Wow!

It is absolutely unbelievable where sleds….and some riders…can go nowadays.

Randy got a few video clips at Yamafest in Revelstoke and I managed to edit them together. Nope, couldn’t figure out how to add the heavy metal rock music. Guess you’ll have to settle for Randy’s on-hill commentary.
Don’t razz us too much about our newbie film-making. I’m pretty sure the Veedy and Phelan don’t have anything to worry about. I doubt we’ll be selling any DVDs at the next snowmobile show!
Oh well, it was fun and I have to make up for the last YouTube posting. Our students just chuckled to themselves but our friends rode Randy pretty hard about his dangerous stunt. I was just excited that I had managed to edit a video and post it! One step at a time…

Coroner's Report

Click here to view comments on Snowest from one of the rescuers.
Western Canada (BC/AB) – Avalanche Claims One At Blue River

March 27, 2008 an Edmonton snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche near Blue River, BC.
Click HERE to view an Avalanche Incident report submitted to the CAA by the BC Coroner’s service.

The CAA report contains a link to a Snow Profile completed by the accident investigators.
Click on the CAA Report for a full size image.

What does it all mean???

I have added many notes to the original Profile to try to explain the data in terms that an AST1 grad should understand.
Take a moment to look at the original report to see how much information you can guess and then click HERE to view my comments in red.

If you have any questions or suggestions about my comments feel free to Email me.

AST2 and ITP1 classes teach reading and completing Snow Profiles. Once you are familiar with the symbols and chart format these Profiles are a quick way to communicate a lot of information.

I have pasted in a couple threads that have been started on Snowest.com. There are often good comments and observations as more information is released to the public. Based on the comments so far it appears that the rider was pinned by his machine and could not be revived by his companions.
Very, very unfortunate. Our deepest sympathies to friends and family.

General Snowmobiling – Avalanche death – BC March 27, 2008

Western Canada (BC/AB) – Avalanche Claims One At Blue River

Here is another Avalanche Incident report related to the North Columbia bulletin region. This event took place in an area identified as Three Sisters, Maeford lake. This close call also involved snowmobilers.
Click HERE for the CAA report.

All these reports are available on the CAC website at www.avalanche.ca . Look to the left side bar when viewing the Public Avalanche Bulletin Reports.
Click here for an example.
This is a current link and may not be valid during non-avalanche season periods.

Upcoming avy training classes.

Developing an eye for Terrain Rating

How would you rate this slope? Simple, Challenging, or Complex?
What is your reasoning?
Remember, don’t factor in the snow cover.
Only consider the configuration of the terrain.

Scott Lindstrom snapped these shots of a recent slab avalanche while sledding at Lucille, near McBride, BC on February 17, 2008.
The runout zone is quite open, however the slope angle does make a bit of a quick transition close to the bottom of the track. This could lead to a deeper burial if a person were to get trapped near this point. Also, there are a few trees and a couple of rocks to contend with in the avalanche track.

There are definitely hills with way higher consequences out there. This is a good example of ‘Challenging Terrain’ as rated by the AVALUATOR.
For a quick refresher on the CAC terrain ratings CLICK HERE

A lot of speculation happening I suppose, but from my armchair I wonder if it is possible that this avalanche was initiated near the buried trees on the left side of the photo. Perhaps this shallow failure propagated across the slope. On the right hand side it looks like the bed surface is uneven. Perhaps the motion of the initial slide became a trigger for this avalanche to step down to the deeper layer. It was very lucky that the crown line didn’t propagate further. The hazard would have been much greater.

PWL 2007-08

Weather is the architect of avalanches. Snow isn’t the only creator of avalanche hazard. More often it is the weather events that happen between the snowfalls that create instabilities….rain, wind, frost, cold temps, warm temps… Some of these layers morph and bond within a few days….some layers persist for many weeks. Every year the blueprint is different. What is the blueprint this year??
CLICK HERE to read the report, ‘Persistent Weak Layers and the Winter of 2007-08’ compiled by CAC forecaster Karl Klassen, for a detailed appreciation for the deep weak layer problem that much of our backcountry is facing this season.

This report was updated Feb 27, 2008.

The video clip below was shot by Genevieve Chabot for the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (Montana, USA)
The discussion relates to a snowmobiler triggered avalanche at Buck Ridge ~ Feb 16/08. The slide involved a very dense windslab sitting on a layer of facets. At the deepest point the crown fracture measured 7 feet.

Another example of a persistent weak layer is a layer of surface hoar or hoar frost. If the frost is not destroyed by sun, wind, warm temps, rain, human activity… AND is buried by a new layer of snow, it can remain as an unstable layer in the snowpack for a long time. Frost tends not to bond to itself or the other snow layers and is resistant to metamorphism or structural change once protected within the snowpack.

