On paper, whether seen on a map or photograph, the low elevations (~1200 to 1300 meters), rounded summits and broad shoulders of the Cairngorms don’t look all that mighty when compared to other great ranges of the world. The hardy Scots, in their understated ways, refer to the summits as “hills” and visiting climbers are “hill-walkers.” But the gentle appearance of these “hills” belies their true nature as one of the nastiest mountain ranges in the world. Tucked away on their flanks are deep and steep-cut corries (aka cirques) that hold snow, some places year round. To the north and east of the Cairngorms is the mighty North Sea that blows tempests across the exposed summits with as nasty weather as can be experienced anywhere in the world. Weather in the Cairgorms according to renowned Scottish mountain rescue expert Hammish MacInnes is the most dangerous factor for hill walkers, but the combination of steep slopes, snow, weak layers, and walkers sometimes unleashes the avalanche dragon.

The summits of the Cairngorm are as remote as summits can be in Scotland. Access is usually from the north or south. The south side approach is often via Braemar.

Cairngorm Mountains South Side

Just days after Christmas (1964) four young men walked followed the Lui Water to the Derry Lodge, a hunting lodge and home to the head keeper for the Mar Estate. The men were offered use of a brothy (small hut) if they kept it picked up. They readily agreed to the terms. Fresh snow had blanketed the summits on the 27th, but temperatures had stayed mild. By the 29th the weather was improving but it was still mild and muggy in the valleys. Likely skies were overcast as there had been no freeze overnight. After a quick conversation with the head-keeper, who warned them to watch out for the gullies, the four set out to “take a walk up Beinn a’Bhuird.” Their last words, “…we’ll be all right, it’s an easy climb.” Beinn a’Bhuird is the 11th highest of 277 Munro summits in Scotland. (Munro mountains are a list of hills/mountains over 3,000 feet in elevation and named after Sir Hugh Thomas Munro (1856–1919), who published a list of all such summits in the Journal of the Scottish Mountaineering Club for 1891.)

Beinn a'Bhuird from Creag Bhalg

The Accident
The Derry Lodge is a drainage removed from Beinn a’Bhuird, so the group would have had to climb over Beinn Bhreac or retraced their steps back to Mar Lodge. The later seems unlikely but that’s just my guess. Either way they eventually made good time and were starting up the slopes of  Beinn a’Bhuird. But instead of avoiding a gully they climbed right up or across a gully as they aimed toward the South Top of Beinn a’Bhuird. At about 1430 hours they triggered a wet slab avalanche. One man dodged the moving snow, but his three friends were swept down and buried. The debris covered several hundred yards of the gully and he estimated it to be 10-11 feet deep. He searched and shouted for his friends but eventually had to give up, probably because the sun was setting fast. He took careful note of landmarks and left to get help at the Mar Lodge. He reached the lodge at 1750 hours, about two hours after dark. There he called the police station in nearby Braemar.

The Rescue
Back in the mid 1960s there was no formal rescue team in these parts, so the constable contacted his other colleague, and the pair rounded up a few locals who were always willing to help. Fortunately, one man, a farmer had a Land Rover so with six rescuers piled into a Land Rover they sped off into the night. Well, as much as they intended to, in those days a “speedy Land Rover” (especially a heavily loaded one) was an oxymoron. The men were lucky as they were able to drive very close to the bottom of the gully. MacInnes wrote this to be a “most unusual occurrence for Cairngorm rescues” compared to most rescues in the range.

Though having no training in avalanche rescue (or mountain rescue in general) the men thought to bring long bamboo poles to probe the snow. Surrounded by darkness but in the inky glow of their flashlights they started to randomly probe the debris. About 100 yards up from the toe, they found the first man buried under 3 feet of snow. He was dead. By now the stars had disappeared as clouds increased and their fading flashlights only offered a faint glow before going dark, also their frequent calls into the still and dark night went unanswered, they agreed there was no hope of finding anyone else that night. They made a plan to return at first light.

On their way back to the Land Rover they met the local doctor and told him of their effort. He confirmed the death of the one man. It was 0300 when the rescuers arrived back to the Land Rover.

Southwest side of Beinn a'Bhuird, the circle marks the probable area of the avalanche.

After a late night the men returned along with a few more helpers, but it was closer to noon than first light. They likely felt no urgency as they anticipated the day’s grim challenge. The cut of the avalanche looked small on the mountain’s flank. The avalanche spilled into the narrow gully along the Alltan na Beinne, a stream that flows into the Quoich Water. From the cramped Land Rover (even if it was a Station Wagon model) the men slowly and stiff-legged climbed out of the rugged and rough riding off-road vehicle. As they puttered and bantered a temporary moment of quietness startled the men. They heard a yell, a yell for help. Stunned but recovering fast they quickly grabbed their equipment and raced to the debris. They passed the hole of the deceased man found the night before and followed the yells further up the slope. They passed the area where the reporting person had said the victims would have to be. They followed the sound to the top of a small iced-over waterfall. Just above they saw a white hand sticking out of the snow. It was moving!

Buried 22 hours under the snow they found 28-year-old Robert Burnett alive. The avalanche had pulled Burnett’s shirt and jacket up. Snow had melted and refrozen on his chest and back. His hands were bare, shredded and badly frostbitten. He had apparently been picking at the snow with his fingers for many, many hours. Carefully, his rescuers dug him free, loaded him onto a stretcher and carried him back to the Land Rover. He was driven to the Mar Lodge where they met an ambulance. From his hospital bed he criticized his rescuers for abandoning the search even though their flashlights died. Burnett eventually made a full recovery.

A few hours after Burnett was found the last man was located by random probe, 3 to 4 feet under the snow. Again he was detected with a bamboo probe. Sadly, lady luck was not on his side. Buried face down he likely died very soon after the avalanche.

Final Thoughts
The rescuers told MacInnes that they figured Burnett had been unconscious while they searched that night. That’s possible but I suspect another turn of events occurred based on interviews with some other long-time avalanche survivors. Burnett was likely totally buried, but shallowly as he was able to eventually get a hand out. He also likely heard the yells of the rescuers, but I don’t know this for sure. If he did, I am sure he yelled back, a lot. But if he could hear them, why couldn’t they hear Burnett?

