Will it ever stop? Girl in avi on Pilchuck

On the day in question I think that all back country travelers were warned to stay off NW to NE slope aspects. What we have been seeing this season is scary. Deep natural failures have been occurring at relatively low elevations. Assume nothing in your travels! Planing is everything. They were in avalanche terrain. Considerable danger in my opinion is not an invitation for me to head out and not think about the dangers. It seems that people see the avalanche warning come off high and they can run around in avalanche terrain without consequence. The snow pack analysis and avalanche forecasts have been reading like a horror story this season. All the evidence is out there to make good quality decisions. Period. I know when I head out right now I have a snow pack that is fragile and quite unpredictable despite what the daily danger is.

We are on a record pace of tragic deaths this season. Why can't people see the big picture? Have that many people risking it all this time and now it is catching up with them? If there were a deadly snow beast out there killing back country travelers would people still head out and say it will never catch me? Well, there is a deadly snow beast out there and the media has covered each attack and people still head out unprepared to do battle. Every week another senseless tragedy. Avalanche terrain= beacon, probe, and shovel. Every person on this board has the gear and knows how to use it on some level. If there was a lack of public awareness that avalanche terrain is dangerous the message should be getting out there now. I do not think that their deaths have been in vain. I think many people have learned from their mistakes. I hope many people have decided to take the proper training. I suppose many of us have re-evaluated what our level of acceptable risk is for this season. I have been working on prudence and patience this season and progress has been painful, but that is the price of life sometimes. I feel sympathetic to the friends and family that have to deal with such a tragic event in life. I hope they all find peace. Travel safely friends.

I agree avalanche terrain = beacon, probe, and shovel. But I think your leaving the most important pieces of safety equipment out. Knowledge, good judgement, common sense, and an understanding of avalanches.

Bacon, probe, shovel, avalanche warnings: I believe a lot of people are going out with a false sense of security. Even if you have a stable deep snow pack situation and the warnings are in the low catagory you are still taking a blind chance traveling under slopes that can be loaded locally (even if there has not been any recent new snow, because of wind transportation forming slabs/pillows. So if you are going to ski that slope, you might not want climb that slope (duh) but rather travel to the top by a safe route (ike a ridge mabe?) and then if you are darn determined t ski that slope, at least ski cut that slope as high as possible to get those slabs cleaned out so they are no longer a hazard. You also have to consider your exposure traveling out of there too (could there be more slabs above your skin track?)

As one person who just skied all 54 14er's in Colorado in 12 months says "if you are surprised, you are doing something wrong and didn't know enough for the situation." Don't assume, and don't drop your guard; understand the risks in a given situation andyU are responsible for the information you make your decisionson, not because some one thought the threat was low. It is almost a no brainer sadly......

I agree avalanche terrain = beacon, probe, and shovel. But I think your leaving the most important pieces of safety equipment out. Knowledge, good judgement, common sense, and an understanding of avalanches.

I agree with this post the most. The accident at lake 22 underscores the lack of education among the general public; because even with a bomber snow pack, Lake 22 will slide frequently given the cliff band riddled terrain. The old ski area would have been a much much better choice for safe snowshoeing...though even the upper parts of that get cross loaded and have sections at 25-35 degrees.

My heart goes out to the families. I don't want to imagine what they are surely going through.

Bacon, probe, shovel, avalanche warnings:

I for one love Bacon, and eggs and try to eat them both before and during a niceevery day. 

As one person who just skied all 54 14er's in Colorado in 12 months says "if you are surprised, you are doing something wrong and didn't know enough for the situation." Don't assume, and don't drop your guard; understand the risks in a given situation andyU are responsible for the information you make your decisionson, not because some one thought the threat was low. It is almost a no brainer sadly......

While I appreciate the sentiment, I have to take some issues with suprises. A favorite activity is to guess the layers, then dig a pit, then see what gives with stability tests. I find myself suprised and humbled on a pretty regular basis. I think we can all learn by "surprising ourselves" in the arena of snow science.

Re: some of the previous posts:

We're thinking like bc skiers. We've amassed lots of experience, read books, taken courses, etc. Should snowshoers need to have the same training? It sounds pretty prohibitive for someone who just wants to "go hiking in the snow." What about Marten Creek? Should that snowshoe trip be out because the trail is in the valley beneath some big slopes on Dickerman (NW-facing?). Should snowshoers only go out in low-to-moderate conditions? (hey, it would keep them from turning our skin tracks into I-90)

It sounds like this was a naturally triggered avy (from 500 feet above). For considerable danger, such an avy should be possible but not probable. Had they been a minute earlier or later, they would have been fine. They made a decision that was good 99% of the time but not 99.99% of the time. As skiers, we'll cross below suspect slopes on occasion when there's no easy alternative, so we improve our odds by traveling fast, going one at a time, watching each other, and being prepared to rescue.

I think the biggest lesson out of this incident is that the mountains will always show you things you've never seen before, and it can be a mistake to assume that things will be like the past 10 times. I think an avy fatality below 2500 ft is pretty unprecedented for WA.

All that said, I've never been to Lake 22 -- just looked it up on the map -- my choice place to take beginners for real is Skyline Lake.