It’s something you never want to hear about, a post-control inbounds avalanche within your ski community. We quit skiing at Alpine Meadows this morning shortly after 10am. When we heard that the entire mountain was going on patrol hold minutes later, it was a sign that something bad has happened. In 2020, it was an avalanche off of the Scott chair that killed one and seriously injured another skier. Today, an avalanche on KT-22 also killed one person and injured another. It’s never easy to think about that possibility.
We spend each season here at Unofficial Alpine building a community of skiers and riders at our favorite mountain. No matter how strong our community is, we will never be a match for the dedicated people that call KT-22 their mecca. There’s a huge number that are there each and every day, no matter the conditions. Being that this was the first day of operations for KT-22, that crew would have been out there, along with many other people just looking to be a part of the opening. It’s amazing that there were not more people caught by the avalanche. After listening to the public press conference just now, I can finally rest just a little easier knowing that I don’t think any of my buddies from the other side of the mountain were involved.
Still, my heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends, even though it’s likely I do not know them. My thoughts are totally with every ski patroller, first responder and bystander that was involved with the search and rescue efforts today. It’s never easy.
After spending the morning wallowing in social media posts and comments, there’s a lot of second guessing going on. There’s people that believe that somehow, the mountain ops staff and Ski Patrol “should have known” or “must have done something wrong.” Watching Palisades Tahoe COO Dee Byrne and VP of Mountain Operations Michael Gross have to defend the decisions that lead to opening KT-22 today really made me feel saddened for them. Kudos to both of them for handling it professionally and sincerely.
This thing about sliding on snow, on either skis or a board, is that it is so fun, yet so risky. We ourselves, with a huge amount of help from mountain staff, can manage some of the risk. But we cannot eliminate it. The risks are always there. When you hear people asking “How could this happen?”, you have to understand that they likely have never participated in the sport. Hopefully the rest of us “get it.”
- We rarely have a perfect snowpack in the Sierra. There are so many things that can lead to an avalanche. Weak layers in old snow; too much new snow; wind loading; an upside down pack, where heavier snow falls on lighter snow. Today’s avalanche probably had something to do with many of those factors. I am not going to second guess the professionals that have been doing it every day for many years.
- It’s called “avalanche mitigation”, not “avalanche prevention.” The professionals are out there ski cutting, tossing bombs or setting off some sort of remote charge device making things the best they can be, or they can keep terrain closed. Avalanche risk is always there, just like the 100’s of other risks we accept each day of our lives.
- Today I am seeing calls to “always be beeping, even inbounds.” While that is a start, the more responsible thing to say would be to “gear up and buddy up” if you’re planning on skiing in avalanche terrain at a time of elevated risk. If you are beeping, that only allows others to find you. Also carrying a shovel and a probe might allow you provide quicker assistance in locating your buddy, or just another human, in an avalanche situation, assuming you have training.
- Even with the proper gear, you may not escape the problem of terrain traps. In simplest terms, that is the situation where an avalanche carries you into a hazardous area, such as trees or a rock band. Terrain selection during elevated avalanche risk is an important element of safety. If in doubt, find out more about the 2020 Scott incident or the 2008 Poulsen’s Gully incident.
So what I am saying is, our best protection is to be educated about avalanche safety. That’s a perfect segue into a topic I planned to cover today anyways. The Alpine Avalanche Rescue Foundations (AARF) has partnered with Alpenglow Expeditions to offer 5 scholarships for an AIARE 1 or AIARE 2 Avalanche course. The opportunity is open to those 16 and older. You don’t have a lot of time to apply, as the deadline is January 12th. See the details in the graphic below. There is no better way to honor the patrollers that were out there today than to apply for this scholarship to get yourself educated.
I’ll post a short ski report and weather update later this evening. – Mark
Thanks, Mark. Forwarded this post to a few friends who didn’t understand how an in-bounds avalanche of this scale could happen. Also a good reminder to apply to the scholarship.
