Photo courtesy: Petra Cliffs
Last month, three unlucky skiers were caught in a large avalanche in the Alaskan backcountry. Guide Steve Charest of Petra Cliffs and one of the skiers were taken for a ride and partially buried. The other skier was fully buried and nowhere to be seen.
Luckily for the skier who was 10 feet under, her rescuers knew what they were doing. Steve has been guiding in the US since 2002. He has a degree in outdoor education, and has completed the AMGA ski guide course, ski mountaineering guide course and aspirant exam, AIARE level III, AIARE level I lead instructor & level II instructor, Wilderness First Responder and CPR for the professional rescuer. As luck would have it, the other client just happened to have a ton of experience, as well. As Charest points out, “he was very switched on and beyond helpful and equally important to the turn out. Without his help I hate to even think about the other outcomes.”
The official report said that the avalanche happened on a 25-degree slope. Unfrickinbelievable. What on earth could you guys have done to prevent it?
The only thing I would have done differently is dug more [safety pits]. I knew the surface hoar was there, we skied the same aspect and elevation the day before, and I didn’t realize how much more reactive the slab became overnight. I triggered it from a zone of compression support well away from anything steep.
Is there anything that you would have done differently?
Human factors! I was on high alert with the new snow, the persistent weak layers, and choosing conservative routes, but with my route choices I “thought” we were out of harms way. As I said above, we dug the day before and had hard (ECT29, 30) Q2 results, we skied the same elevation, aspect, pitch, and to top it all off we watched 4 helicopters drop onto the steep headwall above and ski right through the zone where we were with no incident.
What was going through your mind while it was happening? What do you remember?
When I first heard the snap my first reaction was, “what the hell was that!?” We had [experienced] no cracking, whoomphing or any other instability signs before that. Then I noticed the snow all around me start to crack up and move. My first thought was to retreat back to the ridge where Patty was but never made it. I got my Avalung in my mouth and skied/swam down the fall line as far as I could. Just before [the avalanche] stopped I was knocked down. I was only buried up to my waist but was mildly stuck by my pack and skis. Dynafits don’t come off when in tour mode. As I freed myself I called for Andrew and Patty but only Andrew answered. Once free I immediately started searching for patty. She was incredibly deep. At first we couldn’t pinpoint here with the probe, as I said she was in a very bad position, near a rock and [down] deep. We removed a little surface snow and then found her with the probe. Shoveling is the most import thing I practiced. We had to move a ton of snow. We then pulled her from the snow and assessed her and the rest you’ve heard!
Tell us a little bit about what happened next — about the experience of finding Patty, and then doing what needed to be done.
It is probably the worst feeling thing I have ever experienced. For one everything seems to take way longer than you want. Even with the Mammut Pulse beacon I use, bracketing with the beacon, pinpointing with the probe and then digging … nothing goes fast enough. You know where she is and you are moving snow faster than you ever thought possible, but until we found her ski and leg, we had no confirmed evidence (other than the probe) that we were even in the right spot. Then you’re at her leg and you have to move even more snow to extract her. You never give up hope and adrenalin lets you push your body beyond what [you thought was] possible. But you always expect the worst. Luckily we had as great of a turnout as possible in a very bad situation.
We not only had the rescue plan practiced, but also had a full risk management plan drafted with everything from rescue procedures, satellite phone with emergency numbers and local support from ABA.
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Tags: avalanche beacons, avalanche safety, backcountry skiing, outdoor survival
[...] out the guide’s incredible side of the story. Here is the official report from AlaskaSnow.org: Around noon three skiers were skinning up a 25 [...]
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THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY BEST FRIEND!
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