Frost freshly formed on the surface.

This picture is from Chappel Creek, near Valemount, BC on Febuary 17, 2008. (Considered the Feb 25 layer as this is approximate date that the frost layer was buried.)

Frost preserved and sandwiched between snow layers.

During our avalanche course on March 3/08 a snow pit was completed approx 12 km up the Quartz Creek trail (very near the old sign-in box.) In this pit the frost layer buried on Feb 25 consisted of very large crystals sitting on a 2cm ice crust from previous rains and warm temps. A terrible combination.

On March 3, 2008 this extremely weak layer was only buried by a few cms of low density snow.

Our sleds, footsteps and and the jump test in the video below, were simply crushing right through the fresh new snow and into this frost layer. These types of activities help to mix up the layers and punch holes in near surface weak layers, in effect, introducing small pockets of stability.

Here is Zac’s Tracs first attempt at a YouTube video upload! You can see that we pop out the January 26 weak layer.

For a slab failure we need a slab. Because all of the storm snow was so low density we do not see the February 25 frost layer react in the big block test in the video…only the January layer. Other snowpit tests, like the compression test and the burp test were used to show the instability of this near surface frost layer.

It is always very educational to teach avalanche classes during periods of elevated avalanche danger. There is always something dramatic to demonstrate and the participants really ‘get it’.

To keep yourselves safe during this season, please take (or update) avalanche training, read the CAC PERSISTENT WEAK LAYER REPORT , and always check the Public Avalanche Bulletin before riding.
Click here for the Canadian Avalanche Centre’s Public Avalanche Bulletins.
Click here for Avalanche.org to access US Avalanche Bulletins.

Avalanche at Keystone

Below is a short clip from a posting on SnoWest.com. It was written by one of the rescuers that worked hard to save the life of a snowmobiler that was killed while riding at Keystone, near Revelstoke, BC on Feb 16, 2008. This report sends chills as many of the comments ring true for all of us at one time or another…

Tim writes…..I never thought it would happen to me.

This trip began like so many others. Before I left home, I checked the BC avalanche website and saw that the avalanche danger was “considerable” in Revelstoke. In the back of my mind, I knew there have been eight avalanche deaths in BC so far this year, and these numbers can’t be ignored. My little girl stood at the front door of the house as I hugged the family goodbye and said, “Dad, if you get in an avalanche, you have to fight, fight, fight and make sure you live!” She clenched her little fists to drive the point home.

Click here to be redirected to SnoWest.com to view the entire thread.

Newsletters - Quick Links

Please use these links to navigate to ARCHIVED articles and newsletters.

Developing an Eye for Terrain Rating
Persistent Weak Layer Problems of 2007-08
Avalanche at Keystone
February 2008 – Zac’s Newsletter
ASARC Newsletter
Avy onto Lake
Dozen More Turns
Recent Avalanche Accidents – Worldwide Data
CAC Avalanche Incident Links
Computer Whiz Required!
Close Call – an avalanche experience
Red Deer Newspaper runs front page avalanche story!
Too Close for Comfort – an avalanche experience
Randy and the T’s – what does Zac do when he’s not sledding
Roll, Cut, Print – A little fun for Lori
Archived Newsletters 2006-07
Zac’s Article in SnoWest Canada – January 2007 – Fact or Fiction?
Holiday Fun 2008









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ASARC Newsletter

This posting is for you keeners out there!
This is the first newsletter from ASARC – The Applied Snow and Avalanche Research group from the University of Calgary.

ASARC Newsletter December 2007.pdf

Check out some of the avalanche related research that is happening in Canada.

Fracture propagation research

GIS Avalanche Terrain Rating

Hopefully this work will lead to better products for the recreational market. GIS mapping will make the AVALUATOR a much stronger tool!

Avy Onto Lake

Click HERE to follow the link to view a accident report and photos of a snowmobile triggered Size 3 avalanche. This slide crashed onto the lake below and blew the ice out of the other side.

A Dozen More Turns

A Dozen More Turns is the true story of five close friends, all with extensive avalanche education, who went on a New Year’s Day hut trip in Southwestern Montana. A member of the group triggered an avalanche with truly devastating consequences. This film tells this tragic story in an effort to help backcountry enthusiasts re-calibrate their decision-making processes when up on the slopes. Using emotional interviews, science and compelling home video footage left behind by the group, each viewer is left wondering if simply having avalanche education is enough to save our lives in the backcountry. How much are we willing to risk for a dozen more turns?

Click HERE to view the A Dozen More Turns video on-line.

The AVALUATOR is a decision making tool developed by the Canadian Avalanche Centre to help us gather facts and observations to help us make choices without the influence of human factors such as peer pressure and over-confidence.
Follow this link to learn more about this new system.