Live to Tell - YouTube

You may have already seen this clip. It has certainly gone viral on the internet. There were 30,000 views last night and this afternoon I see that that it is up to 73,000. Wow!! Can’t imagine what it is up to by now…while you are reading this.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE to view the clip on YouTube.

Some of the comments last night were poking blame at the companions for not having shovel and gear right away. In my opinion the companions acted exactly right. Zero in on the most likely burial area and get the head exposed pronto. Couldn’t have happened any faster. Riders had visual on the person caught. Soft slab avalanche that didn’t set up, easy to clear away an air space. Luckily the rider that triggered the slope had great reactions and good visual contact…maybe even physical contact?! Ouch! Can’t tell if he rides over the fellas legs or not?!

Of course shovels will probably be needed to get the rider completely out of the snow, but as long as there are no serious injuries, the group and the rider can settle. Hard to tell in the video, but it is likely that there isn’t enough snow left for the hill to naturally release and catch the group in a second slide. At this point, calming down might be the best thing for everyone involved.

Not much of a hill, nor much of a snowpack. Trouble is on years with a shallow snowpack we can get surprised with unusual releases on unusual slopes.
Chances are there is more snow where you are riding than in this video clip, but this clip reminds us that it is important to keep our guard up and practice habits like ‘one at a time on the hill’...at all times.

Glad to see that everyone was ok! And thanks to those that capture and post their stories, photos and videos. We all learn faster through each other’s experiences. It would take many lifetimes (literally) to fill our avalanche safety toolboxes if each of us learned everything through trial and error! It certainly costs less, hurts less, and takes less time to learn from the experiences of others!

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