5 people caught in heli trip avalanche

[Tricia]

Kevin Quinn from Points North Heli reported that an avalanche caught 5 customers, all of whom are okay, some gear lost and minor injuries to the person who triggered the avalanche.

From his report:
Four in the group below, waiting in what has historically been a “safe-zone” for this run, were captured and carried, along with the skier above. All five were on the surface with some gear lost by two skiers. Minor, non-life threatening injuries were sustained by the skier who triggered the avalanche (dislocated elbow, knee sprain, possible ligament tear).” That is all. An adjacent group very close was able to help with recovery and assist with care. The day was called immediately and all groups were flown back to the PNH base here in Cordova where a debrief with all guides and all clients then took place.
Full report here

If you recall, @RachelV posted about her experience with PNH a few years ago

 

[SkiNurse]

Scary season. The avalanche on Jones Pass that killed the photographer for Powder Addiction was also in a supposed "safe zone" that was triggered by skiers (not part of the group) above. IMHO, I don't think there is any "safe zone" in the backcountry right now...

 

[Tricia]

Scary season. The avalanche on Jones Pass that killed the photographer for Powder Addiction was also in a supposed "safe zone" that was triggered by skiers (not part of the group) above. IMHO, I don't think there is any "safe zone" in the backcountry right now...

I am with you on that one.
The incredible snow conditions this year have also been risky snow conditions. We're seeing avalanches at a rate that I never imagined.
Think about how much care these operations take with avalanche forecasting. When operations that take that kind of care having this kind of thing happening, one has to stop and thing before hitting the backcountry.

 

[tch]

Obviously, I don't know the situation above. But...fairly long piece on NPR with interview with head of Colorado's Avalanche Center made the point that warmer temps and more snow mean more "wet snow" avalanches this year (and probably in years to come). From my limited understanding, these are different than the typical unstable layer avalanches: it's not powder snow sitting on top of facets, but rather simply LOTS and LOTS of wet, heavy snow that simply succumbs to gravity. He said this means that places that never used to avalanche are doing so. Scary.

 

[Alexzn]

We did a trip with Points North last year. Their commitment to snow safety is exemplary, most of the guides are long time professional ski patrollers, they are always digging snow pits, doing measurements, the guides are always talking to one another about the snow in the zone, and they drill you on safety very seriously before even loading into a heli, and it continues all the way throughout the trip. Alaska is serious terrain and the risks are there no matter what you try to do to prevent them. I’m glad everything was OK, thanks Kevin for posting the report. I hope the rest of the season is uneventful.

 

[Ken_R]

Scary season. The avalanche on Jones Pass that killed the photographer for Powder Addiction was also in a supposed "safe zone" that was triggered by skiers (not part of the group) above. IMHO, I don't think there is any "safe zone" in the backcountry right now...

I have probed around the backountry the past week and basically found that snow depths are just incredible this year in Colorado. 10-12 Feet plus being quite common near treeline. On loaded slopes that is even more. The snowpack has a LOT of water content too due to lots of heavy wet snowfall during storms. There were the typical dry Colorado time periods between storms so there are several hefty slabs (think 2-4 foot slabs or larger) sitting on top of junk snow and depth hoar. Slopes that did not slide are just waiting to be triggered. That said, the heft of the snowpack is crushing the weak layers and changing them. Things are not static but I think its gonna take a few weeks for things to stabilize enough. Once water starts running through the snowpack it may activate the weak layers again (whats left of them) and I fully expect large wet slab avalanches to happen if it gets warm quickly.

There are PLENTY of safe areas in the backcountry you just have to give steep slopes and runouts PLENTY of space and respect.

The Jones Pass Avalanche that killed Hans was huge and the area that it took out had old growth trees but was still quite steep and obviously exposed to the steep start zones above. The summer/winter road goes through this area and has always worried me. Here is a pic I took a few days ago looking at the avy.

Hard to tell but there is a road that switchbacks across the lower slopes and keeps going to the left.

 

[DanoT]

There was an in bounds isothermic avalanche at Silver Star, near Vernon, B.C. One guy injured.

Temps have been very high lately in B.C. More like May than March.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/silverstar-avalanche-putnam-1.5065204

 

[Eleeski]

I don't think there is any "safe zone" in the backcountry right now...

Hmmm, avalanche with no deaths and minor injuries. Sounds like the backcountry is getting safer. There's lots of good safety equipment, awareness and training that is becoming widespread. Certainly a trip with a reputable service (like Points North) is worth considering. Staying out of the backcountry guarantees you will miss out on wonderful experiences.

