Northern Rockies/Alberta Avalanche at Silver

[Slim]

They aren't looking for sausages ...

That’s what I meant. Avalanche dogs aren't looking for dog-bones.
The airport dogs are trained to search for drugs, explosives, or most commonly in my experience, fresh produce. Therefor, the smell of a sausage, although attractive, is not leading them to alert sooner.
Avalanche dogs are trained to find human scent, and therefor the presence of dog-bone-scent doesn’t really motivate them any faster, I think.

 

[James]

So, to be found quicker by rescue dogs, stop showering?

 

[crgildart]

Recco is mostly for body recovery. Not rescues.

Recco is going to be much slower in a rescue scenario. If you want to be saved alive -- a beacon is a far far better choice. They are more accurate, they are carried by most all patrollers and will be on scene immediately.

Beacons are also carried by others in your group if you're beeping. That's the difference many times, not having to wait for the patrol to find your friend.

 

[Pete in Idaho]

The names have been released on all 3 people who were buried.

Carl Humphries 58 Liberty Lake Wa (Spokane area)
Scott Parsons 46, Spokane Valley
Molly Hubbard 33, Minneapolis Minn.

Carl I knew but the other 2, don't know

Two Bear owner sounds different but I say different in GOOD way maintains helicopters 24/7 365days a year has saved and rescued a lot of people including Mike an Epic and Pugski member, a great guy, great skier and a fellow dedicated guy who in all probability wouldn't be here without Two Bears. So hats off to a great outfit and owner.

This the area that slid, from the top and even above where this pic shows. The two sets of tracks in the L middle are mine. A better day at silver.

 

[Itinerant skier]

Oregonian just published an article about Hubbard. Pediatric Neurosurgeon at OHSU. May all 3 RIP.

OHSU surgeon among 3 killed in Idaho avalanche

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said the body of Dr. Molly E. Hubbard, 33, was recovered Thursday from debris after around 140 volunteers combed Silver Mountain looking for her after she’d been reported missing by a relative on Wednesday.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[Sibhusky]

Posted on Facebook by Two Bear

This video was taken at the Silver Mountain Ski area Avalanche. We received a request for assistance Wednesday night after the searchers were not able to locate the eighth person buried. The team flew out first thing Thursday morning and were able to locate the missing person using the Recco detector. This is the first time we have had to use this device on a mission. Once the team deployed the device they were able to receive a reflective signal within minutes of starting to scan the debris field. They dropped locator streamers to identify the location for the Searchers. This is sadly a testament of the capabilities of the Recco detector. The person was buried approximately 20 feet but was wearing Recco equipped clothing and made the search much easier. Thank you to all the Searchers and Volunteers in working hard to help locate this person and all the others. Our hearts go out to the families.

 

[James]

The person was buried approximately 20 feet but was wearing Recco equipped clothing and made the search much easier.

20 feet. Yikes. Hard to see from photo how snow is piling to that depth. Is there big pitch change?

 

[DanoT]

So, to be found quicker by rescue dogs, stop showering?

I was once involved in SAR for a tree incident victim who was completely buried upside down for 4 or 5 days. The German Shepard police dog was taken to a spot that turned out to be about 150-200ft from the body and when released, the dog ran a bee line straight to the body.

 

[Pete in Idaho]

Thank you 2 Bears Heli Rescue.

James, I am not an expert in avalanche science but I believe it was just the sheer volume of snow that slid and went into a slight depression area, sort of a side hill on the side of a hill.

 

[tball]

Damn, from that video it looks like a couple of bomb craters just above the start zone. So freaking close.



Any thoughts if that was just a storm slab or if it was a deeper persistent slab? It looks like it snowed after the avalanche, so it's hard to tell from that video.

News reports say 16" new snow in 24 hours. Does anyone know when this slope first opened for the season?

Personally, I have a belt with a RECCO reflector, plus a jacket with RECCO I often wear. I also have a beacon, shovel, probe and Avalung pack solely for inbound use. I don't wear the beacon often enough, and only take the pack on the hugest days. I don't feel one bit bad about just wearing the beacon, as ski patrol encourages it where I ski. Also, glad I have the RECCO, even if it's just for recovering my body, but also think I could possibly help my survival a bit if I'm not wearing my beacon. I need to wear my beacon more often.

