Nov 5, 2005, Baker-Pan Dome
11/5/05
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
4331
9
Winter sure has arrived at Baker...couldn't believe how deep it was up there. Lots of familiar TAY faces in the parking lot.
Our excitement for the day received a good dose of reality when we ran into our friend Kris who'd just skied back to the parking lot...his buddies had just witnessed another party trigger an 18" slab release near the Blueberry Chutes area (I think I'm getting my Baker geography correct, its just past the bc gate on the blueberry cat track facing the ski area parking lot)...first skier/boarder made it down okay, second caused the fracture and was buried...lots of folks actively searching. Heard shortly thereafter that he was found and alive.
Tons of people out....the backcountry skiers had invaded the ski area. After one run on Austin we went back to Pan Dome and skied down North Face, hardly any tracks over there yet. Stayed off the steeper aspects cause our tap test pits were showing a barely discernable layer about 12-18" down that slid on our third tap from the elbow. The top 6" failed within the first few taps from the wrist.
After our second lap on North Face, a gaggle of boarders came down, they hit the steeper pitch and sure enough released a 12" slab...no one caught up in the release and the slab didn't travel far at all...but still another good reminder about convex shape rollovers.
Finished the day skiing down Pan Face...folks had been busy over here...the run looked like it does on a day the resort is open, fresh tracks were hard to find.
A good day out playing in the snow, just really unfortunate that someone got caught in a slide. Be safe out there.
here's a picture of becky realizing that having a bad knee and being stuck on randonee gear instead of tele's isn't so bad afterall.
picture of the crown and sidewalls of the avy:
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/515/125slab_release.jpg
kind of hard to see...the sidewall of the release can be seen as a line connecting the two clumps of trees and the crown is a faint M shaped fracture where the slope rolls over
Our excitement for the day received a good dose of reality when we ran into our friend Kris who'd just skied back to the parking lot...his buddies had just witnessed another party trigger an 18" slab release near the Blueberry Chutes area (I think I'm getting my Baker geography correct, its just past the bc gate on the blueberry cat track facing the ski area parking lot)...first skier/boarder made it down okay, second caused the fracture and was buried...lots of folks actively searching. Heard shortly thereafter that he was found and alive.
Tons of people out....the backcountry skiers had invaded the ski area. After one run on Austin we went back to Pan Dome and skied down North Face, hardly any tracks over there yet. Stayed off the steeper aspects cause our tap test pits were showing a barely discernable layer about 12-18" down that slid on our third tap from the elbow. The top 6" failed within the first few taps from the wrist.
After our second lap on North Face, a gaggle of boarders came down, they hit the steeper pitch and sure enough released a 12" slab...no one caught up in the release and the slab didn't travel far at all...but still another good reminder about convex shape rollovers.
Finished the day skiing down Pan Face...folks had been busy over here...the run looked like it does on a day the resort is open, fresh tracks were hard to find.
A good day out playing in the snow, just really unfortunate that someone got caught in a slide. Be safe out there.
here's a picture of becky realizing that having a bad knee and being stuck on randonee gear instead of tele's isn't so bad afterall.
picture of the crown and sidewalls of the avy:
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/515/125slab_release.jpg
kind of hard to see...the sidewall of the release can be seen as a line connecting the two clumps of trees and the crown is a faint M shaped fracture where the slope rolls over
Is Blueberry Chutes over the back side, out of bounds, near the top of the Blueberry cat track? I was there in the chutes amidst the trees on Friday the 4th with minimal soft powder sloughing in the top few inches. It didn't appear to be dangerous there. There was no wind loading or slabbing in that sheltered location. I'm surprised to see that with only a few more inches on top of what I was on there was such a release. Maybe the location was a little different, or maybe I should count my blessings. Thanks for the report!
-Dan
-Dan
The slide was just outside of the backcountry gate off the Blueberry cat track. We were stopped on our way up the cat track by a patroller asking us to stay in-bounds and telling us about the burial (and happily, the recovery). We asked about what they had been doing in-bounds with regards to snow stability and control - and the reply was 'nothing' -- so, the whole ski area is effectively backcountry right now (except that after the hoards there on Saturday big chunks of potentially dangerous terrain was completely skied out).
Kris, Phuong, and I arrived on the scene shortly after the avalanche occurred. We did not witness the avalanche or the burial. We were informed of the burial by other skiers in the area. Kris skied down to the parking lot to get assistance from Mt. Baker Ski Patrol.
