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It Would Not Happen To Us | Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, WY United States | 12/29/08, by powderjunky

Area of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Avalanche that Killed Dave Nodine.
Whenever there is news of an avalanche victim, it's natural to look for "the mistake".  We think to ourselves, "I wouldn't have put myself in that situation. The victim must have made an error, ignored this, or forgot that, etc, etc, etc." And rightfully so. According to Bruce Tremper's book, Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain:
    In 93% of avalanche accidents, the avalanche is triggered by the victim or someone in the victim's party.   

He goes on to explain how human factors such as overconfidence, attitude, group management, complacency and poor communication often are primary factors in fatal avalanches.  

But what if the victim did everything right? This past Saturday, Dave Nodine, a 31 year old Wilson, WY resident lost his life inbounds at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Dave did everything right. He was inbounds on a HIGH avalanche danger day. He still wore his beacon while skiing inbounds. And he skied with a partner.

So where is the lack of judgment? Was it with Ski Patrol. Not likely. The Jackson Hole Ski Patrol is one of the most competent patrols you can find. Everyday they have the impossible mission of making an avalanche breeding ground (AKA  90% of all runs in-bounds at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort), safe to ski. These guys and gals are leading experts in the field of avalanche safety.  They were on the scene and recovered  Dave under 8 feet of snow within 10 minutes!  They likely shoveled over 2 TONS of snow 5 minutes faster than the 15 minute window for a 90% successful avalanche recovery.

Dave did all the right things, and the Patrol did all the right things. How did this tragedy happen? Unfortunately it is a sobering reminder that we do not control our own fate. It doesn't matter what level avalanche certification we have, how many years we have been skiing, what we think the snowpack can handle, or how many times a run has been skied. It scares me to think that I can make good, safe decisions and still end up a corpse.

Whether you are driving down the rode, working in the office, or skiing, every moment could be our last. The best thing we can all do is sit down take a deep breath, grieve and pray with Dave's family and friends, love, make amends, and be thankful for all we have been given.
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That's Our Opinion. What's Yours?

Haden Johnson wrote on 12/29/08 at 10:18:07 am pst:

I completely agree with your thoughts today. This is definitely a time to reflect, grieve and appreciate what we have. Dave was the 3rd inbounds avalanche fatality in the US this year!

It's a wake up call that skiing is inherently dangerous, even at a resort. However, just because we aren't in complete control of our fate doesn't mean that we can't increase our chances of survival. I hope that none of my friends are skiing out-of-bounds. And I hope that all of my friends start to follow safe protocol even within the "safety" of the resort.


Ryan Woods wrote on 12/29/08 at 10:31:48 am pst:

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has decided not to open today... Huge avalanche on Headwall hit the Couloir Restaurant early this morning!!! Ski Patrolers and Restaurant workers have been accounted for, but it's unclear whether anyone was injured.

This is crazy... Everyone stay safe!!!


Jason wrote on 12/29/08 at 11:57:22 am pst:

I'm not so sure he did everything right... Sounds like the guy hiked into a closed area!

If so, he's just lucky that his selfish actions didn't kill anyone else.

And ski patrol? I'd like to know how they determine if an area is safe to open.


Editors wrote on 12/29/08 at 12:51:25 am pst:

@ Jason,

It's natural to search for blame when tragedy hits home. However, at this point we feel that it's not appropriate to jump to such conclusions. We have contacted the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol for more information on their procedures and will let you know what we find out.


Sarah wrote on 12/29/08 at 8:38:41 pm pst:

Let's not forget, this is the 3rd inbounds avalanche incident this month! I think I read that there had only been 2 other inbounds avalanche fatalities since 1970.

Not to mention all the other slides that have occurred in bounds but haven't killed anyone.



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