April fools on Table Mountain

After a great day in bounds we decided to take advantage of the afternoon's improved visibility out on Table Mountain in the near Baker BC. We headed out to a conservative, lower angle spot on Blueberry chutes known as the Line. As we transitioned we watched some folks poking around higher up near the Horn. It was clear from our perspective that loading on that steeper slope and aspect made for some risky route selection. I called it 50-50 they would kick something off if they dropped there. We dropped into our line and skied it safely one at a time. Once down near Bagely lakes we watched the risky folks up top, deciding to hang out in case they got in trouble. I pulled my camera and put it into continuous shoot mode and zoomed in. The two riders dropped a couple turns and we could see the snow pack sag beneath them. The first dropped and here is the result . The second also dropped (not pictured) and kicked off some more. The remaining two backed off.

Great vid, chuck. On Sunday (actual April Fools Day, right?) I was stupidly curious enough to take my partner skiing down the lower angled top section of slope into the lower entry to that area (Dog Chute or Grandma's) to see if the two fresh tracks in produced any consequences. What was I thinking? Like if they had gotten a scot-free clean ride we should do it? Fortunately, we could see that they popped a wide-propagating slab with plenty of residual hangfire (on the steepest part, skiers left entrance of where that guy traversed to) so we skinned back out. Been kicking myself all week for even tampering with the thought. You can't even see Sunday's wide-based 12" crown anymore on your video. Pretty weak bond in there.

Well done backing off there. We saw you two drop in a bit and the snow also buckled under you. We were happy to see you retreat!

The action depicted in the video is within my comfort zone. Hard to say if they knew what they were getting into without talking to them about it. Standing by to offer assistance was the polite and neighborly thing to do. Calling them out as fools on the internet was not.

The action depicted in the video is within my comfort zone. Hard to say if they knew what they were getting into without talking to them about it. Standing by to offer assistance was the polite and neighborly thing to do. Calling them out as fools on the internet was not.

Hills, your comfort zone and ski abilities are not everyone else's. Less skillful skiers/riders could have been caught. Chuck saw a risky situation and with quick thinking captured it for others to see and do with the video as they may. He fairly objectively reported the situation but never called them fools. I see it as reminder to be careful.

Good post Chuck!

Whether the pictured boarders were operating in their comfort zone doesn't matter to me. I simply don't like to drive sloughs/avalanches down the hill when there are good runs nearby with less potential for slides.

Carrying ones personal risk level into the crowded sidecountry should come with some consideration of other skiers and boarders.

They were not called idiots, but...

April fools? Most sointently, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

The action depicted in the video is within my comfort zone. Hard to say if they knew what they were getting into without talking to them about it. Standing by to offer assistance was the polite and neighborly thing to do. Calling them out as fools on the internet was not.

Where are they being called out as fools?

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Kudos to Chuck and co. for being good guys. I wouldn't have been nearly as charitable!

Chuck, Is your thread titled "April fools..." because this took place on April 1 or were you suggesting that the subjects of your vid were fools on Table Mt? Or something else?

Hills, lighten up...

Is the rider in the video a fool? Sometimes...

That slide was within my comfort zone and my partner and I had a very clear discussion about what we saw going on around us before we dropped in. We had a plan of what to do if somthing popped which was pretty much in line with what happened.

We both trust each other's riding and avalanche rescue abilities and we are both more risk tolerant than average.

Thank you for sticking around to keep an eye on us, that's a luxury that I don't ever count on and you would have been putting yourself at risk to come check on us had anyone else come down after us.

If anyone cares I can go through in detail what was going through my head and what we did before dropping in. I typed it all out once but then lost it before I had a chance to post it.

^This is excellent. I don't need a play by play. Others might but it seems like a trip down the rabbit hole. Well played.

good post and video chuck, and great reply Jason.

Doesn't look so bad to me either. good line of sight, low consequence, and well managed. Looks like you where expecting it to slide, and I don't see anybody below you? I'd imagine riders 3 and 4 only left to find a better line, not because of danger?

not sure if it was the same at table, but there was a brief clearing in between storms on sat and sun... maybe a small layer of hoar in there? it was VERY reactive in our location near stevens.. and mostly gone by monday, but we heard a HUGE whoomph on top of nason ridge.

It was a tongue in cheek call out of april fools on april fools day.
Jason, no offense intended. I'm sometimes foolish as well.

It was a cool (and free) calibrating moment, to make an assessment and see it come true. For us, that assessment told me to dial it back a bit on a lesser line, and standy by at the bottom. For Jason, they knew and tested themselves in a place with a safer, known runout. It was a decent amount of snow moving fast and pretty far but there were no trees or traps in its path.

I showed this to some of my more intense buddies. They kind of laughed it off, having intended similar actions, "just moving some snow around, controlling Herman...". These guys did commit hard and ride clear of the moving snow. Got to respect that. If snow is moving, even moderately, you need to pedal down and get the hell into your safe spot. It is an essential skill/instinct to have.

Jason, its worth noting that while you were clearly outrunning the snow thru the chute, it really sped up to atleast equal your speed. Its seems the upper, earlier released snow crashes like a fast wave over the just breaking snow. I'd say you didn't outrun it as much as ride strong right out of the path. Well done.

More than anything else, I thought my luck in capturing the fracturing steps in image was pretty cool and worth sharing.

Here are some cleaned up stills:






I'm happy some enjoyed looking. I'm more happy Jason and friend nailed it.

Hey Chuck, no offense taken and you were a lot more gentle than some of my more conservative friends. It's been a hard season for avalanche deaths and I think everyone is more careful about it now.

I think your pictures are fascinating to see. To see the way that the crown line propogated, to see the way the slab wrinkled up, and to see the relative size of the mass of moving snow compared to me.

When we got to our high point our intention was to ride Heart Shaped Box, the pocket two ridges to the looker's right, closest to the end of the Nose on this side, but changed to the one that we did because we suspected it would move and thought that the run out was easier to manage on the line that we took. Looking at your pictures makes me think the line we rode was the better of the two (not that I'd recommend anyone go swimming in such sharky waters...).

I agree that I did not outrun the slide, instead I kept my speed up and didn't slow down when it first started to move. Once it was up to speed it was easily as fast as I was but by then I was already moving across the fall line. If I had picked a more open face that didn't limit the propagation across the face and didn't have the opportunity to move out of the slide path I doubt that I would have been as successful in evading it.

Tongue in cheek is hard to read sometimes. Occasionally a "look at these stupid idiots" thread pops up. Lame every time.

So glad this wasn't one of those times.

Stay safe everybody.