Wildcat B Avalanche
- Thread starter peakbagger
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Interesting location. Anyone familiar with the terrain there? Without pulling out a Topo of the area it would stand to reason this occurred in The Thompson Brook drainage. Mostly wooded I believe barring some hidden slide. If it was in the woods it just goes to show it does not have to be an open slope or gully for it to go. Kind of reminds me when the Randolph Path got mowed over between The Log Cabin and the Perch.
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A little more info here. Skier survives New Hampshire avalanche, found uninjured after 500-foot tumble
Avy occurred in a narrow gully on the east side of Wildcat D that was reamed out by a Tropical Storm Irene debris flow, according to Steve Smith who has been there.
Thanks for the clarification. Any info on which side they ascended from?
Best report, I think, is Jeff Fongemie’s at the MWAC site. Apparently three skiers skinned up Wildcat Ski Area, one decided to bail after reading the avy forecast on his phone and gave his beacon to one of the other two who had forgotten his, before the other two traversed the ridge to Wildcat B. I am not on my computer at the moment, but perhaps someone can post the MWAC link here.
Thanks for the info. Skier-triggered avalanche; Wildcat B / Carter Notch; 03/15/2023 – Mount Washington Avalanche Center
Very interesting and well written report. I know Jeff and he is very thorough and doing a great job in his position IMO. I thought this included link was also very interesting. Biases - The Decision Lab
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Agreed. MWAC has had a fine succession of excellent avy forecasters. You probably remember Brad Ray from the late 60s / early 70s?
Brad was one of the instructors along with longtime serving Head of Tuck’s Ski Patrol Roger Damon when I took my first Avy Training course at Pinkham a long time ago. Roger H. Damon, Jr. – 70 Years Active Service as an NSP Member | New Hampshire Region NSP
I also knew Chris Joosen. Both of these fine individuals served for a long time in that position as I suspect Jeff will too. Brad dates back to the days when active use of fire arms including the infamous “ Snow Cannon” for avalanche control. Here is a not so good pic I snapped from Jeff Leich’s book “Over The Headwall”. Jeff’s book is a great read and resource with awesome photos that tells the story of Tuck’s and skiing history over the years. Jeff is another legend in his own time who just retired this past year as The Director of The New England Ski Museum.
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I worked in the AMC huts with Jeff Leich, whose contributions to skiing history in the Whites is second to none.
Agreed on Chris Joosen, great guy, who loaned us the USFS Rammsonde penetrometer for a snow pit study in Tucks for a student’s undergraduate honors project. Funny part was that Chris had not used the device, which was stashed unseen in the loft of their cabin in Tucks. I believe that Chris was responsible for initiating the annual ESAW events each November in the NC area.
I was also impressed with Frank Caras, whom I think was absolutely heroic, along with Jeff Fongemie, Helton Hoffer, and Sarah Goodnow, in trying to save Nick Benedict after his avy burial in Raymond Cataract in April 2019. The lengthy report in the MWAC archives is heartbreaking.
Agreed on Chris Joosen, great guy, who loaned us the USFS Rammsonde penetrometer for a snow pit study in Tucks for a student’s undergraduate honors project. Funny part was that Chris had not used the device, which was stashed unseen in the loft of their cabin in Tucks. I believe that Chris was responsible for initiating the annual ESAW events each November in the NC area.
I was also impressed with Frank Caras, whom I think was absolutely heroic, along with Jeff Fongemie, Helton Hoffer, and Sarah Goodnow, in trying to save Nick Benedict after his avy burial in Raymond Cataract in April 2019. The lengthy report in the MWAC archives is heartbreaking.
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I worked with Jeff at an undisclosed outdoor outfitter in the area back in the 90’s. Albeit not at the same time we both went to the same Summer Camp on Winnie. Ironically, he had previously worked as head of The Ski Patrol at The Kitty. Snow evaluation has so evolved in the area over the years. Sounds as if this latest incident might have been a case of powder fever. Also of note was the lack of a transceiver by the one skier. Then the bailing skier handed it over his unit to him only to have the lack of reception later on during the incident after deployment. Again I'm glad that these guys are OK. But interesting how incidents like this can start off with small errors that can have a domino like effect resulting sometimes with tragic results. All the technology and learning but it is also important to stay smart and also trust one's gut. The guy who bailed was the one with his head screwed on tight.
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Agreed. Maybe if the two had done a beacon check before they dropped in, they might have reconsidered? However, after the up and down grunt from D to B, probably they would have still gone for it even knowing one or both of the beacons did not work.
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Classic Case of not inspecting your aspect of what your going to ski before hand. Dropping in the backside under well represented conditions that were obviously apparent was obviously not the best decision. Probably ultimately looking for a Cold One at The Wildcat Inn along with bragging rights. Carter Notch Road would have been a lot better plan at least for this half bake Type II fun.
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I watched a short video advert for the Kitty on Wednesday afternoon, in which Kevin St Gelais said they got 29 inches in that 3/13-14 storm. I do know just as well as the next person that ski areas buy special yardsticks, but MWAC quoted'a 23" inch measurement at about 3800 feet, across the street. A couple guys are very, very fortunate.