The acoustic properties of snow are not unidirectional. What you can hear is all about how much ambient noise there is around the listener. Anyone who has spent time in a snow cave knows how easy it is to hear sounds from the outside. There is very little noise on the inside of a snow cave to mask outside sounds. However, for those on the outside where there are plenty of ambient noises to mask the quiet sounds emanating from under the snow, it can be very difficult and sometimes impossible to hear someone yelling from inside the snow cave unless you’re practically right on top of the snow cave. Also, avalanche survivors buried for any length of time lose track and sense of time. I suspect Burnett struggled and worked for many hours before he was able to get a hand to the surface. Unfortunately this likely occurred after his rescuers had left. By morning, however, he had enlarged his hole to where he could make himself easily heard. Of course he and the rescuers were lucky because the air was still and his voice carried.

No matter how or why Burnett was not heard or missed that night (I agree with MacInnes assessment that the rescue party made the right decision.), a simple but powerful fact remains: Burnett survived! And he survived for 22 hours. Such cases are rare but they do occur. Ten years ago in the US two avalanche victims survived burials of 23 and 24 hours. Two winters ago in Switzerland a solo skier survived a 17-hour burial. From this accident and others like it — no matter if 47 years ago or two years ago — a compelling conclusion can be drawn: no rescue should be abandoned prematurely on the assumption that the victim could not possibly be alive. For even after hours, some victims have been found alive, and no avalanche victim should ever be denied this small chance at life.

By the way, you can read more about this accident in The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters (2003), edited by Hamish MacInnes.

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

Roller balls trigger small wet-loose snow avalanches Coal Bank Pass, Colorado (Photo, Atkins)

Compared to recreational adventurers, rescuers loose flexibility on when and where they must go. While avalanches are always formidable foes for rescuers, wet avalanches – as I wrote a couple of weeks ago – are like an angry swarm of African honey bees. Both angry bees and wet avalanches just keep attacking. I suspect that many folks including rescuers and avalanche professionals misjudge wet avalanches. Rescuers armed with misconstrued confidence could be walking into a dangerous trap.

(Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Extended travel and then a conked-out computer kept me off line for a couple of weeks.)

To most folks from avalanche educators to backcountry adventurers wet snow avalanches are an enigma. Perplexities lead to oversimplification of concepts and actions, or worse, to dismissal or disregard. Avalanche scientists know relatively little about wet snow. The failure and fracture qualities of wet snow are even less understood than in dry snow. For the practitioner wet avalanches are harder to predict and more difficult to trigger. When we know less about something – or face greater uncertainty – we should apply a broader margin of safety to our actions, but sometimes we don’t. Perhaps this is because wet avalanches tend to be smaller (and more numerous) than their dry-snow cousins, so we don’t think of wet avalanches as very dangerous. It’s just a thought.

Rescuers and Flexibility
Recreational backcountry travelers rely on flexibility on when and where they travel. Rescuers loose this flexibility because they have to respond to a specific locale and often right away. Certainly, for a buried or injured avalanche victim their problem is acute and getting worse, and the potential benefit of their rescue will be significant. These circumstances tend to pull rescuers in, which sometimes gets us into trouble. When wet avalanches release naturally they frequently run in clusters and often with little or no apparent change in weather conditions.

With dry avalanches – both naturals and triggered – it’s easy to spot the factors that directly contribute to slides. High intensity snowfall or heavy wind loading are usual culprits. With wet avalanches the contributory factors are often subtle and harder to recognize. An exception is rain on fresh snow, which is usually obvious and easy to spot, but when wet snow is caused by thaw conditions the changes in contributory factors are often indistinct. And may not be even recognizable. A subtle increase in temperature, perhaps by just a degree or two can be too much. A short-timed freeze might be just enough to allow passage or not enough. The old adage “Timing is everything,” describes the situation but fails to provide answers.

Wet snow can make for challenging travel. (Photo, Atkins)

Wet Snow Hazards for Rescuers
Difficult travel  Certainly avalanches can ruin one’s day but so too can just trying to get through wet snow. Heavy packs and weak, wet, unsupportive snow can slow rescuers to a crawl or even bring them to a standstill. Or worse, wreak havoc to one’s knees, especially for skiers. Extra caution is necessary just moving in wet snow Be ready for post holing and submarining skis when off packed trails. In regions with depth hoar be ready for collapses that that can swallow skiers and snowmobiles.

Natural avalanches  When fresh snow warms quickly small rollers and loose releases will occur especially from steep and rocky areas. Once an avalanche runs more are certain to follow. Think African honey bees. Just because there is debris at the bottom of a gully does not mean the gully or slope is “safe,” especially if only a small amount of debris is in the runout zone. Also roller balls or small slides may trigger larger and more destructive slab avalanches. Expect the avalanches to follow the sun starting on the easterly aspects in the morning then going to southerly and westerly aspects by afternoon. North aspects, the last to run may release late int the afternoon or evening.

Gullies, couloirs, and rock faces  Complex, rugged terrain often turns into a shooting gallery when wet avalanches start running. These locales are not the place to be when the snow starts moving.

Small, wet avalanches are dangerous

Numerous wet snow avalanches in the Wind Rivers, Wyoming. The slides may look small from a distance but they are all quite large. (Photo, Atkins)

Most wet avalanches are not very impressive looking, especially when seen from across the valley. But once you get up close you may change your mind. No matter the size, wet avalanches are dangerous. An accident researcher may expound on the differences of being struck by a Mini Cooper, a large Buick (or BMW), or a Mac truck, but if you’re the pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 50-70 kph, you are going to be seriously hurt or killed. The same applies to avalanches.

Corn slab avalanches  While most wet avalanches run naturally, “corn slab” avalanches are triggered. Though relatively rare corn slabs form after several days of significant warmth followed by a light freeze. The snowpack is often composed of large, faceted grains (depth hoar). On the surface the refrozen snow is strong, solid enough to ski on but perhaps not strong enough to walk on. On the outside (pun intended) the snow cover seems reliable, but the freeze was not long or cold enough to refreeze the snowpack. Instead, the shallow, hard crust becomes the slab. My experience has been that large faceted grains or depth hoar are a key ingredient for these avalanches. A similar melt-freeze crust over finer grained snow or even recent snow usually poses little or no avalanche problem.

