The 38th anniversary of massive avalanche at Alpine Meadows

[pais alto]

An excellent read on the 1982 AM Avy. Recommended.

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

Someone made a comment to me this season about how the patroller position at Alpine is as highly coveted as at Snowbird because of the avy hazard. Then when I was skiing with a patroller at Snowbird early March, she mentioned throwing 70+ hand charges one morning during the February interlodge, wasn’t sure if the number is just her alone or the entire avy mitigation crew. Like @CascadeConcrete, I’m also getting the impression that LCC is higher In general. No concrete evidence.

 

[4ster]

I’m also getting the impression that LCC is higher In general. No concrete evidence.

I would suspect if you’re talking about avalanche mitigation in all of the LCC, the amount would be staggering!
As far as individual ski areas go, I believe Snowbasin has the most start zones needing explosives in Utah. I remember being surprised when I first heard this because you would think that Snowbird or Alta would be number one but you have to realize Snowbasin is 3000 acres below a jagged ridge line.

An article linked earlier in this thread stated that Alpine was number one in North America although I think they were including the areas above the access road. That ranking could have also changed since the time that the article was published.

https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/issw-1998-432-438.pdf

 

[Tricia]

I bet people like @ZionPow would have some data on that.

 

[Chickenmonkey]

Every year on the anniversary, they do a presentation and share out in the instructor building. A few of the people who assisted with the rescue, and discussed in the book listed above, are usually there, Jorg, others... It is amazingly interesting to hear their accounts...where some of the reporting got it wrong, etc.

Here is a photo from inside the lodge from their slides. Sorry for the bad quality, but it is a photo of a projected slide.

 

[ZionPow]

I bet people like @ZionPow would have some data on that.

I have not seen any statistics comparing different ski areas. Maybe due to the fact that the avalanche hazard varies drastically year to year depending on weather cycles, snowpack layer bonding and wind events. Based on the numerous articles and studies I have read, the areas that are used in many pro avy course case studies seem to be LCC, Squaw/Alpine, Jackson/Teton Pass, Crystal/Stevens/Baker and Snowbasin. There can be quite a difference between the Maritime (CA/OR/WA), Intermountain (UT) and Continental (CO/MT/WY) snowpacks and therefore quite different avalanche problems during the same season. The National Avalanche School Pro courses dive deep into the different problems in each region. The mitigation strategy is different in each region, including different types of explosives used, to best mitigate the risk.

 

[Tony]

Great story on how Jake's Peak got named at A Legacy Set in Stone - Tahoe Quarterly

 

[Posaune]

I believe this is still the largest loss of life at a North American ski resort.

No. It isn't. I don't know if it was the largest, but the avalanche at the now defunct Yodelin Ski Area, just east of Stevens Pass, WA, on January 24 or 25 (night time) 1971 claimed 4 lives. My brother was on ski patrol at Stevens that night and was a first responder to the incident. I remember him talking about digging furiously as live wires were sparking in the vicinity.

 

[4ster]

Great story on how Jake's Peak got named at A Legacy Set in Stone - Tahoe Quarterly

Here some of my photos from a few different recent years of Jake’s Peak avalanche path just above Hwy 89...

& looking back at the view...

No. It isn't. I don't know if it was the largest, but the avalanche at the now defunct Yodelin Ski Area, just east of Stevens Pass, WA, on January 24 or 25 (night time) 1971 claimed 4 lives. My brother was on ski patrol at Stevens that night and was a first responder to the incident. I remember him talking about digging furiously as live wires were sparking in the vicinity.

Unless I am reading it wrong the article linked above states 7 dead at Alpine...

The snow melted. The seven dead were buried. The buildings were rebuilt. But some looked for more meaning. Jake’s older brother, Dennis, thought of that unnamed peak where the earlier avalanche had swept across Highway 89.

 

[James]

I would suspect if you’re talking about avalanche mitigation in all of the LCC, the amount would be staggering!
As far as individual ski areas go, I believe Snowbasin has the most start zones needing explosives in Utah. I remember being surprised when I first heard this because you would think that Snowbird or Alta would be number one but you have to realize Snowbasin is 3000 acres below a jagged ridge line.


An article linked earlier in this thread stated that Alpine was number one in North America although I think they were including the areas above the access road. That ranking could have also changed since the time that the article was published.

https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/issw-1998-432-438.pdf

Holy string of cornices Batman!

 

[Posaune]

Unless I am reading it wrong the article linked above states 7 dead at Alpine...

My mistake. I thought I read 3 deaths. One is too many.

 

[murphysf]

In 1982, an avalanche wiped out a Tahoe ski resort. One survived.

It took five days to recover eight missing persons. Seven died. One waited in the...

www.sfgate.com

 

[Tricia]

@murphysf I moved your thread to the ongoing discussion.
Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Tricia]

There is a feature length documentary based on the events and circumstances surrounding the 1982 avalanche in Alpine Meadows.

I know I'll be watching it.
Here is a clip with Larry Heywood. Chilling.

Larry Heywood | "What happened that afternoon in many ways kind of defined and directed the rest of my life." In 1982, Larry Heywood was the assistant director of ski... | By Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche | Facebook

"What happened that afternoon in many ways kind of defined and directed the rest of my life." In 1982, Larry Heywood was the assistant director of ski...

fb.watch

Facebook page for updates

Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche

Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche, Alpine Meadows, California. 4,279 likes · 4 talking about this. In 1982, an avalanche of unforeseeable magnitude broke free in Alpine Meadows. There was no...

www.facebook.com

Website for updates and donate option to support the documentary

BURIED

www.buriedfilm.com