Great first day backcountry today–knee deep in places up in Current Creek and great conditions. Still some shallow, buried objects to avoid, though. We skied lower-angle trees and the Upper 110s, then bailed before noon and beat the traffic home. Phew!
Surfing tonight I noticed a link on MountainProject.com, something about an avalanche. I clicked through and found THIS VIDEO, shot with a POV cam by a young charger. Now, before we condemn this kid to ridicule, he had the stones to post his vid and the good sense to own up to his mistake. Most of us Coloradans who grew up ducking ropes probably pulled similar stunts a few times in our younger days. Kudos to this guy for recognizing his goof. His written account of the incident is posted HERE on the TGR forum.
Anyway, it’s been a great early season from a snowfall perspective, but a bit alarming when it comes to avalanche safety. The ski patrol director at Wolf Creek was killed November 22, doing control work alone in-bounds, while a Loveland patroller died in Dry Gulch just last week. Utah had its first fatality November 26–a snowmobiler. Damn, folks, play safe, eh?! As Captain Yossarian might say, “Anything worth dying for…is probably worth living for, too.”
If you haven’t done an AIARE Level-1 avalanche course–do it! Practice with your beacon, consider an airbag, learn to recognize avy terrain, and ski with sane/safe buddies. And smile lots–just like today!