Rain on winter snow  The combination of fresh snow and rain leads quickly – within minutes to hours – to avalanching. This is a big problem in coastal mountain areas. Prolonged rain can also lead to avalanches, but it seems that rain on older winter snow, say more than 5 days old usually posses little threat as the rain tends to drain through the pack. Sometimes, but not always, even torrential and prodigious rainfall fails to produce avalanches.

Glide snow avalanches  But sometimes prodigious rainfall does result in avalanches and these are often “glide” avalanches where the entire snowpack slides. Tensile cracks form as the entire snow cover – to the ground – pulls apart and slips down slope. The ground may be smooth rock slab or covered by grass, or even bamboo, but it is the amount of free (liquid) water at the ground-snow interface that determines the glide rate and the acceleration. Just because large tensile cracks form does not mean the snow is unstable. Hundreds of kilos of explosives have been detonated in these cracks, which is usually unsuccessful to trigger avalanches. Regarding rain-on-snow events, Washington state-based avalanche forecaster John Stimberis and professor Charley Rubin presented an excellent paper at the 2009 ISSW in Davos. An interesting observation they noticed from one particular path was “extensive buckling and bulging prior to glide avalanche release.” Rain is a big offender but rapid and prolonged thaw conditions can also result in glide avalanches. In Utah’s Wasatch Mountains glide avalanches off smooth rocky slabs are sometimes a serious springtime problem. Even in Colorado glide avalanches have been known to occur from summer snowfields late in July or early August. In these very rare events monsoon rains may pour 10+ cm of rain in an afternoon or night. The rain water drains through the snow until it reaches the hard ice of old firn or ancient glacial ice. There it melts the bonds between the past winter’s snow and firn resulting in significant avalanches.

Slush flow avalanche along Snøheim road in Norway.

Slush flow avalanches  In the high Arctic shallow and weak snow prevails over a frozen ground, but the onset of spring with long days and warm temperatures – intense warm-up or significant rain – can unleash a special beast: slush flows. The rules of slush avalanches are counter to just about everything we know about avalanches. Slush flows occur on very shallow slopes, sometimes as slight as 5 degrees and rarely steeper than 25 degrees. There is no such thing as safe travel when slush flows are possible. The slurry-like mixture of snow, ice, water, soil and rock flows just about anywhere and everywhere and are just as destructive as the biggest and most powerful dry-snow avalanches. All travelers and rescuers can do is wait until temperatures turn cold, refreezing the snow-water concoction. For rescuers this makes the recovery of buried victims extremely difficult because the debris turns to ice. To learn more about slush flows check out Krister Kristensen’s (Norway) presentation at last fall’s International Commission for Alpine Rescue. Four people died in Norway last May (2010) in slush flows.

What Can Rescuers Do

The golden rule of search and rescue is: “Don’t make the incident worse.” So not to escalate an incident we must carefully manage risks to keep ourselves and our teammates out of trouble.

Know the weather  Stay abreast of forecasts, especially for temperature trends. Prolonged warming, even seasonal temperatures, can lead to delayed avalanching. Intense warm-ups caused by record and near-record highs are a serious warning.

Dig quick pits  As Mike Wiegele is fond of saying, “If you don’t dig, you don’t know.” In your pits look for weak layers, crusts and snow wetness; also look how the wetness spreads or changes. Most people focus on air temperatures and sunshine, but snowpack structure is very important too. Any time you encounter a crust, you should look beneath it.

Extra caution with gullies and couloirs  On hot, sunny (or rainy) days having rescuers in a confined gully or couloir is akin to “shooting fish in a barrel.” I am not saying don’t go, just be very cautious or wait until temperatures cool. Even better is to wait until the snow refreezes.

Wet soft snow  If you’re sinking to your knees into wet snow, you probably shouldn’t be on that steep slope. Wet snow means you can squeeze water out of the snow while making a snowball. If you’re sinking to your boot-tops, ask yourself what the next several hours will bring. Warmer conditions and wetter snow means you should be thinking to get off the slope soon. If it’s shadows and cooler temperatures, you’ll probably be ok.

Use explosives  If you can use explosives to trigger additional avalanches to safe-guard an area, do so. If, however, the snow does not avalanche, do not assume the snow is stable. You may be off in your timing.

Stay away from cornices  When the snow is wet and liquid water is dripping off the cornice’s face (and probably your brow too) it’s time to get out from underneath the overhanging monster. Cornices are unpredictable, but the warmer the temperatures the less time you should be exposed to possible cornice fall.

Use a guard  Wet avalanches move much slower than dry avalanches, and a guard can likely give fair warning to rescuers when other small natural avalanches release. But don’t be over confident to think that everyone’s can out run even a slow moving avalanche. (When dealing with dry snow avalanches, guards should be used to keep other triggers (i.e. people) off adjacent slopes or to warn rescuers when those triggers – I mean people – approach. It’s very unlikely that anyone will outrun a dry-snow avalanche.)

Have rescuers to rescue the rescuers  When natural avalanches are running the situation is high hazard and high risk, but a rescue effort may still be justified and attempted to save a life. (Just remember the worst possible event would be to kill a rescuer.) In higher risks situations hold back rescuers and equipment just in case something happens to the rescuers.

Wait  Sometimes the best course of action is to simply wait until the snow cools. It’s even better if the snow refreezes. Frozen snow is strong snow. In some cases when there is little or no benefit to the victim – usually a body recovery – the better course of action might be to suspend the operation until the snow melts.

Wet avalanches pose special problems to mountain travelers and rescuers alike. Both groups should think about conditions a bit differently than we might during wintertime conditions. It has been a big winter across much of western North American and though the calendar says May, conditions in many mountain areas are just now turning spring like. If you pager goes off with the call to an accident, I hope you too will think differently about the wet snow.

My ideas and lists are likely incomplete, so please add your comments and experiences. The more we learn about wet snow, the better off we all will be.

Thanks for reading.

Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

Spring also means a whole lot of changes for the snow and avalanche conditions, and spring can be a most dangerous time rescuers. Last Friday there was an avalanche accident off-piste at Val d’Isère, France, which resulted in a serious and risky rescue. Fortunately the knowledge, skill, and professionalism (and probably some luck, too) of the ski patrollers saved the skier’s life. Part 1 of this two-part series focuses on the differences of wet and dry avalanches and what this means to rescuers. Part 2 will suggest how rescuers should adapt their strategies to deal with wet avalanches.

Avalanche accident on the Face du Charvet, Val d'Isère, France. Photo by Henry Schniewind. www.henrysavalanchetalk.com

Accident: Face du Charvet E Face, 11:45 Val d’Isère April 1

The pisteurs (ski patrollers) at Val d’Isère faced a challenging and dangerous lunchtime rescue after an avalanche swept a skier down the east-facing Face du Chavert. During the rescue several additional avalanches threatened the patrollers, but they were able to reach the victim and short-haul him away in a helicopter.

American avalanche professional and ex-pat Henry Schniewind, who runs Henry’s Avalanche Talks, happened to be in the area and watched the rescue unfold. Take a look at his website to get more details including pictures and video. (If you’re going to France, especially the Val d’Isère, Tignes, or Maribel areas, be sure to go to his local avalanche talks. Even if you’re not headed to France, but you do want to learn about avalanches and if you’re willing to spend a little money, his website has some excellent on-line avalanche education through his Ride Hard Ride Safe program.)

According to Henry some new snow had fallen the night before (and three days earlier) on the 600m-tall east face of the Face du Chavert. Just before noon a small point release [I am sure it was not the first] turned into a large and wet loose snow avalanche as it cascaded down the rocky faces and chutes. The slide swept one skier from a group of five over a cliff. Ski patrollers responded and “at least” 3 or 4 additional “big” avalanches spilled down the face. During one of these avalanches the rescuers had to race to the side to escape. Henry said the roar of the avalanches was impressive. Fortunately, the patrollers dodged the avalanches and were able to reach and evacuate the injured skier but at great risk.

A Short Editorial Comment
The group’s decision, which included a “guide”, to be where they were was wrong. Guide or no guide, it was the wrong time to ski the face. It should have been an easy decision not to go. Fresh snow, rocky and east-facing terrain, light freeze overnight and intense morning sun should have triggered alarm bells. By the way, the avalanche danger was rated “marque,” which is the same as “considerable” in the North American ratings.

Wet Snow – A Different Type of Avalanche Dragon
A wet, springtime avalanche is a different beast compared to its mid-winter, dry-snow cousin. Avalanche savant Bruce Tremper summarizes these differences in his excellent book, Staying Alive In Avalanche Terrain. He writes, “Wet avalanches are triggered differently, they move differently, they’re formed by different conditions, you forecast for them differently, their deposits are different, and the scars they leave on the vegetation are different.”

Bruce goes on to point out that when it comes to how avalanches start the main difference between dry and wet snow avalanches is that dry snow avalanches are caused by overloading the strength of buried weak layers, and wet avalanches are caused by decreasing the strength of buried weak layers. In general, the primary culprit for dry avalanches is the additional stress, or load, from the weight of more new snow, wind-drifted snow, or even the weight of a skier or snowmobiler. In wet snow often it’s thaw conditions that melts bonds between snow grains, which reducing the snow’s strength that’s the culprit.

Snakes and Avalanches
For rescuers this difference is profound. In dry snow, avalanches tend to act more like a snake. Both are secretive, stealthy, and many people might say both are unpredictable. Snakes and dry avalanches are solitary and are often silent. You can travel all day and not see or hear either, but to get bit, generally you have to provoke the snake or avalanche.

Bees and Avalanches
Wet avalanches, on the other hand, are more like a swarm of angry African bees out looking for trouble. Both bees and wet avalanches are overt, conspicuous, noisy, and often come in swarms. When you see one, you’re certain to see more. It’s this fact about wet avalanches that poses a serious threat to rescuers.

Is It Safe?
In dry snow you have to find the trouble; most avalanche accidents are caused because the victim (or a friend) triggered the slide by venturing into the avalanche starting zone. As long as conditions (winds, temperature, precipitation, etc.) stay the same and other triggers (people) can be kept away, rescuers can work on avalanche debris with little or no threat from additional avalanches. In many cases, rescues can be performed with remarkably little risk.

In wet snow more accidents are caused by naturally occurring avalanches where the victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Certainly, education, experience, timing and safety margins can help keep one out of harm’s way.) More often the avalanche crashes down on the traveler who might not even be in the steep slopes of the starting zone. Unlike dry snow, when conditions (sunshine, temperatures, etc) stay the same with wet snow you can count on additional avalanches. When a natural wet avalanche has resulted in an accident, rescuers – either companions or professionals – will face the immediate threat of additional avalanches. Rescues in wet avalanches can be very dangerous affairs.

Next week: Part 2. What rescuers should do when dealing with wet snow avalanches.

*************

Any thoughts so far, or experiences to share?

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

California Dreamin
It was just five months ago that Sierra snow lovers were getting worried. Worried about when winter would arrive. Just like the old Mamas and Papas song – California Dreamin – all the leaves were brown, the skies were grey, and the slopes were bare. November started dry and even by the middle of the month conditions were still dry. Drought had ravaged the state for years, and it seemed that Old Man Winter was late. But he finally awoke from his seasonal slumber and roared into the Sierras with vengeance. In the week before Thanksgiving Day storms dumped up to 10 feet of snow. Snow lovers rejoiced, and if there has been a problem, it’s that Old Man Winter never left. Across the region record to near-record snowfall has resulted in a snowpack that is reaching historic proportions, which is causing more than just inconveniences.

Snow devotee, Randall Osterhuber who also happens to be the director of the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (and organizer of last fall’s excellent International Snow Science Workshop), told the Sacremento Bee, “It’s gone from deep to epic to dangerous.” Some of the dangers are obvious. Skiers and riders think of powder and hopefully too of avalanche and tree-well problems; home and business owners think of clogged driveways, parking lots, and stressed and collapsing roofs. Town and country road departments struggle with clearing snow and where to put the snow, but other dangers are not so obvious. Blocked flues and vents increase the danger for carbon monoxide poisonings. Loosened fittings on propane tanks caused by the tremendous load of snow might mean explosions. And there are problems with telephone and power lines. If not already buried, these lines are hanging at neck levels. Now this is a situation that few people have experience with.