Phuong and I worked our way down to the burial site. The victim had been located using avalanche transceivers and probes, and was unburied by the time I arrived at the scene. Two of the victims friends were on the scene along with two other skiers, who did not know the victim. The victim had reportedly lost consciousness during the burial, and regained consciousness shortly after being uncovered. He had been buried by approximately 3-5 feet of dry snow, and was against a small tree. Im not certain how long he had been buried, but I would estimate between 5-10 minutes.
We worked together to keep him warm until Mt. Baker Ski Patrol showed up with the snow-cat. We wrapped him in puffy coats, extra fleece layers, and spare dry hats and gloves. Many of us had emergency warming pads, which helped to warm his hands, chest, and head. One of the victims friends huddled with him to share body heat.
The victim remembered the incident. He recalled sliding head first in the slide, and then struggling to force snow away from his face for an air pocket. The victim slid for approximately 20 meters before coming to a stop.
Photos are available at the following website (I adjusted brightness and contrast on these images for the purpose of highlighting the crown face):
http://pcat.smugmug.com/gallery/945041
Phuong and I worked our way down to the burial site. The victim had been located using avalanche transceivers and probes, and was unburied by the time I arrived at the scene. Two of the victims friends were on the scene along with two other skiers, who did not know the victim. The victim had reportedly lost consciousness during the burial, and regained consciousness shortly after being uncovered. He had been buried by approximately 3-5 feet of dry snow, and was against a small tree. Im not certain how long he had been buried, but I would estimate between 5-10 minutes.
We worked together to keep him warm until Mt. Baker Ski Patrol showed up with the snow-cat. We wrapped him in puffy coats, extra fleece layers, and spare dry hats and gloves. Many of us had emergency warming pads, which helped to warm his hands, chest, and head. One of the victims friends huddled with him to share body heat.
The victim remembered the incident. He recalled sliding head first in the slide, and then struggling to force snow away from his face for an air pocket. The victim slid for approximately 20 meters before coming to a stop.
Photos are available at the following website (I adjusted brightness and contrast on these images for the purpose of highlighting the crown face):
http://pcat.smugmug.com/gallery/945041
whoa, when I heard "Table Mountain" I thought you'd have to be an idiot to hit Table in these conditions. However this little release, nowhere near Table, would have caught me by surprise too. Good lesson that nothing can be considered safe, under 5 feet of fresh...
Good lesson that nothing can be considered safe, under 5 feet of fresh...
I dunno about this. I skied lots of little 40 degree slopes today, alone and without fear (though not without caution). As I recollect, the rollover in the photo is about 45 degrees steepness: maybe even steeper early in the season when the slope isn't filled in. That alone is enough to give pause....even if you didn't know that there was an avalanche fatality very near there a couple of years ago, and another just up the hill. Both were on small slopes similar to the one in the photo.
I was out on Sat. morning with a friend; we were up the Blueberry cat-track just a short ways before we heard of the slide. Me and another person used our radios to get in touch with ski patrol. I was a little amazed at the rumor mill about this slide--there were reports of a broken femur, that he had been buried 15-20 minutes, etc. I was glad to hear he made it out all right.
After all that excitement, we went on to have a heck of weekend skiing off of Pan-Dome. Nothing new to report on the ridiculous conditions. All in all, I have to say the snowpack seemed generally stable considering how much snow has fallen.
After all that excitement, we went on to have a heck of weekend skiing off of Pan-Dome. Nothing new to report on the ridiculous conditions. All in all, I have to say the snowpack seemed generally stable considering how much snow has fallen.
I dunno about this. I skied lots of little 40 degree slopes today, alone and without fear (though not without caution). As I recollect, the rollover in the photo is about 45 degrees steepness: maybe even steeper early in the season when the slope isn't filled in. That alone is enough to give pause....even if you didn't know that there was an avalanche fatality very near there a couple of years ago, and another just up the hill. Both were on small slopes similar to the one in the photo.
I agree that most of the time you can find a 'safe' line to ride/ski but I suspect few people are good at choosing them. For example, this slide was near to cheap date just before Blueberry chutes, it's about 35 degree slope and prone to small slides. It's no where near 45 degress and if it were it might have been safer. Skiing without fear isn't skiing without danger. Have a safe year.
...it's about 35 degree slope and prone to small slides. It's no where near 45 degress...
Mmmm, ok. I measure the steepest feature large enough to slide, and I remember this rollover at 45 degrees. Of course, the slope as a whole is less steep. I'll check next time I'm up.
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