June 4, 2011, Mt. Ellinor, Avy Accident
6/4/11
WA Cascades East Slopes North
5407
9
Posting this accident summary as a heads up for people... conditions out there are touchy. This is an eye witness summary of a skier triggered avalanche in which I was not directly involved.
I hiked Mt. Ellinor in the Olympics with my girlfriend today; came close to bringing the skis, but didn't think conditions would be worthwhile. Got a late start, hit the lower trailhead around 1230 at moderate pace; probably reached summit around 1600. Passed many descending parties on the way up (all hikers). After breaking out of woods and preparing to ascend main gulley to summit saddle, saw evidence of wet slide activity off of rocks on the lookers left of the chute; must have been quite recent, as heard descending parties say "I don't remember that there when we went up". After eyeballing the chute for signs of other stuff that could come down, decided bootpack up the right side should be ok. Noted snow was quite granular/wet/unconsolidated, must have seen some recent fresh (as per the NWAC statement).
On reaching summit saddle, took a lunch break, and as we prepared to boot the last bit, saw a party of two skiers on the summit the last hundred feet above. Met the couple (never did get their names, may as well be anonymous for the purposes of this summary, anyhow) about half way up to the summit at the entrance to a steep, NNW facing couloir dropping down to Brown's Hike Lake. The gentleman indicated he planned to ski the line and then boot back up. This is the point where I feel I made a mistake by remarking that the line was indeed aesthetic, as opposed to querying him if he'd read the NWAC special statement.
The gentleman waited for his partner to get her camera set up at the lip; I was curious to see the descent, so took a position about 60ft up slope on the roll into the couloir so I could observe the run, and remarked that I'd spot him. Once everything was set, he dropped in taking a shallow line to the left, and immediately triggered a small slough. He made his first turn back to the right, at which point I had a bad feeling, as the initially small slough was accelerating and gaining size, and he was about to ski right under it. I yelled to watch out for the slough, but right then it caught him and swept him off his feet. I initially thought he might get out to the side or catch himself, but he didn't have whippets or an axe out and the chute was devoid of anything to catch on. I'd estimate the angle of the slope as a consistent 45+ degrees, and the slough had become a full blown loose wet avalanche, quickly gaining speed and taking about a 30-40ft wide swath of the unconsolidated surface snow down with it. The skier's actual partner had no line of sight after the first 5 seconds, but I had a good view and watched in mild shock as the victim was carried downhill. Both skis released, he'd ditched his poles, and I observed him swimming to stay on top. At the bottom of the chute, however, the terrain on the right side of the chute steeply rolled off, and the slide and victim went airborne for a stretch that he later described as about 20 ft. Victim was periodically below the surface at this point and there was quite a bit of snow moving. After about 1000ft of vertical, the couloir empties onto a more moderately sloped bench and the fall line turns left. I regained sight of the victim on the surface, and he seemed to have been ejected out the side of the slide path on the right, and the bulk of the snow continued moving down below him.
The victim and his partner both had radios, and I was hoping to hear a call from the bottom as I eyeballed the chute for hangfire and considered where I could descend safely if he was injured. I kept my eye on him at the bottom and observed some movement, and about 25 seconds later he established radio contact and stated that he was ok and uninjured. His partner was pretty freaked out and was concerned about entering the chute unnecessarily, and via radio he conveyed his intent to look for his equipment and then boot back out. After a search, he recovered all but one ski, and then booted back up the 1200ft of bed surface to the entrance where I waited with his partner. He was quite shaken, but unharmed. I briefly discussed his perceptions of the incident with him, and he stated that he was simply taken by surprise at how quickly his slough grew and dropped down on him. After being reassured that he was ok, my girlfriend and I descended back down via the well set glissades.
Some self critique: I should have asked the gentleman if he'd seen the NWAC statement, and voiced concern about the stability of the slope... given the conditions on everything else, there was every reason to be concerned about stability, and yet I didn't raise the point before he dropped in. As another point, my girlfriend asked before we left the house whether bringing transceivers was a good idea. I'd read the NWAC statement and elected in part not to ski on that basis, though perhaps more because I figured the skiing wouldn't be any good. Given that I left a shovel and probe in my pack, anyway, perhaps carrying beacons would've been a smart move... it's not that heavy.
Anyhow, moral of the story is NWAC isn't kidding... this unconsolidated junk is dangerous, and mistakes have consequences (luckily in this case it was merely a lost ski!). Be safe out there, and think twice before you drop in.
I hiked Mt. Ellinor in the Olympics with my girlfriend today; came close to bringing the skis, but didn't think conditions would be worthwhile. Got a late start, hit the lower trailhead around 1230 at moderate pace; probably reached summit around 1600. Passed many descending parties on the way up (all hikers). After breaking out of woods and preparing to ascend main gulley to summit saddle, saw evidence of wet slide activity off of rocks on the lookers left of the chute; must have been quite recent, as heard descending parties say "I don't remember that there when we went up". After eyeballing the chute for signs of other stuff that could come down, decided bootpack up the right side should be ok. Noted snow was quite granular/wet/unconsolidated, must have seen some recent fresh (as per the NWAC statement).
