It's been a while since I dug a snow test pit or practised avalanche rescue. Given the big discussion about controversial descriptions of rescue this week we decided to refresh our skills. The problem is that we are in Cambridge.
So we dug a large hole in Brancaster beach.
The sand was a nice damp consistency and quite a lot easier to dig than avalanche debris. We had one spade. Our target was gettting down over 2m in 8 mins.
Anyone reading this and the 'other' thread will know why that was the target.
Let's put it this way. He died.
Two hours and we had a really nice, deep hole - 1.6m. The nice people on the beach had quite a laugh. A hole 1.6m deep and about 1m wide looks extremely deep. The video of my son excavating (he is 1,4m) is hilarious - spurts of sand from a very deep hole as he toiled away at the bottom. Since we had effectively built a trap that would kill people who went for a walk at dusk we had the fun of filling it in. Test and practice done.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 2-04-17 22:08; edited 1 time in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Good learning experience but I hope it also crossed your mind that you built a trap that could have killed your son too:
The young son of friends of ours died years ago on a beach, Dorset i think, when a hole he and his sister had dug collapsed with him in it. Desperate digging by his mother and others around could not get him out in time.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
altis wrote:
Good learning experience but I hope it also crossed your mind that you built a trap that could have killed your son too:
@altis, @Pamski, thank you both and so sorry to hear of that tragic death. I am aware of other such stories and so am very conscious of safety. I monitored the condition of the sand and state of the hole at all times, and paid particular attention to the sand as it dried in the air. I was there throughout and did most of the digging; for most of the time my head was above ground level. We carefully chose a section of beach where the sand was damp but not overlubricated with water and so was very stable. Had there been any sign of instability - cracking, movement etc - then we would have shifted to a far more inverted-cone shape, but in the event did not need to do so. But thanks for the comments, indeed very important, and hope no-one would dig in any medium without thinking it through re safety.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@valais2, I looked at the pictures of an avalanche accident in Austria a few weeks ago where the rescuers had to dig down between 8 and 12 meters to recover the bodies. At the time I remember thinking that must have been an unbelievably hard thing to do while knowing all along that the people they were searching for had no chance whatsoever of being alive. Respect.
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Steilhang, Exactly right.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Pamski, just a small further note on safety. In season 2010 we had very heavy snowfall at 1100 in the Valais, and we were beginning to run out of room for the snow we had to clear from the 60 steps up to our chalet. The paths up to the chalet and across to others became narrow channels between 2m walls of snow. I was clearing late one evening when there was a minor slide down the very sloped garden, completely filling in the narrow corridor between chalets, just in front of where I was clearing. From that point, the children were banned from moving around outside at any time, without being accompanied by an adult, and we had shovels stationed all over the place. Safety very much on my mind when doing things, and drilled into my two small ones, like a strict no messing at all on lifts, ever.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@valais2, I am sure you are very aware of safety in all walks of life, particularly with small children, and it was just that your tale of digging the large hole on the beach did remind me of the very unfortunate and tragic accident that befell our friend's son.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Pamski, you are absolutely right to raise it, it must have been a terrible experience.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Any excuse to dig a big pit - sounds like a great idea. I'm surprised people here have never dug decent sized holes on the beach. I must have killed many over the years.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@philwig, I am sure that there will be a knock on your door at any moment, given the 'coldcase' incident of the elderly dog walker who took a twilight stroll along the beach after you were there that afternoon, and who was never seen again....
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We are quite sensitive here about holes. Mrs A used to work on construction sites testing foundation piles. It wasn't unusual for them to have fractures between 1 and 2 metres down when machines had driven nearby while the concrete was still green. It is impossible to 'see' past a fracture so the site had to dig down and trim the pile so that it could be retested. She would never enter a hole more than a meter deep without a ladder and, IIRC, it had to be at least twice as wide as it was deep.
Our fun on the beach was to dam up the steams that ran across the beach, wait till a group of over 60's ramblers were about to cross the now dry part of the beach then quickly break the dam
The fun you can still have in your 40's when you have young kids to educate and show an example to.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
philwig wrote:
...I'm surprised people here have never dug decent sized holes on the beach. I must have killed many over the years.
Did it loads of times in between climbing trees/walls/cliffs, swimming in dodgy tides, etc. Doesn't mean i shouldn't be aware of the danger now.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