Buried stop sign near Soda Springs, California. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press.

How Snowy?
Newspaper stories this morning are reporting that Osterhuber’s Central Sierra Snow Lab (CSSL) on California’s Donner Pass had 224 inches of snow blanketing the ground on Saturday. That’s about 18.5 feet or 569 centimeters or nearly 5.7 meters of crystalline water ice. Osterhuber had to add a 6-foot extension to his stake after his 15-foot stake was buried. With an average maximum depth of 3.4 meters (~138 inches), the CSSL, this is a spot well known for deep snows and tragedy.

The Donner Party (It Wasn’t Really A Party)
The CSSL, which is located at about 6,900 feet (~2100 meters) on a pass named for the infamous Donner Party, and by party, I don’t mean a social gathering with a goal of having a good time. Rather the Donner Party was a group of 80-some California-bound pioneers who became snowbound on the east side of the pass during the winter of 1846–47. By late October the group was ready to cross the mountains, but winter arrived early and halted the party. By Christmas more than 12 feet of snow covered the ground. Trapped for nearly four months some of the people resorted to cannibalism to survive. Only 48 survived.

Fast forward 164 years to this winter and while no one has been known to be have been trapped and resorted to cannibalism. (Though I am sure many were stuck at home and ran out of beer and chips.) To avert any potential calamities, the Union Pacific Railroad did close their tracks over the summit for five days. It has been years since such a prolonged closure. Yesterday, the rail line was reopened after historic steam-driven rotary plows and about 100 workers cleared 50 miles of snowbound track. It had been 15 years since the rotaries were last used. Just these actions taken along the rail line, have to remind old and long-time locals (or historians) of the big winter in 1951-52.

The Big One — 1951-52
Since manned observations started at CSSL in 1946, the winter of 1951-52 saw the deepest snow pack in recent history when 20.57 feet of snow covered the ground on March 19, 1952. Maximum snow depths are usually reached in April, and currently with a depth at 18.5 feet it looks like a modern record might still be in reach.

You can download a great article with lots of pictures (click here) about the winter of 1951-52 from the Donner Summit Historical Society.

Also, check out Mark McLaughlin’s website The Storm King for a more great stories and data.

I use “modern” to differentiate between eras in snow observations. Post 1946 trained weather observers have recorded weather observations. Prior to 1946 the Southern Pacific Railroad kept records that go way back to 1879, and the quality of the data is…; well, let’s just say that some of the earliest observations raise some eyebrows. Before the end of the 19^th century, two winters were reported to have had maximum snow depths of 30 and 31 feet.  No other winters in more than 100 years have come close.

2010-2011:  A Tremendous Load
A “tremendous load” is a good phrase to describe this spring’s snowy situation. The amount of water contained in this snow cover is staggering. If you were to melt the 200+ inches of snow on the ground there would be a puddle, actually more like a shallow fresh-water sea 5 to 6 feet deep. In the business we call it the snow water equivalent, abbreviated SWE. We Yanks report SWE in inches. In several Sierra locales the SWE has already reached 70 inches. And there is still another month of snow season to go. At Leavitt Lake near Sonora Pass, the SWE just topped 80 inches. When you figure that 1 cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons, which tips the scales at about 62.4 pounds, you quickly realize the enormous weight and volume of water equivalent that covers the land, and your roof too.

[Click on images to see full-sized.]

Depending where you live (including your elevation) in the United States, and the type of structure, a typical roof is built to support a snow load of 12 to 80 pounds per square foot. A very simple rule of thumb to estimate snow loads is to figure that a cubic foot of snow weighs between 10 and 20 pounds (however, in snow country by spring, the season’s accumulation can weigh much more), and most roofs should support up to about 4 feet of snow. If you have a cabin high in the Sierras and haven’t yet shoveled your roof, now would be a good time to start shoveling. (If you’re going to shovel, think avalanche. Roof avalanches have killed people.) The snow load of the entire snow pack can be well north of 300 pounds per square foot. While all this snow is not welcomed on roofs, its water will be well welcomed later this spring and summer as it fills the state’s parched reservoirs.

Snowy Mountains
Named by early Spanish explorers the Sierra Nevada mountains are aptly named as it means snowy mountains in Spanish. This winter is again demonstrating their heritage. This afternoon California state water officials are expected to release results from the latest snow survey. Word in Sacramento has it that Governor Brown will declare the state’s drought officially over. Since 2009 the state has been a “state of emergency” because of the lingering drought.

According to the California Department of Water Resources the mountain snowpack provides one-third of the water for the state’s households, industries and farms. The water goes to more than 25 million Californians and irrigates nearly 1 million acres of farmland. The last time the state’s water projects were able to deliver 100% of the allocated water was back in 2006. Then the drought struck; water deliveries over the next four years dropped to as little as 35%. This winter’s snows looks to break the drought but water delivers are expected only to be about 70%, a huge improvement but still far below the requests for water.

While farmers and ranchers are rejoicing with the prospect of seeing the state’s reservoirs fill, property owners and snow workers, from part-time shovelers to plow drivers to even ski patrollers will probably be glad to see this winter end. But even the most crusty, old-time ski patroller (or avalanche professional) who complains about this too-long winter, will always remember this winter with special fondness. In a muted voice, or after a few beers, their eyes will sparkle as he or she admits to the winter being special. The bountiful snows mean good news for the skiers and riders as ski areas are extending their seasons. Squaw Valley will stay open through Memorial Day and Mammoth is talking about staying open to the Fourth of July. Be sure to check your local ski area for their plans.

With April just a couple of days away, the snow season will be winding down. May snow storms can still hit hard the Sierras, but usually by May the weather turns sunny and dry, conditions that last through September. For people that keep track of records, it will be nice to see a bit more snow, at least enough to break the record. But, to me it really doesn’t matter whether the record falls, or not. The spring ski season will be spectacular and shall last well into the summer. I hope you can get out to enjoy the Sierras. I am planning for a visit.

