Taos: Feb 27 to Mar 5, 2016. Who's Going to Be There?

[pais alto]

Well shit. I was planning to get up there for this, but that's how you make God laugh - you make a plan. I have some emergency dentistry and other must-do stuff scheduled for my days off and can't get away.

 

[Freaq]

Well that sucks on all sorts of levels. Emergency dentistry sounds like a big stinking pile of no fun all on it's own.... add in that it ruins a trip to Taos and....dang!

 

[pais alto]

Well that sucks on all sorts of levels. Emergency dentistry sounds like a big stinking pile of no fun all on it's own.... add in that it ruins a trip to Taos and....dang!

A f'n crown fell out.

 

[mdf]

Yeah, my sympathies. I have a lot of crowns, but so far none have failed.

 

[mdf]

Another shot of Christy, with Mrs Grump in the background. By the time I got the camera out and ready, everyone else had blown past. That's sbrown, cgeib, and KingGrump down the hill.

 

[dean_spirito]

Hiked the Highline Ridge with the gang today before lunch. We skied Ninos and it was pretty darn amazing from top to bottom. Possibly the best run of the trip? The entrance was clean and the choke was pretty well filled in. Once you were through the choke, it was chalk city to the bottom.

Ninos Heroes

• dean_spirito
• Mar 2, 2016

Thanks @SBrown for filming today!

The afternoon was spent hiking West Basin and preparing for the comp tomorrow. I've selected a line through Stauffenberg that I'm feeling very comfortable about. It definitely isn't the most technical line and it certainly isn't very difficult, but the conditions are just not conducive to sending it. The top competitors in this event are going to do well by simply skiing faster, smoother, and more fluid than the next guy. I anticipate that my run will be about 25 seconds from top to bottom, 15-20 turns, including 4 airs. The biggest air will be roughly 25-30ft, but it looks bigger from where the judges are located because of the steep, upward takeoff, so hopefully it will score well. If you are around tomorrow, swing by the venue. It should be a good show!

 

[KingGrump]

Skied the latter part of the afternoon with the CO gang.

The gang on the hill.


And the most important part of the day - après.

 

[Tricia]

A f'n crown fell out.

See, you have a crown. I knew you were a prince all along.

 

[Tricia]

Hiked the Highline Ridge with the gang today before lunch. We skied Ninos and it was pretty darn amazing from top to bottom. Possibly the best run of the trip? The entrance was clean and the choke was pretty well filled in. Once you were through the choke, it was chalk city to the bottom.

Ninos Heroes

• dean_spirito
• Mar 2, 2016

Thanks @SBrown for filming today!

The afternoon was spent hiking West Basin and preparing for the comp tomorrow. I've selected a line through Stauffenberg that I'm feeling very comfortable about. It definitely isn't the most technical line and it certainly isn't very difficult, but the conditions are just not conducive to sending it. The top competitors in this event are going to do well by simply skiing faster, smoother, and more fluid than the next guy. I anticipate that my run will be about 25 seconds from top to bottom, 15-20 turns, including 4 airs. The biggest air will be roughly 25-30ft, but it looks bigger from where the judges are located because of the steep, upward takeoff, so hopefully it will score well. If you are around tomorrow, swing by the venue. It should be a good show!

We'll be cheering you on.

 

[mdf]

It was my favorite run!

(Zdarsky)
My problem was that you can't see the entrance from the top, so I was tentative and wound up at the lip facing the wrong way. If I had just skied it exactly the way SKiNurse did, I would have been fine. A failure of faith and nerve.

 

[KingGrump]

A shout out to @SkiNurse for her efforts in saving a boarder that experienced a major accident on Kachina peak this morning.

The man lost his footing at the top of the peak and slid for about 900 vertical feet down the K4 chute. He was unconscious when we reached him. He wasn't breathing and did not have a pulse. SkiNurse took charge of the situation and brought him back from the dead. I would say another 30 sec and he would definitely be a goner.

Her command ability and calm under fire is impressive. I am very proud of her actions today.

On another note - Please be careful out there and heed the "Expert Only" signs.

 

[SkiNurse]

Thank you, @KingGrump , but the credit really goes to you, @& @Chris Geib & @dean_spirito for stepping up to the task & performing CPR. The patroller & I couldn't have done it without the amazing team work. You all were as good as any of my critical care nurses....we were so fortunate you were all there.

The picture is of the scene. You can see patrol's boot pack up to where the boarder stopped. If you are able to zoom in on the picture, you can see where he slid, kinda in the middle gulley, face down the slope. He almost took out @dean_spirito .

There were several factors that played into us all being in the right place at the right time. Again...amazing teamwork!!

 

[GregMerz]

Hats off to all of you that saved the man's life !

 

[Ron]

Sounds like a lot of Kudo's to all. That's pretty amazing folks and you should all feel good about what you did.

 

[crgildart]

We recently learned team CPR with the scout troop at a local EMS and fire station. I'd had CPR taught to me several times formally in the past, most recently the BCBS child specific course for new parents back in 2000. Several things have changed since then regarding best practices. I recommend anyone that hasn't had a recent course go take one again.

