Skier-triggered avalanche accident in Airplane Gully, Mount Washington
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- čas přidán 11. 12. 2023
- Thanks to the skiers involved in this incident for their honesty, openness, and for letting us share their video for educational and awareness purposes. They are OK and we wish them a quick recovery.
Access the full report on our website here: www.mountwashingtonavalanchec...
*Accident Summary*
At about 11:30am on Saturday, December 9th, a backcountry skier triggered an avalanche while descending Airplane Gully in the Great Gulf Wilderness. The skier was caught, carried, and not buried, but they sustained serious injuries during the fall. The skier's partner and a bystander were able to effectively provide assistance and first aid until rescue services arrived. The current General Avalanche Information from the Mount Washington Avalanche Center (MWAC) for December 9th warned of “isolated areas of unstable snow at middle and upper elevations which could avalanche from the weight of a person.” - Věda a technologie
Reading some of the comments below, and then the full accident report (linked above) reminds me that we should not rush to judgement. These were hardly reckless cowboys.
No matter how careful you are, it can always rip out. Plenty of experienced people have been taken out. Parks are much safer.
dude it's in new england. soft core.
@@dawntreader7079that can kill ya still.
soft core? tell that to the 15 people have died in avalanches on Mt Washington. bonehead @@dawntreader7079
@@dawntreader7079That just shows how little you actually know about that area and the Whites in general. Do a little research before you write such nonsense. We just had a triple crowner freeze to death here a couple of weeks ago and it’s happened in June because people take this place for granted.
Wishing you well. Thanks for posting. The wind-slab was sort of hidden on that little shoulder of rock. For those who don't know, if you want to ski, you need to get out there and test and knowing where to look for instability comes with many years of experience and slope feedback based on the day. I'm sure on retrospect some decisions might have been different. On this instant feedback day, we all get to learn a lot. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of another's injuries. This video shows perfectly where the danger is lurking. In a high consequence area, that type of avalanche is certain death. In the east, so long as no terrain trap, a burial is less likely. Far more likely to experience trauma from hitting rocks and or shrubs. Perhaps lucky to get out with just a tib-fib. Best of luck and hope to see you out there again after you heal.
Well said and the best comment for sure, it takes years to identify the ever changing dangers of snow loads. His three pumps on the ski cut were hardly enough to determine safety, then he went for the land mine. Best wishes for recovery and be patient when dropping new stuff and know when to hit the gas or pull high and safe.
Great comment. For those who ski cut a lot, that rock outcropping at the top is a classic sweet spot on the slope and it should have been ski cut at the top and at that rock. Looking at it from the beginning, I would have guessed it would release at that rock before the upper zone where he did the cut. The tension created from the rock is pretty typical release for wind slabs.
hidden? lol
Its always the isolated wind pockets, best wishes healing up.
Per the report: "While being carried in the avalanche, Skier 1’s binding did not release, causing an open fracture of the tibia and fibula."
Lucky to be alive but damn that must've been a shitty rest of the day...
An open fracture at that. Serious shock and trauma. Musta been the longest 4 hours of his and companions lives. They knew what to do and followed protocol to the letter though. Kuddos to all.
I've suffered a similar injury years ago. (non skiing) Long healing, you're never the same.
@@forbiddenfruit.garden4672not the technical term anymore…it’s an open fracture
Thirty two years ago I found a man with a compound fracture at the bottom of the bowl. He was an orthopedic surgeon so he knew the seriousness of his injuries. The bone was sticking through his ski pants. His friend was also a MD. A snow ranger, my friend and a few others helped us carry him down off the bowl to the hut. It took much longer than I thought it would. He was a big man. At first he was conscious and telling us what to do which was good since I know nothing and he was an MD, then he went into shock and he was dead quit. Getting hurt in the backcountry is serious. I don’t remember his name and I never heard how things went. This is pre cell phones or email. Be careful out there, things can and do happen.
Depth hoar / basal facets can be a factor with early season /shallow snowpack i believe. hoping for a fast recovery.
Looking at the video, a pit dug above the fracture might not have revealed the weak layer below where it broke. That’s one of the problems in determining whether or not the snow is safe to ski. I have found this in several runs on Mount Washington especially in the Tuckerman Ravine area. You just hit this small patch of wind blown snow and it slides while just a few feet above or below is fine. Hope he has a quick recovery
What a wild thing to say. A pit dug above the fracture most definitely would have "revealed the weak layer below where it broke." It is the same aspect, elevation, slope angle, and only a few feet away. The snow would be the same. This is not a "small patch of windblown snow" it is a foot-thick wind slab.
Pockets of instability are exactly what is created from wind drifts, pillows, etc... Spacial Varability is why digging pits should be one of the LAST things you do as part of your tool kit.
@@demetri4634 Maybe not because of Spacial Variablity. He hit the sweet spot. I have had a day where we shot six 105 howitzer shots on a slope and it did not go. We then threw 1 double hand charge and the slope slid with a 10+ foot crown. We hit the sweet spot with the hand charge.
His ski technique looked extremely solid to me - too bad he won't be doing that again this season....
As someone who has done a fair bit if backcountry in Montana and British Columbia and taken rides myself. I have learned alot. Also got to ski with really good Canadian guides. Bottom line is its always about terrain. I don't care what the forecast is. If u are in a steep gully aka terrain trap there is always a chance of windslab at the top. Ski cut the slope and enter with extreme caution.
truth is you just never know when it's going to slide. you can do all the tests and give yourself a better chance, but you just never know.
I agree, even after conducting ict/ect, checking avy activity/hx, windloading etc.
But our gut reaction is the deciding factor of probability. "Any Doubt Take Another Route"
I disagree! Test are not a Go/No Go decision and they should be just one (minor one) of the tools used to determine Avalanche issues. All of the class one data is way more important then instability tests. Anyone who does a lot of ski cutting would also know the first cut was fine, but the slope also needed to be ski cut at the rock as that would be the likely sweet spot on that slope. There should have been two cuts. I know it sounds like MMQB stuff but there is a lot to learn from this incident and thankfully no one was hurt.
@@angusmcdugal1he was hurt.
@@bencashman1017 That is a shame. I hope he recovers quickly.
This type of skiing is like bull riding, it not if you are going to get hurt, it is when and how bad! Lots of risk factors
It’s easy to take for granted thinking the eastern mountains are safer than the west.
Anyone know what type/model of binding the skier had? I didn't see it in the report.
Dim must have been too tight.
@@tylersmith4265 You rather dont have a release if you do steep couloirs. Since if you fall the slide might very well be deadly, but if you still have your skis on you can maybe stop yourself. Its a serious consideration becausee it can fuck your knee or leg up.
Is he ok?
The description says yes. The report says they broke their tibia and fibula
He was airlifted out about 4 hours later. Should be out of the hospital soon if he isn't already
How are you guys getting up and down the peak without chairlifts? Thats a rough hike back up after a quick ride
A skiier has to hike up to the top. You can see in the video that the skier has a big backpack on. It has all their hiking equipment in it.
"Slope Angle: 40 degrees" So > 30 degrees, exposed, unblasted. Yep, expect that to slide.
Gotta lower those dins
Good point---it appears to me he's on touring bindings, many of which do not have reliable release performance , and generally are higher risk for non-release than alpine bindings.
I know that many skiers lock the toe piece in "no fall" terrain thinking that the decreased risk of prerelease causing a fall is worth the increased risk of non-release during a fall.
I didn't see whether that was the case here, but I'll take the lesson to think twice about that. And then maybe thrice whether I should be there unroped.
GoPro didn't go black so hopefully skier wasn't buried.
🙏 "Promo SM"
Every time I don‘t ski down a wind pocket leading into a gully under high-avalanche risk conditions this doesn’t happen to me.
This is an underrated comment and underrated way to frame the risk. There are so many cognitive biases at work in which a typical skier consciously or unconsciously seeks to confirm why it’s ok to ski a slope, rather than why not it’s not. I’ve seen some of the most seasoned avalanche country travelers rationalize why it’s ok to commit to the slope just because deep down they are jonesing to dip into the pow. Such biases in my opinion are the most hazardous aspects of travel through avie country.
I wouldn't ride with those people, zero knowledge in avalanche safety.
no airbag pull. hopefully buddy had a beacon and knew to set it to transmit.
Beacons are already in transmit mode. It's search mode that your rescuers need to switch over to when this happens.
He wasn’t buried per description
It's not common practice anywhere to travel with an avy bag and not have a trained group with beacons. Avy bags are luxuries and don't help in this type of avalanche (too shallow to bury) anyway.