Slides at Paradise

There is a "safer" route, which I have also heard called the winter route up to Pan Point. I'm sure the folks who know names, have a name for this feature, it is a slender ridge on looker's right of the main ski gully down from pan point (in fact, it makes up the looker's right side of that gully). It is steep, not totally skin-able in the safest area of the ridge and is pretty safe, but not 100%, as not much is. I have only gone up it in my snowshoe days (thankfully years in the past)

Thanks Gerry-you recent avy seminar through the Mtneers was par excellence!

To my comment-jayme's thread last week + numerous other TR's and ?'s thrown out to the wolves have shown a vast spread in tolerance for risk, and real world experience among the TAY population.

However, after riding at Baker for 7 years through college (and Baker IS why it took so long to get through college), as well as riding alot of sidecountry at Alpental the last 2 seasons, I'd say that it appears, at least to me, that the vast majority of active TAY posters at least seek info and education to varying degrees, and are interested in learning more.

This is refreshing. After being buried almost completely inbounds at Baker and almost getting full tree well insertion @ Alpental, I strongly believe in living to ride another day. Most of the folks I've met on TAY and ridden with seem to share that desire.

When I get back to resorts, as I have during the recent IMO "backcountry travel is not a option weather cycles", I'm amazed at the attitude often seemingly evident that "we've got transcievers, and hence are avy proof" on the part of numerous riders, including close friends of mine who I otherwise consider to be reasonably intelligent. Apparently they'll learn to use them when a friend is buried?

Regardless, we all make our own choices. I shake my head at many I've made in the past, when I was younger, dumber, and less cognizant of the fact that the mountains punish arrogance and/or lack of knowledge.

I hope that all BC riders, TAY trolls or not, look hard at themselves, their choices,  and their attitudes in light of this deadly December.

While we should mourn the fallen, we certainly can learn from them as well. It could just as easily have been me, or I suspect many of us, at various times in our BC evolution.

Bandit, do you know if those are measured slopes of 20 degrees? If so, exceedingly scary.

Yes. They were just little kicker hills off the groomed. Obviously, not much of a danger in itself. But, it just proves the extreme nature of the conditions right now.

I would not, by any means, get into any kind of backcountry situation right now.

Be patient. Let things settle.

In my honest opinion. Spring and Summer are the best for doing backcountry. That's just because I'm a mellow lolly gagger who doesn't like to push and plow through 1'+ of fresh , wet snow.

I like to know that the snow I'm on is bonded and compacted to hold the slope.

Missing snowshoer found dead on Mount Rainier

By Christina Siderius and Brian Alexander
Seattle Times staff reporters

Searchers have located the body of a Lynnwood-area snowshoer who went missing on Mount Rainier Tuesday when he was hit by an avalanche.A search party located the body of 22-year-old Kirk Reiser at about 4 p.m. Friday and they are currently working on recovering the remains, said Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher.

Reiser, an Edmonds Community College student from the Lynnwood area, was swept away in the snow on Tuesday after triggering an avalanche during a day-hike outside of Paradise.

Reiser and hiking partner Troy Metcalf, a close friend, left Paradise to go on a five-mile trip to Camp Muir, but they had to turn back about halfway because of bad conditions. During the hike back, Reiser set off an avalanche — about 40 yards wide by 200 yards long — and vanished in the steep terrain.

Metcalf searched in vain for hours before returning to Paradise for help.

A large search effort was initiated at first light Wednesday, and the crew was able to find the location where the avalanche occurred, which Metcalf had marked with a ski pole.

Second-day search efforts on Thursday were unsuccessful as the team was held back by poor visibility and high avalanche danger, which prevented them from doing any digging in the area. Only about three rangers were out in the field Thursday.

Today, searchers set off explosive charges and triggered controlled avalanches to make the area more safe before searching in the area where they believed Reiser was located, Bacher said. A search team of about 40 people then used metal detectors, and search dogs to find Reiser's remains.

Reiser's family was on the mountain during Friday's search, and has been notified, Bacher said.

A person buried in an avalanche has about a 30-minute window of survival, said Bacher, but rescuers and family members earlier this week were hopeful that Reiser was not, in fact, buried under the snow.

Days after the accident occurred, Bacher says it will be a miracle if he is alive.

"When you are doing these things, it's always tough to make that mental transition away from being hopeful," he said.

More than two feet of new snow has fallen in the area since Reiser's disappearance.

"They seem to be very strong people. This is obviously very difficult for them," he said.

Reiser and Metcalf are described as experienced climbers whose families have been making trips to Mount Rainier for years.

Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com

Brian Alexander: 206-464-2026 or balexander@seattletimes.com

fyi - though there was a dog, a metal detector, and a Recco at the site, the decesased was found by probing in the most probable area.

The site is halfway up a bowl at the base of a waterfall, a few hundred feet right and up from the stone shelter. it appears that the deceased fell/was dragged over the waterfall then under the snow, and snow packed on top of him. At the time of recovery, the top of the body was about ten feet deep.

Thanks, Gary.
I know a lot of folks, like myself, were wondering just which slope took this unfortunate young man.
Sounds like he fell into the east facing chute/gully just north of Alta Vista.  There's a natural draw into that chute when descending from above.  I've mistakenly started into it before.  I think a lot of the regulars have.  In fact, I think a snowboarder got buried there a few years ago and his partner got him out because there was still a part of him showing after he was buried.  I remember reading about it and from his description it sounded like the same spot.  I can see how that could happen to someone on their way down from Pan in marginal visibility.  Especially if they were really crankin' because they were "almost home".