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

“…you’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well do ya, punk?”
— “Dirty” Harry Callahan

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
— Seneca

Last week Doug Chabot shared the story about an avalanche accident that occurred in 2008. In Doug’s piece he answered the question of why some people survive avalanches and some don’t with a simple word: luck.

Avalanches are capricious assassins. Small, very short running avalanches of no more than 10 vertical meters have struck with the same deadly consequences as avalanches falling 1000 vertical meters. Some victims have been swept unscathed through thick stands of trees, while some unlucky victims hit the only tree on an otherwise empty slope. In other cases, pairs of skiers and climbers standing close to one another were swept down together, right next to one another. In the runout zone where the avalanche stopped, one person stands up and shakes off the snow, but their friend lies buried close by under a meter of snow.

Certainly, it’s lady luck that decides who lives and who dies. Avalanche transceivers, RECCO reflectors, rescue dogs, airbags, and AvaLungs may help you. But, none of these devices guarantee survival. In the US, of those people reported buried and equipped with transceivers more people will die than survive. Of the reported 112 buried victims equipped with avalanche transceivers from 1999/2000 to 2008/2009, only 44 (39%) survived.

Believe in luck

I believe in luck; it gives hope, and like Doug, I have been a benefactor of lady luck more than I care to admit. To believe in luck is a reasonable expectation for mountain travelers, but you have to work at being lucky; however, you never want to rely on luck.

It takes hard work and time to develop the skills, knowledge and to gain the experience necessary to tackle steep slopes. Being smart opens the doors to bold lines and adventures. Making not-smart decisions means recklessness and folly, which may end with tragic consequences. A problem with avalanches is that vast majority of the time the snow on steep slopes is stable. Otherwise avalanches would be pelting down everywhere and all the time; serious accidents would happen continually, and our local avalanche forecast centers would be well funded.

Instead, snow and avalanches are mixed up in clandestine relationship. At best, it’s as solid as Dagwood and Blondie. At worst, it’s more like working with Charlie Sheen. The outside cover snow conceals an internal structure that can be strong and weak at the same time. Consider that a medium-sized slab, one meter deep and the additional weight of a person, a measly 0.001% of the weight of the slab, in the wrong spot can fracture the snow like a pane of glass.

Our thinking of “luck” is misplaced

Too often we think of luck in regards to getting caught or not caught. A year ago January, a backcountry skier was buried near Bozeman (Montana). The skier and his partner seemed to do all the right things, “We skied another slope, had dug our pits to check the snow, and did everything as carefully as we could. We reached the end of our luck, I suppose.” The buried skier went second, so it seems that luck guided the first skier but abandoned the second. I’d argue, however, that instead running out of luck that he (in particular) and his buddy relied on a huge amount of luck, once he was buried. He survived and most buried people don’t!

So when it comes to thinking about luck, don’t think about luck in terms of getting caught or not. Think of luck in terms of surviving.

Put yourself into a situation to be lucky

In the mountains we need to put ourselves into situations to be lucky, and by this I don’t mean just physical locations but also circumstances. Some circumstances for increasing your luck include carrying rescue equipment and knowing how to use it. But any advantage may be lost if you continue to tackle steep slopes with unstable snow. Consider the circumstances of a solo rider. Skiing with a partner puts you in a situation to be lucky. But your luck might vanish if you become separated or if you both are caught.

A couple of weeks back in southwestern Colorado two brothers were caught. One was buried and the other partly buried. Avalanches do happen, even to the best and most careful, but it’s a serious error when two are caught. When avalanches trap a pair of people and bury one, it’s not uncommon for the buried one to die. Valuable minutes are lost while one digs free before he or she can look for their buried friend. It should be no surprise how such a situation can end badly. So back to the brothers, but this time the buried skier put himself in a situation to be lucky; he had an AvaLung. It took his brother 30-40 minutes to uncover his face. When everything went bad, it seems that because the skier had and was able to use his AvaLung, that he put himself into a situation to be lucky.

Black Diamond Equipment has a first-hand account of another use from earlier this year in Austria.

Sometimes, however, luck doesn’t always work out. Sadly, a tragic accident occurred last weekend in Alaska. Two savvy backcountry skiers were caught; one was buried. Though the other skier was not even partly buried, he was injured so much that he could not search. He was prepared and used some sort of personal locator beacon to notified rescuers. He tried to be lucky, but luck was not on their side. I should note that his friend was buried so deeply that it is very unlikely that even the best textbook rescue would have saved his life.

Don’t rely on luck

The Dirty Harry approach to thinking about luck is probably not the best way to ensure a long and rewarding existence in the mountains. But it does serve as a reminder for how to think after all trips into the mountains. Always after an adventure consider the reasons for your successful (because no accident occurred) trip. Was your success due to luck, smart decisions, safety margin, or some combination of the three? If you’re regularly mentioning luck, you ought to reconsider how you go about doing things in the mountains. If, however, you never mention luck, you probably ought to ask some more experienced people for their appraisal of your actions. False confidence or over confidence can be just as destructive as relying on luck.

Luck can be fickle. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, so you never want to rely on luck. If you do, you may be painfully or terminally reminded of luck’s unpredictable nature. So think of luck as Seneca did 2000 years ago: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Do this by learning all you can about avalanches, make smart travel decisions, go one-at-a-time, get first aid and CPR training, and invest in and learn how to use rescue equipment (beacons, probes, shovels, RECCO reflectors, airbags, Avalungs, mobile phones, etc.). And, make sure your friends do the same. This puts you in situations to be lucky, but travel as if you left your gear at home. That way, hopefully, you will not have to rely on luck.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.
—Vernon Sanders Law

Tyler Stetson died in an avalanche on January 20^th [2008] while skiing with his close friend, Logan King, in Beehive Basin, a popular spot to tour, make turns and enjoy the Montana backcountry. They weren’t alone that day; many people were tasting the powder, but things went terribly wrong.

Four other avalanches completely buried people in the month leading up to Tyler’s fateful day. Fortunately, these had happy endings when folks were dug out alive. They went home, had a beer and toasted their partners, families and life in general. Why did they live and not Tyler?

Luck.

