2010, by Waheenie

Three people have died in avalanche deaths in the United States so far this season. Three is three too many.

1. Wolf Creek, UT. November 22, 2010. Scott Kay, 41. (Director of the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol- inbound avalanche)

2. Utah-Wyoming Border. November 27, 2010. Dennis Barnes, 54. (Snowmobile accident)

3. Clear Creek near Loveland Pass, CO. December 5, 2010. Kyle Shellberg, 32 (Backcountry Skiing accident)

First off, we would like to express condolences to the family & friends, and all those involved in these tragic avalanche incidents.

In their memory and honor, let's all take responsibility to make safe choices in avalanche terrain. It's all too easy to become complacent or unpracticed. So take a moment to review your skills, habits & plans. What will it take for YOU to stay safe this year? (I do NOT want to add another name to this list...)

Last year, there were 36 avalanche fatalities in the United States. Let's all do our part to to be diligent about safety and prevent any more deaths this season. Here are some ways that you can help prevent another tragedy:

* Start an Avy Club in your town & PRACTICE avalanche safety skills (avoidance and rescue)

* Share conditions information on the Powder Journal (each entry raises $$$ for AIARE. Thanks Clip Skins!)

* Read & Re-read Snow Sense, Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain & The Avalanche Handbook

* Take an Avalanche Class

* Go skiing with a girl (this is proven to be one of the most proven ways to stay safe!)

Read more about each incident in the articles below:

Ski patroller was wearing Avalung when killed by slide
Posted on December 3, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

A skier deploys an avalanche probe, used to pinpoint buried victims, during the annual Beacon Bowl event at Arapahoe Basin.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center releases technical report on Wolf Creek avalanche fatality; OSHA to determine whether patrol director Scott Kay was exposed to unacceptable risks

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Wolf Creek ski patrol director Scott Kay was wearing an Avalung breathing device when he was killed by a soft snow avalanche on Nov. 22, but was not able to deploy the Avalung before he was buried, according to a technical report posted by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. According to the CAIC report, the mouthpiece was still secured in the shoulder pack of the harness when Kay was uncovered by rescue workers.

The Avalung is intended to enable buried avalanche victims to breathe while trapped under the snow. Many avalanche victims die of asphyxiation, either when snow and ice fill their nose and mouth, or sometimes when an ice mask forms from condensation, blocking the flow of air.

According to the CAIC report, the area of the slide had a variable snow depth ranging from boulders in some spots, with up to two to three feet of snow on the ground in other areas. The avalanche ran on a firm melt-freeze ice crust that formed on top of snow that fell in October. The crown face, where the slide broke away from the surrounding snowpack, ranged from three inches to three feet deep. The area had received 16 inches of new snow in the 24 hours before the avalanche, with strong southwest winds blowing during the storm. The slide was on a 45-degree, northeast-facing slope at an elevation of 11,600 feet.

Kay was apparently working alone, as the report states that there were no witnesses to offer details on the slide itself. Other ski patrollers reached the scene about 50 minutes after Kay’s last radio communication with dispatch. He was found under about four feet of snow using transceivers and probe poles.

Read more here

Snowmobiler dies in Summit County avalanche
By jason bergreen and lindsay whitehurst

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Nov 26, 2010 09:54PM
Updated Dec 3, 2010 05:42PM

An avalanche in the Uinta Mountains killed a 54-year-old snowmobiler near the Utah-Wyoming border Friday afternoon, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office reported.

He was identified as Dennis Barnes of Evanston, Wyo.

Barnes was riding with a friend in the Moffit Basin area when a 200- to 250-yard avalanche swept him away, said sheriff’s Detective Ronald Bridge. Barnes was within 10 feet of his snowmobile buried under a foot of snow for about a hour and 35 minutes, Bridge said. No one else was hurt in the slide.

Search and rescue crews and two helicopters searched for Barnes in the area near the Utah-Wyoming border. His body was found just before 4 p.m. He was described as an experienced snowmobiler. Barnes was not wearing a location beacon at the time of the avalanche, according to a Summit County sheriff’s press release.

Barnes and his companion were riding in an area called the Super Bowl, near Moffit Peak, a site popular with snowmobilers, when the avalanche struck, the press release states.

The Utah Avalanche Center rated avalanche danger as "considerable" in the Moffit Basin on Friday.

"People need to have a lot of knowledge and experience before going out in those kinds of conditions," said Bruce Tremper, director of the Utah Avalanche Center. "Uinta Mountains are dangerous right now because they have a completely different kind of snow pack."

Conditions in the Uintas are expected to be almost identical for the weekend, Tremper added. A forecaster from the Avalanche Center will be heading to the site to do an investigation.

"It’s just a real tragic accident," Tremper said, adding that he was told the snowmobilers left their rescue gear in their car because they had no plans to ride on any steep hills.

A 2007 avalanche in the Moffit Basin area took the life of a Summit County man on Christmas Day, Bridge said. The following year, a 15-year-old Evanston boy was killed in a Dec. 29 slide.

Avalanche kills backcountry skier in Clear Creek County
By Joey Bunch
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/05/2010 11:12:23 PM MST
Updated: 12/05/2010 11:52:19 PM MST

Justin Latici of Golden dug a fellow backcountry skier from a 15-foot-deep avalanche and performed CPR for 45 minutes in vain Sunday afternoon, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office.

Kyle Shellberg, 32, of Golden was buried for about 20 minutes and did not survive. Latici, 31, was taken to a hospital with a leg injury after the slide at about 1 p.m. at Dry Gulch north of Interstate 70 near exit 216.

"They were skiing and triggered an avalanche," said Bill Barwick, spokesman for the Alpine Rescue Team, which was assisted by the ski patrol from nearby Loveland Ski Area.

The avalanche was about 500 feet wide and ran for about 200 yards. Latici told authorities they skied down opposite sides of the gully, but when he stopped about one-third of the way down, he saw Shellberg swept away in the slide that also pulled him down.

Barwick did not know how deep in the 15-foot slide Shellberg was buried. The Sheriff's Office said Latici found Shellberg using an emergency avalanche beacon before digging him out.

An emergency-room doctor, Rick Abbott, was skiing in the area when he heard Latici's calls for help. He determined Shellberg was dead and skied out to find help, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The fatality marked the third U.S. avalanche death this snow season, with two in Colorado.

The first was Nov. 22 at Wolf Creek Ski Area in southwest Colorado when ski-patrol director Scott Kay, 41, was killed in an in-bounds slide as he and other staff were doing avalanche-mitigation work before the area opened to the public.

The second was Nov. 27 along the Utah-Wyoming border when a 54-year-old snowmobiler from Evanston, Wyo., Dennis Barnes, was caught and killed in an avalanche in the Uinta Mountains.

During last year's winter season, 36 people were killed in avalanches in the United States, including seven in Colorado, the most of any state, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The mountains continued to receive snow Sunday after a heavy start to the snow season from a series of Pacific storms.

Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or [email protected]

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Canadian avalanche fatalities 1/15/11 wrote on 01/17/11 at 12:06:38 am pst:

Sad news from Canada this weekend. 3 fatalities in Alberta:

http://www.660news.com/radio/660news/article/170499--three-albertans-killed-in-weekend-avalanches