So sad! I’m over on the “southside” and (less than) Heavenly and Sierra were both closed today. You’re right, we can never be sure of the pack and the weather has been on a total roller coaster the past couple of weeks, so the best thing probably would have been to closed everything down and bomb/ski cut the whole mountain, which isn’t feasible.
Skiing/riding is never 100% safe, which is one of the attractions to the sport, along with breathing this great area. Blessings
Grateful for this blog everyday, but more today. Thanks for the kind, thoughtful, and insightful words, Mark.
Thank you for putting some common sense into this unfortunate situation.
People have trouble finding a reasonable perspective when tragedy happens.
You are right, there is always risk when you put on a snowboard or a pair of skis.
Kudos to the rescue team.
I read your posts almost every day, and this is the first time I’m commenting. I really appreciate the thought and realism included in today’s post. It’s usually easier to blame them except that things happen. I have the upmost respect for those that helped dig out and search for the people.
Death, injury . Mother nature don’t care. When in mountains many things take you. Mother nature has tried to kill me a few times. Not just on the snow. I mostly played by the rules. The rules DID NOT keep her from hurting me. I have lost friends, both summer and and winter. All that safety stuff , helmets, beacons, probes, will not save you when you are swept through the trees and rocks. I was nearly killed just being pushed against a stump. I survived being hit and burnt by a flaming branch. I know the people that make those decisions to open or close. They have my respect and my empathy for what comes with the job.
Mother nature don’t care that she is taking my Tina with breast cancer. Be joyful you skied.
Alpine Meadows misses you Casey. I am so glad that you can be there for Tina.
as always, u get it. “the better the skiing, the bigger the risk”
The KT crew of peeps were absolutely awesome samaratins lined up and helping ski patrol, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue crews, probe avy debris, search for and dig out those who were caught in the 150’x450′ approx slide zone.
Part of the issue with post control release incidents are yes weak under layers of snow, wind loaded depending on wind direction and slope direction and the added weight and forces applied to weak bonded snow layers by the many skiers after patrol has deemed the runs safe after their assessment and avalanche risk mitigation techniques on mostly unskied terrain areas.
So unfortunate these things happen, and thanks for the respect for what ski patrol, mountain ops and first responders do.
We have one shot at this life so be grateful for what we get to do this crazy thing sliding down steep and slippery slopes, and have empathy for those who we have lost along the way.
As the sadness and grief of losing a loved one is most difficult, remember also how much of a blessing it was to be with and loved those people too. Truly sad but ultimately a most amazing wonderful gift of this life to have deeply loved and been loved by those we’ve lost.
Mark–well done; we’ve come to expect that from you. Thanks for being a voice of reason and one who gives a damn.
Casey–I miss you too man and wish I were back in California and still on the Patrol, but life has a way of throwing you curveballs as you well know.
Take good care and Peace all.
We thought the lifts had closed for the wind, but were devastated to hear about the avalanche. I’m so grateful for everything ski patrol does, mostly behind the scenes. I can’t imagine how bereft they all feel today and then feel stunned that they have to go right back to work to prepare the mountains for a big powder day tomorrow. They don’t get time to process the experience and come to terms with the sadness and lessons of the situation.
Apologies for being a year off for both the 2020 slide and 2008 slide. It was tough to write this piece today.
Thank you, Mark. The overriding thought is the unpredictability of it all. That applies everywhere, not just on the mountain but it’s near the top of the list….
So sad for the good people of Tahoe years since I have been able to ski the resorts of Tahoe Alpine being one of my favorite , we lost three good people when I lived there to Avalanche at Heavenly Valley . The world sorta stops . God Bless All Ski Safely Amen
Best commentating on the exceptional job the patrol does daily. I remember going to an avalanche education session at Squaw and they showed a horrible avalanche video from years back and taught us how to use the poles, 1973 ⛷️🎿
I am so sorry that this happened. Like the comments above I have been through many near misses mostly off the snow a few on the snow well avalanche mitigation is not perfect and risk is ever present in life everywhere my heart goes out to you all. Forever in my heart.
