A sad and cautionary tale

A snowHead

When hiking, the transition from skis to boots always freaks me out badly and here's why. An axe could've meant the difference between life and death here. Poor bug.

However I seriously doubt the comments about a helmet making much difference in this sort of fall.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7839123/Snowboarder-ran-for-help-after-friends-fatal-fall

Australian snowboarder ran for more than an hour in snow after his friend plunged down a slope on the Mt Cheeseman skifield.
Tim Stone, 29, died after he slipped about 100 metres down an icy slope and into a stony riverbed in the Tarn Basin on August 5 last year.
Coroner Richard McElrea said the death highlighted the need to promote awareness of how dangerous back-country boarding could be.
He said in his report, released today, that Stone died because of ''high-energy impact injuries to head, chest, neck and limbs''.
The Sydney security technician was with friends on holiday at Mt Cheeseman.
On the day he died, Stone and two friends, Tod Mason and Nathanael Jamieson, went snowboarding on an unpatrolled section at the top of the skifield.
The group had to traverse out of the basin to get back to the road.
None of the group had knowledge on how to traverse the basin, so Mason asked advice from a Mt Cheeseman ski instructor.
''From the way it was explained, it sounded like a simple hike and we didn't really expect to be walking for long,'' he said.
However, the group soon ran into trouble.
Stone, who was at the front, took off his board and attempted to walk across a slope when he slipped down a 45-degree slope and into the stream.
Mason earlier said how Stone slipped down a steep slope and took off ''unbelievably quickly'', landing in a creek.
Mason and Jamieson rushed down the slope to lift Stone from the river.
''Tim was still breathing, but it was a disturbing, gurgling sound. His face around the eyes was massively swollen and his skull was smashed in on the right side," Mason said.
Stone had suffered severe head injuries, as well as a fractured arm, rib and legs, lung contusions and a laceration to the liver.
He had not been wearing a helmet, which the coroner said would have ''substantially reduced'' the head injuries.
Mason quickly went for assistance, running for over 90 minutes to raise the alarm, while Jamieson stayed with his friend.
When Mason found help after 3.5 kilometres, Stone was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital.
He had ''a non-survivable head injury'' but life support was continued until his parents arrived from Australia to be by his side.
Stone had been snowboarding for over 12 years but was not experienced in back-country terrain and had limited knowledge of Mt Cheeseman.
Ad Feedback In his report, the coroner said the death highlighted the need to further promote the dangers of back-country riding.
''I recommend the New Zealand Ski Instructors Alliance promotes awareness of snowboard limitations in back-country use and in steep terrain with firm snow conditions as highlighted by this fatality,'' he said.
New Zealand Mountain Safety Council Andrew Hobman said snowboarders could go on much less favourable snow conditions than skiers so ''tend to push the boundaries a little bit more''.
''Snowboarding in general allows people to get a lot further from the ski area at an earlier stage in their snowboarding career than skiers would venture, and thus we tend to find people less experienced in the back country on snowboards are getting themselves into trouble,'' he said.
The coroner recommended Mt Cheeseman provide more information about the status of the Tarn Basin and provide markers to assist skiers and snowboarders in exiting the basin.
He commended the actions of Mason in going for help and Jamieson in staying with Stone and ''offering him such warmth, comfort and support as he could in such dire circumstances''.

(Edited by OP to compress copy)

A snowHead

Must have been horrible for his friends, feel for them (family too).

I wonder why he decided to walk over rather than traverse? Even in hard ski boots (which you can kick into the snow better than board boots) I would much rather be clipped into my skis on any sort of slope (have been genuinely terrified hiking some of the ski routes around here in the summer, which are no problem on skis).

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

clarky999, have you ever tried to traverse on a snowboard? It's much harder than on skis. Not enough details there but the slope he slipped on doesn't have to have been the steep one he then ended up going down and even gentle icy slopes are very hard to stop yourself on once you get going without anything to brake with. There are a few places in the UK like this where a normally very easy and safe walk can be fatal in icy conditions because the unprepared have no way to stop themselves plunging down steep terrain, Snowdon is one example.

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This has overtones of the accident some years ago in Switzerland (Verbier, IIRC) where a boarder unclipped from a board to undertake a traverse, whilst with a SCGB rep group, and unfortunately died.

Ice axe braking is a thought - but it's it feasible to have an ice axe at the ready, whilst also carrying a board?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

achilles, yes, when I read it I thought the same thing. It happened crossing a bit of a track that had collapsed/avalanched. The rep had said to keep his board on but perhaps didn't realise how hard it is to traverse on a board. Still, he would probably not have died if he had. Very sad in both cases.

I hate taking my skis off in steep terrain, especially on rock. Especially as my old boots are really smooth underneath.

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Can surely use the shape to carve back up though..?

Yes, you can use the sidecut to your advantage but you'd need the speed as well. A hard traverse is about momentum and having the physical strength in your legs to hold your line.

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clarky999, you basically don't have the same ability to stand up in balance at low speeds (especially when icey), can't sidestep up hill and have to unstrap if you end up stopping or want to push along. Traversing over steep terrain is one of the more terrifying things I've done on a board, particularly on my heel! Skiing a traverse in comparison is just much safer because it's so much easier.

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Ugh horrible. With skis off I instantly feel 10x more vulnerable. On skis, poles and independent feet make difficult entries and stuff like this much easier than snowboards.

Taking the board off is a mistake though. If you can't stay high enough on a traverse, the best course of action on firm snow is to "crazy-frog" up a few steps, then carry on. In soft snow, you may have to unstrap, hike up a few steps, then strap back in - but you increase the risk of avalanche when you unstrap and walk.