On reaching summit saddle, took a lunch break, and as we prepared to boot the last bit, saw a party of two skiers on the summit the last hundred feet above. Met the couple (never did get their names, may as well be anonymous for the purposes of this summary, anyhow) about half way up to the summit at the entrance to a steep, NNW facing couloir dropping down to Brown's Hike Lake. The gentleman indicated he planned to ski the line and then boot back up. This is the point where I feel I made a mistake by remarking that the line was indeed aesthetic, as opposed to querying him if he'd read the NWAC special statement.
The gentleman waited for his partner to get her camera set up at the lip; I was curious to see the descent, so took a position about 60ft up slope on the roll into the couloir so I could observe the run, and remarked that I'd spot him. Once everything was set, he dropped in taking a shallow line to the left, and immediately triggered a small slough. He made his first turn back to the right, at which point I had a bad feeling, as the initially small slough was accelerating and gaining size, and he was about to ski right under it. I yelled to watch out for the slough, but right then it caught him and swept him off his feet. I initially thought he might get out to the side or catch himself, but he didn't have whippets or an axe out and the chute was devoid of anything to catch on. I'd estimate the angle of the slope as a consistent 45+ degrees, and the slough had become a full blown loose wet avalanche, quickly gaining speed and taking about a 30-40ft wide swath of the unconsolidated surface snow down with it. The skier's actual partner had no line of sight after the first 5 seconds, but I had a good view and watched in mild shock as the victim was carried downhill. Both skis released, he'd ditched his poles, and I observed him swimming to stay on top. At the bottom of the chute, however, the terrain on the right side of the chute steeply rolled off, and the slide and victim went airborne for a stretch that he later described as about 20 ft. Victim was periodically below the surface at this point and there was quite a bit of snow moving. After about 1000ft of vertical, the couloir empties onto a more moderately sloped bench and the fall line turns left. I regained sight of the victim on the surface, and he seemed to have been ejected out the side of the slide path on the right, and the bulk of the snow continued moving down below him.
The victim and his partner both had radios, and I was hoping to hear a call from the bottom as I eyeballed the chute for hangfire and considered where I could descend safely if he was injured. I kept my eye on him at the bottom and observed some movement, and about 25 seconds later he established radio contact and stated that he was ok and uninjured. His partner was pretty freaked out and was concerned about entering the chute unnecessarily, and via radio he conveyed his intent to look for his equipment and then boot back out. After a search, he recovered all but one ski, and then booted back up the 1200ft of bed surface to the entrance where I waited with his partner. He was quite shaken, but unharmed. I briefly discussed his perceptions of the incident with him, and he stated that he was simply taken by surprise at how quickly his slough grew and dropped down on him. After being reassured that he was ok, my girlfriend and I descended back down via the well set glissades.
Some self critique: I should have asked the gentleman if he'd seen the NWAC statement, and voiced concern about the stability of the slope... given the conditions on everything else, there was every reason to be concerned about stability, and yet I didn't raise the point before he dropped in. As another point, my girlfriend asked before we left the house whether bringing transceivers was a good idea. I'd read the NWAC statement and elected in part not to ski on that basis, though perhaps more because I figured the skiing wouldn't be any good. Given that I left a shovel and probe in my pack, anyway, perhaps carrying beacons would've been a smart move... it's not that heavy.
Anyhow, moral of the story is NWAC isn't kidding... this unconsolidated junk is dangerous, and mistakes have consequences (luckily in this case it was merely a lost ski!). Be safe out there, and think twice before you drop in.
Thanks for sharing this Andy -- must have been a terrifying ride for that guy, glad he made it through unscathed to learn from it.
Andy, you did nothing wrong in not discussing the NWAC info.
Wow. I skied Mt. Townsend today, and saw a big one on a NNE aspect of the ridge E of Iron Mountain as I booted up the gullies above Camp Windy. On the ride down there were consistent small sluffs, nothing big, but I made sure I kept turning AWAY from them until they had stopped.
It looked like the S slopes had slide activity the past couple of days; now it's the other aspects.
Thanks for the warning.
It looked like the S slopes had slide activity the past couple of days; now it's the other aspects.
Thanks for the warning.
author=andybrnr link=topic=21046.msg89963#msg89963 date=1307295088]
I was curious to see the descent, so took a position about 60ft up slope on the roll into the couloir so I could observe the run, and remarked that I'd spot him. Once everything was set, he dropped in taking a shallow line to the left, and immediately triggered a small slough. He made his first turn back to the right, at which point I had a bad feeling, as the initially small slough was accelerating and gaining size, and he was about to ski right under it. I yelled to watch out for the slough, but right then it caught him and swept him off his feet...
