Avalanche - practice what you preach!

A snowHead

Having posted a thread warning of the dangers associated with the recent weather, I now can reveal that at 1500 hrs yesterday (Sunday afternoon) on the Gotschnagrat in Klosters I found myself being transported down the hill on a magic carpet of fresh snow.

What happened? The day had been spent finding good off-piste on slopes with an aspect of North to North East, as the wind had been scouring the slopes with any West or South bias. North Western aspects tended to be wind slab which is best avoided. The avalanche risk was 3/5. We had skied in this area during the morning doing the run twice before spending 2-3 hours elsewhere. In the interim period the wind had strengthened (which was noticed) and had veered 70-90 degs (not noticed).

I was guiding a group of friends and had briefed them to keep their separation and I proceeded to ski cut the next slope (gradient max 38 deg, length 50 m, aspect North West and shape slightly concave), on cutting nothing untowards happened and a swift snow probe revealed no apparent danger. I instructed the group to wait clear while I skied and then come down one at a time. Turn 2 and it gave. I was unable to keep my feet and was taken down the slope relatively sedately but over a small rock bluff. I had attempted to keep my feet first and head up but near the bottom the amount of snow was irresistible and I was spun head first, coming to a halt. It was dark and obvious that I was buried. First things first, there was no damage to me, but it was nearly impossible to breathe. Fortunately my right arm was not fully trapped and I was able to clear a small breathing space around my mouth. Snow kept falling in and the urge to cough or choke was overwhelming but had to be resisted. I had worked out which way was up by the snow falling into my mouth and thrust my arm that way. As luck would have it it broke the surface and I was able to wave and show anyone looking where I was. I was completely immobilised otherwise apart from my arm. I started to brush the snow away from around my arm and down but it was going to take a long time and there was little air to be had.

My fiancee had been next in line and acted extremely quickly. She skied down the line of the slide and into the debris. Then worked out where my head was and cleared the snow from it - what a relief - before working on the rest of me. In total the incident lasted approx 20 minutes and despite being the third time I have been personally involved at the sharp end of an avalanche this was the most frightening. Without the Powderb**ch there things would certainly have been different, she acted coolly and professionally despite being extremely scared and not sure what she really ought to be doing.

Lessons learnt? I'm not sure to tell the truth. The change in wind direction was the main factor but I am not certain how one can tell that, a howling wind is a howling wind. Perhaps if you are putting first tracks into an area that you have not been into before you should consider waiting until someone else has proven it? Perhaps we should just stick to the piste??

In short then, I have been guiding since 1993 and like to think I know something about the hills, but the law of averages has caught up with me 3 times. I am extremely lucky that none of them has been more serious.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL snowHead

A snowHead

So glad you made it out...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Powderhound, thanks for that run down. Your fiance srtrikes me as one of the best.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Thanks for that tale, and gald that you've been able to tell it to us!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Powderhound, it's good that you can tell the tale. I was listening to the famous mountin climber Doug Scott yesterday at a lecture in Dublin. He talked about so many of his friends being killed on the mountains, although he said they had some forewarning of their death but continued to climb. Doug said if he got a premonition he would take the hint and stay off the mountains. So perhaps the lesson is to tune into your survival instincts/gut feeling. As an aside, Doug has a really worthwhile charity called Community Action Nepal where he helps the people of the poorest areas of Nepal, they seem to be doing some great work.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Peter Ross, Doug is famed for his intuition but although we call it intuition it is actually experience-based. The decision-making pendulum swings from experience/gut feel/intuition at one end to analytical at the other. Most of us need to use a mixture of both, tending towards the analytical for unfamiliar situations and intuitive for more familiar. This is a useful dynamic for the hills and we should be analytical wherever possible but if the analysis says yes and the gut feel says no, then best we go home. Maybe I should have!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Interesting book on the intuition/experience thing: http://www.gladwell.com/blink/

After all it is free

Powderhound, so glad you're OK! These tales put me right off trying off-piste. Over the years I've learned to listen to my gut instinct, mostly work-related but of course it applies anywhere and I now absolutely follow it, even in the teeth of opposition.

