searched for him for several hours and then came out at dusk last night and reported his friend missing," said Bacher.

Six rangers from Mount Rainier National Park, four members from mountain rescue and two people with dogs are looking for Reiser. Metcalf helped try to pinpoint where the avalanche occurred.

Rangers say Metcalf and Reiser are experienced, and although the route they were on is considered challenging, on Tuesday it would not have been considered too risky or dangerous. But a lot of snow fell overnight.

Bacher said searchers will be proceeding with caution due to weather conditions.

"There's a lot of snow at Paradise right at the moment and pretty good wind so conditions are ripe for further avalanches," he said.

Reiser is a student at Edmonds Community College.

---

Tacoma, WA - December 19, 2007

MOUNT RAINIERAvalanche conditions, high winds hinder search for snowshoer
JEFFREY P. MAYOR; The News Tribune Published: December 19th, 2007 09:20 AM

High winds, heavy snow and dangerous avalanche conditions are hampering the efforts of a dozen searchers looking for a 22-year-old Lynnwood-area man missing in an avalanche above Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park.
Searchers have found the location of the slide, at the top of the Edith Creek Basin about a mile from Paradise. But the threat of another avalanche is preventing a thorough search of the area, said park spokesman Kevin Bacher.

Search teams have been looking for the missing man since 8 a.m. today. At midday, they returned to Paradise to reassess the situation. This afternoon, another team started out, hoping to reach the spot from a different but safer direction.

Kirk Reiser disappeared Tuesday afternoon when he triggered the avalanche after he and hiking partner Troy Metcalf, 23, of Alderwood, were turned back by poor conditions while trying to reach Camp Muir.

Reiser and Metcalf left Paradise about 10 a.m. Tuesday for a day snowshoeing hike to Camp Muir. They decided to turn back at the tree line because of poor visibility, heavy snow and high winds, Bacher said.

About 1:30 p.m., Reiser was leading the way down when he triggered an avalanche and disappeared in the slide. Metcalf spent several hours looking for Reiser but was unsuccessful.

At dusk, Metcalf returned to Paradise and reported what happened.

The search effort includes rangers from Mount Rainier, members of the Olympia and Tacoma Mountain Rescue teams, staff members from Crystal Mountain and two avalanche dogs.

The weather is making it rough for the searchers. Avalanche conditions are high and getting worse throughout the day. A foot inches of snow has fallen at Paradise since the two men left for their hike.

The weather "is nasty. We’ve got heavy snowfall and high winds," Bacher said. "They’re predicting a foot of snow today and another foot tonight. That’s burying some of the signs of what were looking for and increasing the avalanche danger.”

Metcalf was on the mountain with the search team earlier in the day, trying to help them pinpoint the location of the slide. He had left a ski pole to mark the location of the avalanche.

Bacher said the search will continue until dark and then meet to assess conditions and the forecast. The search will resume at daylight Thursday if conditions allow.

Staff writer Stacey Mulick contributed to this report.

It's interesting that the party is being described as experienced by the MRNP spokesman as quoted in the PI given that the apparently neither was wearing a beacon.

"Both men are experienced snowshoers and were prepared for a day hike, but not overnight conditions. Neither carried an avalanche beacon, which would have made it easier to locate Reiser, Bacher said."

seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/344157_avalanche20.html

The search ahs been suspended until a forecasted break in the weather Friday, although the article says they may have to do avy control to secure the area first.

Where are these descriptions of party expertise (also in the case of the lost snowboarders @ Crystal and party at Alpental earlier this month) drawn from? Its kind of like serial killers, always "friends said he was a loner"

You'd have to go off friends, family, and survivors in this case I guess. Its interesting that a party on Rainier in bad and worsening conditions would be described as experienced without beacons. Not that beacons will help your primary goal of avoiding a avy in the first place, but they are as important as wearing pants to work is to me.......

So sad. I followed Gondors thread earlier this week re: safety, decision making, and risk tolerance. He may have been preaching to the choir here, perhaps not, but either way 6 avalanche fataliteis in a MONTH definitely points to a need for the broader BC community, whcih I don't think TAY is representative of, to reappraise what its doing, and when its being done.

Game on......

It's interesting that the party is being described as experienced by the MRNP spokesman as quoted in the PI given that the apparently neither was wearing a beacon.

"Both men are experienced snowshoers and were prepared for a day hike, but not overnight conditions. Neither carried an avalanche beacon, which would have made it easier to locate Reiser, Bacher said."

...

Excuse the thread-jack for a second: The media portrayed a man down here as an "experienced kayaker" in their write-up of his death. He drowned running a low-head dam at high water -- no helmet, no pfd. It was apparent from his family's description that while he'd kayaked before, he was not "experienced" in the sense of "educated". (To his family, he was very experienced.) Anyway, just wanted to point out that the term "experienced" seems to be very subjective and could mean that a person has participated in that activity 3 times before, 15 years ago, in Wisconsin. You and I would have the expectation that an "experienced" person would have some avy classes under their belt, a beacon/probe/shovel, and some well-honed terrain reading skills, etc. Neither definition of "experienced" may be wrong.
There is also always the possibility that the missing person's family will read our posts. (This happened with the kayaker's family on our kayaking forum as they reached out to us to help in the search for his body.) Fortunately we hadn't gotten to the point of armchair-quarterbacking the event as I'm sure our observations would have been painful for the family to read.
I say all that just because the "experienced" term and your questioning of it reminds me of exactly the same thoughts many of us had about the kayaker last year.
Very sad news. There seems to be some hope that he's holed up in a snow-cave somewhere. Thanks for posting updates on here.