Eric

 

[Wilhelmson]

I don't know much about avalanches. Are there some that move a lot more snow and others where only the top layers slide? When I saw the detritus at Alta there were 12 inch trees snapped and mixed up. Can't imagine a group of people could survive that with minor injuries.

 

[fatbob]

Props to Points North for owning it and for their post incident actions. Everything I've heard makes me think they are a top notch outfit.

 

[crgildart]

Hmmm, avalanche with no deaths and minor injuries. Sounds like the backcountry is getting safer. There's lots of good safety equipment, awareness and training that is becoming widespread. Certainly a trip with a reputable service (like Points North) is worth considering. Staying out of the backcountry guarantees you will miss out on wonderful experiences.

Eric

Disagree, when people in an ADVANCED avi safety course get buried that's sign that it's getting less manageable. More close calls, in addition to more devastating events like we're seeing all along I70 up through Canada don't support your assertion. Let's hope this isn't the new normal. If it is, the obvious way to mitigate is MORE grooming, starting with the bombs then packing it down.

 

[Tricia]

We did a trip with Points North last year. Their commitment to snow safety is exemplary, most of the guides are long time professional ski patrollers, they are always digging snow pits, doing measurements, the guides are always talking to one another about the snow in the zone, and they drill you on safety very seriously before even loading into a heli, and it continues all the way throughout the trip. Alaska is serious terrain and the risks are there no matter what you try to do to prevent them. I’m glad everything was OK, thanks Kevin for posting the report. I hope the rest of the season is uneventful.

I know Jessica Soboloski- Quinn pretty well and I agree. They are extremely professional and are diligent about safety.
My experience with her is from the Next Level camp and she was very clear about safety.

 

[Alexzn]

Here is a better view of the slide, you can see the tracks leading into it. Alaska terrain is MASSIVE. Stay safe out there.

 

[raisingarizona]

Lots of posts here are sort of oversimplifying snow science. It’s fairly complex and there are so many variables involved. It’s hardly ever as black and white as we would like it.

 

[Alexzn]

Disagree, when people in an ADVANCED avi safety course get buried that's sign that it's getting less manageable. More close calls, in addition to more devastating events like we're seeing all along I70 up through Canada don't support your assertion. Let's hope this isn't the new normal. If it is, the obvious way to mitigate is MORE grooming, starting with the bombs then packing it down.

Do you even realize that this a helicopter-skiing terrain??? Good luck grooming that...

 

[James]

Here is a better view of the slide, you can see the tracks leading into it. Alaska terrain is MASSIVE. Stay safe out there.

Yeah freakin' huge! And steep. That was a very big slide. Looks like it triggered the whole area. Good thing they weren't in a terrain trap.

 

[Sibhusky]

There was an inbounds avalanche here after sweeps on Tuesday, so Hellroaring Basin is closed (normally open until the end of the month) and they closed East Rim today at 1. That's a lot of terrain. I'm surprised they didn't mention Haskell Slide as well. We had an extended super frigid period where lots of super dry snow fell throughout February and now March has been extremely warm - today it was near 50 at the summit. So the top is quite heavy, but that dry stuff is still below.

 

[crgildart]

Do you even realize that this a helicopter-skiing terrain??? Good luck grooming that...

What I'm saying is that we could be to a point were skiing places a winch cat can't get to or handle may be getting too dangerous to ski as often as they used to be in play. If the experts are right, these snow and rain events are going to get bigger and bigger unless things change on a global scale quickly.

Before it gets too warm for snow altogether, it will come in bigger and bigger dumps because warmer air carries more moisture. Gets better before it gets worse..

 

[tball]

Hmmm, avalanche with no deaths and minor injuries. Sounds like the backcountry is getting safer

Yeah, I don't think that's the takeaway from this.

Just look at the pictures, or here's what the owner of the operation said to begin the post on FB:

"Today we were very lucky"

 

[Lauren]

Here is a better view of the slide, you can see the tracks leading into it. Alaska terrain is MASSIVE. Stay safe out there.

Oh my ! That really gives it perspective (especially with the tracks at the top). From the first photo I was thinking it was big, but no where near the size it looks in your photo posted.

Hmmm, avalanche with no deaths and minor injuries. Sounds like the backcountry is getting safer. There's lots of good safety equipment, awareness and training that is becoming widespread. Certainly a trip with a reputable service (like Points North) is worth considering. Staying out of the backcountry guarantees you will miss out on wonderful experiences.

While I do agree that the answer is not to completely stay out of the backcountry. I can't agree with the bolded portion. On a construction job this would be referred to as "near miss". They are tracked and taken just as seriously as an actual injury. I think the goal here is to be able to learn from this experience, be thankful that it wasn't worse and make changes to your plan/program/snow evaluations so this doesn't happen again, because next time you might not be as lucky.