So sad. Sorry for all those affected by this tragedy.

 

[4ster]

So, to be found quicker by rescue dogs, stop showering?

I still shower occasionally during ski season but I do like to be friendly with the avi dogs & let them get a good whiff of me whenever I see them.

 

[crgildart]

Local news is reporting that REI sold out of avi beacons today.

Great, we are now going to have lots of skier who feel safe and don't know how to use them.

I bought a beacon over the off season to have in my boot bag with new batteries. I've never owned one before but now see more rationale to wear one inbounds places where trouble is possible, places I never imagined I'd need one.

I know enough to switch it over to search when someone is missing so as not to disrupt the folks searching. I'll definitely make sure whoever I'm with shows me more about that protocol before we head up if I do end up someplace where I decide to wear it or someone else tells me I need it.

 

[Bad Bob]

I still shower occasionally during ski season but I do like to be friendly with the avi dogs & let them get a good whiff of me whenever I see them.

Always support local avi dogs. The life they save might be my own.

 

[Slim]

I bought a beacon over the off season to have in my boot bag with new batteries. I've never owned one before but now see more rationale to wear one inbounds places where trouble is possible, places I never imagined I'd need one.

I know enough to switch it over to search when someone is missing so as not to disrupt the folks searching. I'll definitely make sure whoever I'm with shows me more about that protocol before we head up if I do end up someplace where I decide to wear it or someone else tells me I need it.

Remember to remove the batteries at the end of the season!

You can find plenty of videos on how to use an Avalanche beacon online, no need to wait until you are on the hill with someone:
https://kbyg.org/learn/ is a free avalanche theory course, including search and rescue.
https://backcountryaccess.com/features/avalanche-beacon-searching-101-video/ is also great video (series)
There is also a one day avalanche resue course offed in many locations:

AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course - AIARE

Course Description AIARE Avalanche Rescue is a one-day stand alone course that is intended to be retaken on a regular basis in order to keep abreast of best practices in rescue techniques and gear. New participants will learn the basics of companion rescue, while returning participants will...

avtraining.org

if you know of someone else who has one, Or if you can rent one, you can practice searches at home. If you don’t have snow, use sandy areas, or paper bags To use the beacon you are searching for.
If not, many ski areas and mountain towns have a permanent beacon search park set up, so you just show up with your beacon and probe and you can practice.
BCa supports many of them and has a list:

contact support

contact supportundefined

backcountryaccess.com

 

[jmeb]

Always support local avi dogs. The life they save might be my own.

For anyone in Colorado. There is an avalanche dog calendar you can buy for your ski work station in the garage. You can buy them at most your local patrols, or online at https://scottbroc.com/product/2020-avalanche-rescue-dog-calendar/ . All the proceeds go right back into training more avy pups -- including the one on this years cover, Bandit.

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[Rio]

Reality is, people need to practice using their beacon under a little stress. I've found burying après ski beers with beacons and not letting people drink until their find their own beer works well especially if the gangs around to hassle any self-professed 'experts' as they fumble around unsuccessfully.

 

[James]

For anyone in Colorado. There is an avalanche dog calendar you can buy for your ski work station in the garage. You can buy them at most your local patrols, or online at https://scottbroc.com/product/2020-avalanche-rescue-dog-calendar/ . All the proceeds go right back into training more avy pups -- including the one on this years cover, Bandit.

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Cute puppy!^


Jeff Koons, Puppy. Bilbao, Spain.

 

[karlo]

Reality is, people need to practice using their beacon under a little stress. I've found burying après ski beers with beacons and not letting people drink until their find their own beer works well especially if the gangs around to hassle any self-professed 'experts' as they fumble around unsuccessfully.

Bury just one. Finders keepers.

 

[karlo]

This being in a resort, will there be a publicly available avy report. If so, published by who and when?

 

[dbostedo]

This being in a resort, will there be a publicly available avy report. If so, published by who and when?

CAIC will publish on this page: https://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/us/

The initial item is here: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/acc/acc_report.php?acc_id=731&accfm=rep