DavidS, I think the unconsious mind is that gut feeling and the consious mind is the long drawn out decision making process. I know from expericence of applied kinesiology how muscle testing can override the consious mind. The unconsious mind has far more information when it comes to descision making, the consious mind screens out most of this as it would lead to information overload. Doug also mentioned being more intune with his instincts in survival situations where there were no distractions. Powderhound, what was your gut feeling yesterday?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

DavidS, that book sounds fascinating!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Peter Ross, Gut feeling was that it had a possibility of going despite testing the snow and having skied similar slopes all day. Therefore I stopped and reiterated that noone was to follow until I had got to the bottom, even though this had been the MO all day... Analysis indicated it should have been safe, gut feeling was probably showing an amber warning light (although not red).

eng_ch, Off piste will always carry some risk but there is off-piste that is literally only just that that will provide hours and days of fun with negligible danger - Hoch Ybrig near both of us is a perfect example...

snow reports

My copy is not to hand, but from memory, the Gladwell book is very good at showing how effectively the unconscious mind processes weak signals when long experience has given it a clear picture of what is/isn't to be expected in a particular situation.

One case he discusses is of a firefighter who believed he had experience a 'miracle' when pulling his team out of a building just before the floor they were standing on collapsed - despite the fire they were attending not seeming to be a serious one. It was only years later, when he was taken back through the incident, that he finally realised on a conscious level the signals that had driven his split-second decision to evacuate.

The book's also got a very interesting discussion on human factors in ensuring effective security, for anyone who is interested in that sort of thing...

Powderhound,

Sounds like you made all the rights moves and just got caught out by the wind.

Take care, even a cat only has nine lives

Glad you got out OK.

You know it makes sense.

Powderhound, Shocked

What a story, glad you're ok - you owe your Fiance big time! Very Happy

DavidS, That book sounds like an interesting read.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Powderhound, do you mean the bits between the Sternen and Hesisbol pistes? Or further afield?

A snowHead

Glad you ok don't know if anyone saw the programme last night on the individual who got lost skiing on the pist e in heavy snow and was lost for 9 days after getting ot of the main ski area (in turkey) - there is a warning for skiing in adverse weather conditions. was compelled to give prmises to significant other (some of which I may keep)

A snowHead

eng_ch, I'm not sure of their names but pretty much anywhere on the lift-served bowl is good. The further right - looking up the hill - the better, with some good stuff off the bottom chairlift, either under it or to the far left of the piste. We'll go there together one day and have a look. If you think you can trust me!! Smile

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Powderhound, I think we're talking about the same area, between the chair by Stoeckli and the one to the right of it on the same escarpment? I'm going to have to get practising! I'm sure Mr Eng would be up for it - he's not such a cowardy custard Smile

Certainly up for doing some turns with you though

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Thanks for sharing PowderHound. I think when you get personal accounts like this it really brings it home that slides happen in reality and could well happen to you - not just 'other' people.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Agreed. Despite all the fun and games to be had on sH I really appreciate these doses of reality and since being here have taken these posts of warning with the attention they are due. Thanks for sharing.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Did anyone see the Ray Mears program last night on mountain survival?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Glad you got out alive, Powderhound. I personally think that analysis of a situation will only get one so far, the rest of the information comes from the "unconscious", "gut feeling", "accumulated experience" or whatever label you want to put on it. Tuning in to that is what keeps some people alive and some people dead, not just in skiing but in anything.

The big question is: did you have an avalanche bleep/shovels/etc. with you?

I've read Gladwell's other book, "The Tipping Point", which is OK if a bit overdone. It put me off buying the "Blink" one. "The Wisdom of Crowds" by James Surowiecki is much better, and can be applied to skiing.

After all it is free

magriggs,

Ah yes, I see you've mentioned it here and there Very Happy

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Powderhound, true - I was just pleased to see that he did cover the subject fairly well, and maybe made a few people think about being more sensible before they go back country.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

We need a granny sucking eggs smiley.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Powderhound, thanks for the reality check.

There is quite a lot written about "professional judgement" which makes the distinction between "knowledge" and "wisdom" (the application of knowledge experience and intuition) in professional settings, particularly medicine.

I think you may have chosen to ignore you wisdom which was warning you in some way that all was not quite as it seemed.

Very happy that you are well, and 11/10 to your fiance.

Help!!

Avalanche - practice what you preach!

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste