Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Info on gear, conditioning, and preparation for hiking/climbing.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
onebyone
Posts: 588
Joined: 7/27/2012
14ers: 58  1 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by onebyone »

greenonion wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:56 pm
Fireweed wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:52 pm https://twitter.com/dipsetcarini/status ... 92896?s=20

Video of an avalanche from the Unitas yesterday.
Super lucky! (at least the ones alive that you can see) Thanks for sharing. Super scary.
Man, that is a hell of a reality check. The speed and power.
User avatar
lodgling
Posts: 537
Joined: 6/21/2005
14ers: 58  58  2 
13ers: 18 1
Trip Reports (12)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by lodgling »

The final report from this one is up:
https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanc ... 9e8D_VilPM

Very tragic.
curt86iroc
Posts: 219
Joined: 5/29/2013
14ers: 14 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by curt86iroc »

a very good report of an awful event...
d_baker
Posts: 3095
Joined: 11/18/2007
14ers: 58  15 
13ers: 348 11
Trip Reports (59)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by d_baker »

curt86iroc wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:17 pm a very good report of an awful event...
Yeah, that's an interesting way they tell the story of the day. I like it, compared to CAIC's way. Both organizations do a great way to relay info though.
Tragic day for sure though.
User avatar
GravityPilot
Posts: 296
Joined: 4/28/2007
14ers: 18 
13ers: 21
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by GravityPilot »

There is a difference between being aware of hazards and understanding risk.
Jorts wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:39 pm
curt86iroc wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:31 pm
I don't agree that one needs to be a forecaster level of experience to understand the risks from Saturday (day of this accident). the hazards were very obvious in that region, and anyone who read the report from UAC knew what the risks were that day. again, i suspect the group was experienced enough to know what the risks were, but accepted them. I'm curious if the survivors speak more about it in the coming weeks. not placing blame here at all. just trying to highlight that we all have different levels of risk acceptance.
That's fair. You do not have to be a forecaster to understand the risks. But still it seems presumptuous to assume they knew the risks and accepted them. 8 should never be caught in the same slide. That's why I find it unlikely they understood the risks. Groups that truly grasp the risks take mitigation measures like traveling one at a time through the problem area.

This Utah incident reminded me of the deep persistent slab that killed 5 on Loveland Pass in 2013. The solo survivor said they were aware of the DPS issues and were deliberately avoiding steep slopes. They failed to consider how deep DPS slides tend to break and subsequently how far (relative to alpha angle) they can travel. They were not knowingly accepting risk when all 6 of them were caught by that slide.

To your point... Maybe there are just more people that fall into the "intermediate/advanced" classification of backcountry users, thus more of those people are involved in avy incidents than beginners and experts. And maybe it's analogous to "there are old climbers and bold climbers but few old, bold climbers," such that avalanche experts are naturally more cautious.
pvnisher
Posts: 1723
Joined: 9/28/2006
Trip Reports (8)
 

Re: Avalanche Near SLC, UT

Post by pvnisher »

That video is really scary, but in the text he wrote that he pulled his airbag and it didn't deploy because he hasn't armed it.
And he only found his brother because he could hear his voice because although he had a beacon be didn't know how to use it.

That points to someone buying gear and thinking it will save you, rather than proper education and practice.
Post Reply