Of course it’s not that simple, but close enough. All of the burials had similar conditions that Tyler and Logan were faced with: steep terrain, unstable snow. They all triggered slides, but Tyler triggered the one that killed him rather than teaching him a lesson. Tyler was missing luck. For whatever reason, Mother Nature was especially unforgiving that day.

He and Logan dug snowpits, carried rescue gear, were concerned with the avalanche danger and talked about it with each other and with skiers they bumped into that day in Beehive. They had taken a Level 1 avalanche class. They knew it was dicey and attempted to keep everything in check, but it didn’t work because a small error had enormous consequences. They ended up on a steep slope and triggered the slide as they were trying to get to safer terrain mere feet away. In the midst of an accident unfolding—there’s neither “pause” nor “rewind” button. It can turn out any number of ways; some good, some bad, and all we can do is hope for the best.

If you travel in avalanche terrain long enough you’re going to have a close call. The same goes for any sport that carries risk: climbing, kayaking, dirt-biking, flying. Close calls are reality slapping us across the face reminding us that, yes, we could die here. Close calls take our breath away, soil our pants, give us the shakes and cause nightmares. Because we almost died, close calls also give us valuable lessons that we should never, ever, in a million years forget.

I am 43 years old and have many friends who died in the mountains. The list is in the double digits. I’ve had my share of close calls—the kind that make me dry heave and question why I’m still alive. I’ve triggered avalanches I didn’t expect. I fell and broke my back 2,500 feet up El Cap in Yosemite. I once leaned out over a cliff face only to realize at the last possible second that I wasn’t clipped in. I’ve had rockfall chop my ropes, fallen unprotected into crevasses and ripped out rappel anchors only to be caught by my backup.

Any one of these could have killed me, but I got lucky and walked away with a lesson. Too many of my friends didn’t and neither did Tyler.

Tyler was only 20 years old, but definitely backcountry savvy. He may have had a few close calls under his belt, and on January 20^th he should have had one more. The slope should have cracked, or whumphed, or maybe even avalanched. Tyler and Logan’s jaws would have dropped, hearts in their mouths, and they’d likely high-five each other for being lucky and getting a great, unforgettable story and an awesome lesson out of the day. Maybe Tyler would have been caught and then dug up by his friend in the nick of time, like the four previous burials this year.

But this is wishful thinking. Tyler was swept off his feet, hit trees and died instantly. Logan gets the lesson burned deep in his soul. And the lesson is this: Backcountry skiing in avalanche terrain is risky business. If you let your guard down, think you’re smarter than you are, get too comfortable, or just make a simple mistake—maybe even a mistake you’ve made many times before, your luck might run out.

It did for Tyler.

*************

Special thanks to avalanche savant Doug Chabot for sharing this story. Doug’s article originally appeared back in 2008 in an issue of the Carve, a winter recreation guide that published by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.  Doug is the director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, received his B.A. in Outdoor Education from Prescott College in 1986. From 1990 to 1999 he worked as a professional ski patroller at Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Montana. Starting part-time in 1995, and moving to full-time in 1998, Doug has worked for the GNFAC as an avalanche specialist. He’s worked as a professional mountain guide in Alaska and the western US from 1989 to the present. Doug also worked in Pakistan and Afghanistan building schools for a non-governmental organization. Doug has been on 16 Alaskan climbing expeditions as well as climbs in Nepal, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It will leave you breathless. Have a great weekend!

Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

At the end of the day, Mr. Zhaojian handed me a wonderful book. I was honored. Called, “The Original Place Of Skiing-Altay Prefecture of Xingjiang, China” this scholarly book was just published this past January, and it turns out the book was edited by Mr. Zhaojian and a colleague, Mr. Wang Bo. Though the book is in Chinese, fortunately for me (and other English readers) the book is also bound with an English edition, too.

Mr. Zahojian is a remarkable man. He was China’s first national ski champion and for more than 50 years he has served the sport as an athlete, coach, manager, author, and national level director. In 1993 he first proposed the idea that skiing originated in China. Since then he has organized a thorough academic and scientific study of skiing in the Altay (also known as Altai) region. He also promotes the ancient ski culture of the Altay with the Ancient Fur Ski Race held each January during the last several years. It’s a ski race that racers must use traditional-style skis. Though we might consider the ski-style to be ancient, the skis are still used by hunters and herders in the Altay. As we know today, and as the people of the Altay have known for thousands of years, skis are the best way to get around in winter.

Over the past five years or so, some of you may have become acquainted with Nils Larsen, an American ski-history researcher and his documentary “Skiing In The Shadow Of Genghis Khan – Timeless Skiers of the Altai.” Click on this link for a recent write-up on the Altay by Larsen. His DVD is worth buying. Here’s a teaser from 2007 that I found on YouTube.

The Birthplace of Skiing

So how long ago and where did skiing start? From Mr. Zahojian, I learned skiing has been around at least twice long as originally known, and it didn’t start in Scandinavia.

Conventional wisdom places the birthplace of skiing in Scandinavia, and the evidence seems pretty solid. The first ski book was written in Sweden in 1555. In 1206 Birkebeiner soldiers on skis rescued Prince Haakon during the Norwegian Civil War. Two thousand years ago the Roman poet Virgil told of skiers in his poem Aenied. In 1992, a ski found in Sweden was dated to be 4,500 years old. A ski found in Finland is only 500 years younger. And rock art from Norway, estimated to be from 3500 BC shows a man on some pretty big skis. Yup, the evidence seems pretty conclusive that skiing started in countries of northern Europe. Or did it?

Rock art discovered in 1936 in Russia along the River Vyg and Lake Onega clearly showed human figures on skis. The carvings are thought to be about the same age as the Swedish ski. This region is east of Finland so technically part of Europe, but it was evidence that skiing people lived further to the east. It was until nearly 30 years later that evidence was found of older skiing people, but thanks to the Cold War the information never made it to the “west.”  In the 1960s a ski relic found in Russia near Vis, just east of the northern Ural Mountains, was even older. Found in a peat bog, the ski dated back 8,000 years. It was the credible archeological evidence that people skied in northern Asia before Scandinavia. In recent years in the Altai  (Gold) Mountains of Central Asia even older pictographs and stone carvings have been found. The oldest are from the Dundebulake river valley in the Altay (Altai) Mountains of northwestern China. These go back at least 10,000 years and maybe earlier. Here are a couple of examples from Zhaojian’s book.

