Avalanche Story: Practice, Practice, Practice

[David Metsky]

Here's a first hand account of a skier caught in an Avy, full burial, and his partner finding and rescuing him. It's a sobering read with many lessons to be learned.

If you travel in avy terrain and carry a beacon, shovel, probe - practice, practice, practice. Seconds count and knowing what to do and how to do it quickly is the only thing that's going to save lives.

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=54830

-dave-

 

[erugs]

That's the most inspiring and encouraging story I've read in a long time. Thanks for making it available, Dave.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

And if you're headed to the Sierra for skiing (Mammoth, June Lake, Tahoe, etc) beware the Mammoth is reporting 10' from the last storm a couple of days ago (yup, that's feet, not inches). Either stay in-bounds or know what the h$%ll you're doing.

 

[Trainwreck]

I took an avi course in Colorado and it was an amazin experience.That course should be required for any person venturing into the backcountry. Practice, practice, practice. A job well done by Lumpy. Thanks for the link.
sandy

 

[--M.]

That's a compelling story! The fact that it's not just eye-witness, but first-person, makes it even more incredible. Wow. Way to handle a reality-smack!

Thanks for that link.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Thanks for posting, Dave. Lots of good avy courses taught in the Northeast also, through the AMC and various climbing schools. PVSART and other SAR teams also practice this stuff, but will be inevitably too late to help in most avy cases (i.e., after a half hour or less, it is usually the 's' part rather than the 'r' part of 'sar').