The skier should have ski-cut the slope near the top before making any turns. Stop and wait to observe the results of the cut. If the cut fails to release anything, try it again just a bit lower. Never link turns until you've proven that ski cutting won't release the slope. Once you start linking turns, stop above any steeper sections and ski-cut again. Also, beware of kicking off big snowballs that can sneak up on you from behind.
From what you've described it sounds like this accident could have been avoided (and the slope probably could have been skied safely) if the skier had done some conscientious ski cutting rather than just plunging into the couloir. Usually, once you have cut the slope, the bed surface that is exposed by the resulting slide is safe to ski. (It's also a lot better skiing than the slope would have been with all that soggy snow still on it.)
Besides common sense, I consider ski cutting the spring skier's best friend.
Lowell,
Agree. On the walk back to the car as I was thinking "what would I have done differently", ski cutting the top of the chute two or three times came to mind. It also struck me as a situation in which , if done quickly at the outset, a Whippet into the bed surface could've arrested the slide (if he'd been skiing with them)... after the first second, there was probably too much snow moving, but it was initially shallow enough and the bed firm enough, that I think it would've worked. Grateful I wasn't in the position of testing that hypothesis, though.
Agree. On the walk back to the car as I was thinking "what would I have done differently", ski cutting the top of the chute two or three times came to mind. It also struck me as a situation in which , if done quickly at the outset, a Whippet into the bed surface could've arrested the slide (if he'd been skiing with them)... after the first second, there was probably too much snow moving, but it was initially shallow enough and the bed firm enough, that I think it would've worked. Grateful I wasn't in the position of testing that hypothesis, though.
Here are a few thoughts about ski cutting in spring snow. If anyone has different or additional ideas, I'd love to hear them.
- The ideal place for a ski-cut is at a roll-over, where the slope angle increases. If you cut right along the roll, you maximize the chance of releasing the slope below, while minimizing the chance of being caught by snow above.
- The most effective cut involves side-slipping the skis. A straight traverse (without skidding the skis) is much less effective at starting a slough. (You want to both slice the snow and push it downward.) Either a forward sideslip or an uphill christie is the best maneuver to try.
- The faster you go and the longer you make your slip, the more likely you'll get snow moving and the wider the slope you'll clear.
- Assuming your goal is to ski the bed surface after making your cut, you should make the cut wide enough so that you won't need to leave the slide path during your descent and you won't be threatened by hang-fire on either side.
- Every member of the party needs to be aware of where every other member of the party is. Make sure that everybody knows when ski cutting will take place, and that they're not threatened by the cut. Bear in mind that ski cuts often run a lot faster and farther than you expect.
I agree with all that you have there Lowell, always good to brush up on that stuff.
I add that having a plan or exit strategy is a good thing. Like ski cutting across to a group of trees or a safety island. Often times the deep isothermal top layer peels away like cutting butter with a hot knife and sometimes it can really slow you down on a cut compared to winter conditions. As many know the rule of thumb on iso snow is 3 inches of penetration can be OK depending on conditions, but when it gets over your boots- buyer beware.
After the snow is cut and runs to the bed layer, while skiing the cut snow bed always looking over your shoulders on turns. I've even have softer bed layers run on me too, but not as deep as the initial ski cut.
If I know I'm coming back out the same way I went in I make sure the swath I ski cut is going to be wide enough for relief. It can suck to skin up a slide path, so often times I end up booting the steeper reaches.
Lastly really focusing that it is possible that the large wet slides can step down to even greater slides like the MLK Persistent weak layer. When the water finally percolates through the snow to that layer things could go off big. The problem is that that layer is hard to predict, other than North facing slopes that would have had little surface effect by the wind and got loaded by transport. Or rock features that promoted fauceting and got loaded too.
I add that having a plan or exit strategy is a good thing. Like ski cutting across to a group of trees or a safety island. Often times the deep isothermal top layer peels away like cutting butter with a hot knife and sometimes it can really slow you down on a cut compared to winter conditions. As many know the rule of thumb on iso snow is 3 inches of penetration can be OK depending on conditions, but when it gets over your boots- buyer beware.
After the snow is cut and runs to the bed layer, while skiing the cut snow bed always looking over your shoulders on turns. I've even have softer bed layers run on me too, but not as deep as the initial ski cut.
If I know I'm coming back out the same way I went in I make sure the swath I ski cut is going to be wide enough for relief. It can suck to skin up a slide path, so often times I end up booting the steeper reaches.
Lastly really focusing that it is possible that the large wet slides can step down to even greater slides like the MLK Persistent weak layer. When the water finally percolates through the snow to that layer things could go off big. The problem is that that layer is hard to predict, other than North facing slopes that would have had little surface effect by the wind and got loaded by transport. Or rock features that promoted fauceting and got loaded too.
Thanks for the report. Glad everything turned out well. This late, deep snowpack needs to settle down.
It's getting crowded in the great outdoors. Be very aware of the possibility of other parties when ski cutting. It is amazing how far spring avalanche debris can travel. It would be very bad form to bury a party of hikers, just so you can safely ski a slope.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: