After a crazy April of big snow, reawakening deep-slab instabilities, and the much publicized fatalities up on Loveland and Vail Passes, it looks like our “jan’vril” (as a buddy in La Grave has been calling it) might finally mellow out and go all spring on us. Fireweather shows almost no snowfall for the remainder of April, for what it’s worth.
By now you’ve probably read at least a bit on the Loveland Pass tragedy. Plenty has been written, much of it exaggerated and inaccurate, but there’s a good comment string going over at WildSnow.com, Lou Dawson’s site. Folks have been pretty respectful for the most part, unlike several other venues frequented by less experienced and less thoughtful types. Good on ya, Lou, for moderating a productive discussion.
I’m curious to see the final CAIC report. I’ve been in the Sheep Creek drainage, where the accident occurred, only once, and not to ski. I was digging a pit to pad my resume for my AIARE 3, and I’m sure I could dig up that notebook to look at the slope angle and all that…but I’d rather wait to see the CAIC’s profile and info.
I think lots of people, certainly me included, have put some serious thought into this one. Rick Gaukel was a good friend, ski partner, and colleague to several of my closest buds. Ian Lamphere I’d corresponded with several times (he imported Gecko skins) and friends in the Butte were tight with him. People whose opinions I trust have said neither guy was reckless or an excessive risk taker. That said, some of the journalism going around has exaggerated the group’s experience, much as journalists did in the first days after the infamous Tunnel Creek slide. (For a better analysis of the Tunnel Creek accident, check out THIS PIECE.)
Anyway, the spring warm up is here and things could get rowdy again, as free water starts percolating in the snowpack and that ugly dust starts soaking up the sun. As they say in AIARE 1 courses–unusual weather (or winters or storms) produces unusual avalanches. It’s been a crazy year, with an extremely dry early season and an extremely wet April. If we’re faced with unusual avalanches that means were less certain about what’s going on in the snowpack. How to manage uncertainty? Easy–I’ve been assuming I’m less certain about snowpack conditions and therefore increasing my margin for error. In concrete terms that means taking a little less aggressive line, or the lower angle slope, or putting a bit more distance between myself and the hazard, whatever that may be: cornices, run-out zones, anything that threatens.
The people I respect most in the avy game have been really thinking on the Loveland disaster. (It strikes me as I write this, you don’t see them posting on the forums–remarkable.) Seems like now is a time for respect for the guys who died and appropriate reflection on the accident itself. That means some kind of discussion, whether it’s online, with buddies, or just within ourselves. Did we “get away with it” this winter, make the right calls, or what? Would we have skied Sheep Creek that day? In that way? Only we know the deep-down, dark answers to many of these questions. I know I’ve looked back on a few decisions this season and revisited them…without the warmest, fuzziest feeling, to be honest.
OK, whatever the case, however your discussion goes…the big spring warm up is upon us. Watch the creeks for run off, read the bulletin, ski with your A-list partners, and make it to climbing season with another safe year behind you. I’ll try to do the same. Rest in peace, Rick, Ian, and the rest of you. Sorry I won’t get a ski day with you guys this time around.