The pictographs and carvings were found along Dundebulake River, not far from Handegate (Mongolia).

“Riding Wood Sliding Figure 1.” Rock art cited by Zhaojian and Bo (2011) from Silk Road Sports Catalog (2008) edited by Li Jimmei and Li Zhongshen.

This next one, a rock carving, is very interesting because it shows the skier with two sticks (ski poles?). The “two-stick” technique, pushed by Austrian Army Officer Georg Bilgeri, was not adopted until around World War I.

“Skier, Wolf, Sheep.” Rock art cited by Zhaojian and Bo (2011) from Silk Road Sports Catalog (2008) edited by Li Jimmei and Li Zhongshen.

So it looks like skiing is much older than we thought. And it looks like rockered skis are not a new innovation either. It seems that “sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

This story comes from nearly two hundred years ago when The Hagers-Town (Maryland) Torch Light And Public Advertiser reported the amusing story of religion meeting an avalanche. This interaction led to a simple lesson in physics. The story’s headline: Laughable Adventure, and the best way to tell this story is to share exactly the original text (and punctuation) as reported in 1829 (December 10, volume 14, page 1).

Not long since, a reverent clergyman in Vermont, being apprehensive that the accumulated weight of snow upon the roof of the barn might do some damage, resolved to prevent it by seasonably shoveling it off. He therefore ascended it, having first, for fear the snow might all slide off at once, and himself with it, fastened to his waist one end of a rope and giving the other to his wife, he went to work; but fearing still for his safety, “my dear,” said he, “tie the rope around your waist;” no sooner had she done this, than off went the snow, poor minister and all; up went his wife. Thus, on one side of the barn, the astonished and confounded clergyman hung, but on the other side hung his wife, high and dry, in majesty. Sublime, dingling and dangling at the end of the rope. At that moment, however a gentleman luckily passing by, delivered them from their perilous situation.

Lessons Learned From The 19th Century
When it comes to avalanches this amusing story offers three important lessons-learned that still apply three centuries later. Like many backcountry travelers the good clergyman recognized the danger, so he sought to mitigate his risk. Just like today’s riders, snowmobilers, and snow workers, he took precautionary actions. He had a partner (his faithful wife) and used safety equipment (a rope). I am sure that like some of today’s snow warriors, he also prayed for a little Devine intervention to keep him out of harm’s way.

The first lesson learned is that “safety” equipment, proper protocols, and hope in Devine intervention do not prevent accidents. In essence, gear and precautions do not necessarily keep people out of trouble. Some might argue that gear and precautions may lead people to take more risk. Like many avalanche victims today, this hard-working Vermont preacher thought they were being careful. He and his loyal bride were very lucky that a good Samaritan happened to find them hanging out.

Second, just like their mountainside cousins, roof avalanches are dangerous and sometimes deadly. Roof avalanches should not be considered trivial. Their impacts — pun intended — are just as serious as their bigger cousins. In recent years roof avalanches have claimed a number of victims. Last winter in Colorado two men lost their lives while visiting their mountain cabin when the roof’s snow cut loose.

The third lesson is a simple and sobering reminder that bad things can happen to good people. Avalanches don’t care about your friends, your goals, your schedule, your skills and knowledge, or how well equipped you are, or even that you are familiar with the area. Avalanches happen for specific reasons, in specific places at specific times. To reduce your risk when playing and working in the mountains take the time to get educated about snow and avalanches, and travel with avalanche-experienced people. Learning about avalanches is a journey, not a destination.

If you’re headed out the door, here’s some advice: click here.

Thanks for reading,
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB

You might guess the unlucky victim to have been a prospector headed to the gold fields of California or Colorado. Or perhaps earlier, he could have been an unfortunate woodcutter felling trees in New England. Here’s a clue, the death happened in the mid 1850s, and occurred in an area not associated with avalanches. While it seems reasonable that a prospector, hunter or woodcutter would have been the first victim, they weren’t. Wanna take another guess? Give up?

The first reported* avalanche fatality happened in the Minnesota Territory. That’s right, Minnesota, but not in its great north woods. Instead, it was teamster killed in the far southeast corner near a town called Stockton. This is limestone bluff country near the Mississippi River where steep slopes rise 200-400 feet above valley floors.

A blizzard raged across southern the Minnesota Territory on Friday March 6, 1857, as a company of teamsters struggled eastward toward Stockton. With the wind at their backs, the going must have been slow and miserable, but once off the prairies the drivers may have thought they would find easier going in the small canyons just west of the Mississippi River. Though sheltered in the Rollingstone valley, the snow and blowing snow had stopped the company about three miles shy of Stockton. While waiting most drivers fed their teams, but a man named Cook wondered off a short distance to the bottom of a nearby bluff. He wasn’t gone more than five minutes when a fellow driver saw “a tremendous avalanche of snow” release from the top of the bluff. In an instant Cook disappeared, swept up and buried under the mass.

The other teamsters searched and dug for three hours before finding Cook “a considerable distance from where he as last seen.” Poor Cook was dead, “almost within hailing distance of the happy, glowing hearths of Stockton.”

(Source: “Fall of An Avalanche: Loss of Life” cited from Winona Republican in Janesville Morning Gazette, 11 March 1857. Vol. 1 Nos. 71. Page 5.

Though the article states the group was close to Stockton, the accident may have occurred near today’s small town of Rollingstone, which sits right along Rollingstone Creek.

* This is the first “reported” avalanche fatality have found in the United States. It seems reasonable, however, that even earlier that a lone trapper (or two) might have been taken down by an avalanche, or that aboriginal peoples were lost, but I have not discovered any reports. If you know of such a report, please let me know. The first reported avalanche death in Utah occurred in the winter of 1859-60 with two deaths, one a woodcutter (Parleys Canyon) and the other unknown. The first reported Colorado avalanche death occurred in March 1861 northwest of today’s Grant. The first known, reported in December 1829, avalanche accident in the US involved a roof avalanche that involved a Vermont clergyman and his wife. It had a funny ending.

Thanks for reading.
Dale Atkins
RECCO AB