Great post, Mark. Well said.
A couple of thoughts on this. There are conflicting messages I hear from the wider ski community. First I hear that skiers in black diamonds should carry a beacon, probe and shovel in bounds at a resort. They should also be aware of the dangerous of avalanches and prepared for them.
There are issues with both these messages. One, it can be dangerous to ride ski lifts with a backpack. Some places don’t allow it to avoid having incidents like where Mickey Wilson saved his buddy. Second, accessibility to information and classes about avalanche safety isn’t readily available to tourists and intermediate riders branching out into black diamonds. Were you all educated and ready when you hit your first black diamond?
Keeping this in mind, maybe we can do better as a community to help those at resorts expecting safety while out on holiday maybe trying a black diamond for the first time know of the risks or warn them to wait for better conditions if they don’t have the gear/knowledge when avalanche risks are high.
We need to get expectations of the casual ski community in line with the reality of some of the conditions at these resorts for everyone’s safety. How are we all going to help do that?
Hi Anonymous,
I get where you’re coming from, as every single rider was once a beginner working their up the ability scale. Taking into consideration the thousands of skier/boarder hours for resorts, the # of (in this case) inbound avys are miniscule, which is why when they do happen, they are big news. You never read where a rider broke their leg, arm, or something else b/c it happens every day.
This sport is inherently dangerous no matter your ability, and that is why every ticket or pass sold has a disclaimer on it.
As for the safety situation of backpacks, common sense needs to kick in. If I wear one, I always take it off my back prior to loading a chair. Common sense.
Regarding the community doing better, I have yet to meet a ski patrol who will not take the time to explain safety procedures or answer questions a rider may have.
No offense, and this may not pertain to you, but the “casual ski community” needs to stop being casual. Too many “casual” visitors to the mountains think that just because they have that M/S stamp on their tires, they can drive like they have 4 studded tires on their vehicles. 99% of all tires produced have M/S on them and probably close to that percentage of drivers haven’t the first clue of how to drive up here. Folks need to take responsibility for their actions and learn the safety procedures of driving or recreating in the mountains and not expect the “experts” to come up to them and teach them.
Stay safe, mate.
Anonymous Boarder,
Your sentiment is understood. As a lifelong resort employee that has held roles directly involved in decision making, mountain managers everywhere agree with you. The casual skiers and riders need to become more well informed. The biggest issue is that people don’t listen, don’t read, and over estimate their abilities CONSTANTLY. PT had a banner at the bottom of KT22 “EXPERT TERRAIN ONLY FROM THIS LIFT! Begginer terrain available at Snowventures or via tram. Intermediate terrain available via Funitel or WaSheShu.”
Resorts try to inform. Resorts try to educate the causal skiers. There is 100x more risk communication about the dangers of black diamond terrain than even 5 years ago. Casual skiers need to get real. They need to learn how to read and they need to take a lesson or two with an instructor that will guide them safely through their first “advanced (black diamond)” runs.
Resorts and the ski community as a whole have tried tirelessly to help the situations you speak of, but you can’t force people to learn.
This avalanche happened on ungroomed experts only terrain. I personally believe that PT did more than enough messaging to keep the casual skiers out of that zone.
Lots of common sense was said, but what I’d like to hear answered is technically, what primary and secondary factor changed to suddenly have two slopes where there has been no slide since at least the last 50 years – that I remember – have this avalanche incident.
I’ll let the pros make the determination but the factors probably include: icy layer, wind loading and light snow followed by heavier snow. These are common factors in many avalanches.
Hi! My kids and husband ski this mountain. This shook me like it did for so many. When you say “keep beeping” – what does that mean? Is there gear for this? Apologies if it’s here and I missed it. Thank you.
Beeping refers to wearing an avalanche beacon. Beacons are not cheap and people do need training. Knowing the difference between send and receive needs to be clear.
See the movie Buried on Netflix