Looks like it took some pretty good skiing to get down there quickly to help the victim.

 

[Tony S]

Nice work, chief.

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

Sounds like Team @SkiNurse was stellar Good Samaritan building tremendous karma. You guys are totally awesome.

Hoping to learn from the experience, will you share how the boarder may have lost consciousness from fall? His age in approximate decade? Do you think he just didn't belong there? Or it's a "slip" or mishap that could have happened to one of us?

 

[Tricia]

A shout out to @SkiNurse for her efforts in saving a boarder that experienced a major accident on Kachina peak this morning.

The man lost his footing at the top of the peak and slid for about 900 vertical feet down the K4 chute. He was unconscious when we reached him. He wasn't breathing and did not have a pulse. SkiNurse took charge of the situation and brought him back from the dead. I would say another 30 sec and he would definitely be a goner.

Her command ability and calm under fire is impressive. I am very proud of her actions today.

On another note - Please be careful out there and heed the "Expert Only" signs.

View attachment 4786
Thank you, @KingGrump , but the credit really goes to you, @& @Chris Geib & @dean_spirito for stepping up to the task & performing CPR. The patroller & I couldn't have done it without the amazing team work. You all were as good as any of my critical care nurses....we were so fortunate you were all there.

The picture is of the scene. You can see patrol's boot pack up to where the boarder stopped. If you are able to zoom in on the picture, you can see where he slid, kinda in the middle gulley, face down the slope. He almost took out @dean_spirito .

There were several factors that played into us all being in the right place at the right time. Again...amazing teamwork!!

Holy Wow!
I've known I was surrounded by amazing people but ......wow.
You (all) are awesome!
@SkiNurse, I'm not surprised that you handled things well and kept the situation under some resemblance of control. Although, nothing about that line you shared, or the situation seems like it was in control.

Wow!!!

 

[SBrown]

...Hoping to learn from the experience, will you share how the boarder may have lost consciousness from fall? His age in approximate decade? Do you think he just didn't belong there? Or it's a "slip" or mishap that could have happened to one of us?

I am not sure anyone saw the beginning of the fall, but he was not yet strapped into his board, so we think maybe he was walking on the ridge up top and slipped there. He lost consciousness because he was hurtling down a steep, rocky mountain at, oh, 40 or 50 mph (a recent avy survivor hit speeds of 60 mph according to phone gps), and hitting his head along the way. He is in his 30s, so a medical emergency is possible but maybe not as likely as an older person having a heart attack or something like that.

Have no idea of skill level. Yes, such a mishap is possible for anyone, but having long edges on your feet and poles in your hands helps a lot in terms of self-arrest once you fall. He just had rubbery rounded snowboard boots, and no poles, either.

There was a death at Taos last week (or maybe week before), not on Kachina, but from a slide into trees. The Freeride finals were supposed to be held on Kachina today, but I am pretty sure patrol had already nixed that even before this latest incident. Kachina was closed soon after the slide we witnessed, and I think remains closed.

Basically, it's a big steep mountain with a lot of vert and the snow is firm. It's not bad snow, you can edge in it, and the skiing was quite fun, but it's fast snow.

 

[Freaq]

I am not sure anyone saw the beginning of the fall, but he was not yet strapped into his board, so we think maybe he was walking on the ridge up top and slipped there. He lost consciousness because he was hurtling down a steep, rocky mountain at, oh, 40 or 50 mph (a recent avy survivor hit speeds of 60 mph according to phone gps), and hitting his head along the way. He is in his 30s, so a medical emergency is possible but maybe not as likely as an older person having a heart attack or something like that.

Have no idea of skill level. Yes, such a mishap is possible for anyone, but having long edges on your feet and poles in your hands helps a lot in terms of self-arrest once you fall. He just had rubbery rounded snowboard boots, and no poles, either.

There was a death at Taos last week (or maybe week before), not on Kachina, but from a slide into trees. The Freeride finals were supposed to be held on Kachina today, but I am pretty sure patrol had already nixed that even before this latest incident. Kachina was closed soon after the slide we witnessed, and I think remains closed.

Basically, it's a big steep mountain with a lot of vert and the snow is firm. It's not bad snow, you can edge in it, and the skiing was quite fun, but it's fast snow.

I can confirm the bolded statements.

Was wind a factor? The previous day it blew my skis off my shoulder a couple of times on the hike to the ridge and made me want to keep a little extra distance from the edge while we were loitering/deliberating.

For me, incidents like this serve as a reminder that we participate in a very dangerous activity. Certainly when we're on expert terrain in less than optimal conditions but really, any time we're speeding over a slick inclined surface, we're taking our (and others') health, if not lives, in our hands. We mitigate the dangers by gaining skills, procuring and maintaining appropriate equipment and making wise choices. In the end though, as soon as we get out on the hill it serves us well to be aware of all that's involved with what we're doing.