There's no point judging this from afar though, I have no idea what the specifics of the terrain/snow/circumstances were.

Dropping down to gain speed with the idea of using the speed to carve back up is NEVER a good idea. Basic thermodynamics... wink

It's generally possible to maintain just as high a traverse as the average skier, but it takes more skill, more strength and more planning.

You know it makes sense.

If you have to unbuckle, the sensible thing is to use the snowboard as an ice axe. You flip it binding side down, attach the leash to your wrist and if you slip whilst traversing you put all you weight on the bottom of the board, face to the slope. The bindings will act as a brake as will the front and back rockers, The other anser is - of course - the split board which is designed for exactly this sort of terrain.

And I don't think thermodynamics have much to do with traversing (unless you are using a steam jet) ..... it's more a question of friction and angular momentum.

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

RattytheSnowRat, potential energy, converted to kinetic energy, then back to potential energy. If you can get back to the same height you started from, congratulations! You've just invented the perpetual motion snowboard! (actually that would be quite a good name for a snowboard brand...).

Using your board as a brake like that just won't work on steep, hard snow either. Taking it off in those circumstances is a VERY bad idea.

A snowHead

Boarding is scary when you get in the wrong spot. I've been minorly cliffed out a couple of times and not being able to sidestep up is a major problem. Unclipping and kicking steps with soft boots can be perilous. It's one of the reasons I moved back to skiing.

+ to add to stevomcd's point arresting when you lose an edge on dodgy snow is a nightmare too, you just bounce off if you're heelside. Even XdlRue looks a bit sketched out at times in terrain to equivalent skier probably wouldn't be.

A snowHead

fatbob, also if you compare the snowboarding to the skiing in the FWT.

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

fatbob, but if you lose an edge and take a tumble on skis, then you have zero chance of arresting 'cos your skis are gone...

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These are very useful on steep slopes

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Can't comment on this specific for reasons already stated.

Having seen and assisted with various climbing accidents related to people sliding rapidly down mountains, 9.81 meters per second per second really is rapid if you watch someone lose it. There's a *very small* window to get your axe in. I'd not be planning on breaking unless you really have no choice. There's no way you can self arrest on an icy slope with your boots.

I'm a snowboarder, and I spend most of my time in back country stuff, albeit nearly all powder. I'd probably not go somewhere that I really needed to edge hard on a traverse. It's harder to traverse on a board than on skis, but not much harder. The current fashion for "park" boards may not help - I'd not want to try to edge a tiny board with a reverse camber and upturned blunt edges wearing wellington boots wink

Taking your board off... you would have to be in a life-threatening situation before you did that, it's a desperate measure. Even if you have other gear, by the time you're on the slope it's too late to back bottom about with crampons or axes, even if you know how to use them. I'd say no experienced rider would ever do that, without a very specific reason. It may be that people aren't used to exposure or icy slopes or.... all that stuff.

The one time you may end up taking a board off would be if there was zero-risk of falling downwards, and you have to climb up. For example if you find yourself at the top of the wrong cliff.

Kicking steps without an axe would be scary. There are some ascents where you have to use old steps kicked into the snow (eg Kachina Taos). In general skiers have an advantage there as they do have poles... boards really don't feel much use for arrest.

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I just came across last seasons accident report over on PisteHors. Quite a few falls, although some were crevasse related:

http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/1051-2011-2012-accident-statistics/

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philwig, AndAnotherThing.., Big Paua, ...this is an important post. Access BMC website and you will find many posts regarding this - and they will not say what non-climbers will expect. I think Philwig has a grip on this.

Firstly, there have been a lot of accidents recently as a result of people moving from using walking axes to using walking poles, and falling on hard snow with their axe still on their pack. Also accidents because people are using short climbing axes (curved 40cm) rather than longer walking axes (eg 50-55cm axes). Upshot, arresting CAN be a life saver but is not assured. The people with short axes could arrest, but had they been using a longer axe, might not have fallen in the first instance.

Basically, falling is a very bad idea. First rule is avoid a situation where you aren't in balance. Snagging your crampons - bad. Wearing slightly the wrong boots - bad. Not practising cutting steps - bad. and so on. The rule is ...don't fall. Yes, learn how to arrest. But it is by no means foolproof. I have seen people fall and have their axe banging about on the end of a leash, thrashing about ready to spike them, as they go down the slope. Others have had their crampons dig in, and over they somersault. Self-arrest is a desperate last measure.

I am by no means an infallible climber. I have had narrow squeaks and got away with it. I have never had to self-arrest, and would know I have mucked-up significantly if I had to.

This summer we took a risk at 3000+m; after long snow fields with a good run-out, no problem if we fell, we crossed a narrow coulior which people were laughing and chatting on. Not roped. No protection. Looked innocuous. Well-trodden route, and only 10m across from side to side. Only if you slipped, it would be 30m down a narrowing gully, over hard neve, and over a 500m cliff. The place looked great to the untrained eye. Lethal to anyone good at reading the terrain. I had insufficient gear, but cobbled together enough to get my seven and nine year olds across safely. Other parties were just ambling across without adequate gear or care.

The accident described in the first post was tragic. But the seeds were sown hours before. Route finding and local knowledge seems to be the thing here. They were in the wrong place with the wrong gear. They would need anchors and ropes to get out of where they were safely, in the foot wear they had. At La Grave, it's no accident that 60m 10mm ropes are commonly carried, and 30m 8m ropes for those travelling light and fast. You'll find a pretty comprehensive rack in their packs, and at the very least a fig 8, some wires, and slings and crabs.

Upshot - backcountry is full mountain stuff. Off piste does not describe it. What they did was mountaineering, but with the wrong gear. Sad, but worth understanding how it happened.

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A sad and cautionary tale

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