Wasatch 23/24 Stoke Thread: Red Snake Coverage coming at you live from tgapp's fartba

[Boissal]

Damn, textbook trigger on the shallow rocky ridge. Not something I would ever think about with a 600+ snowpack at that elevation, but there it is... Lookers left of the ridge is more NE facing, with the W winds from the night before there was probably just enough loading to tip the scales. 10/10 would have missed that as well. Fucking hindsight.
Lots of small things coming together the wrong way for this to happen, and so close to the top, this is truly heart wrenching.

I've been on that face 3x and it was never a relaxing experience. First time we skinned up to an old crown 1/3 of the way up the face and turned around when we realized it was taller than us and we couldn't get over it. Next couple of goes I booted lookers right of the subridge and my butthole was puckered the whole time. It's a big slope in a big gnarly cirque, steep and rocky with jagged teeth at the top. Not an inviting place.
Vibes to all involved, I hope dude who came out OK can bounce back from this horrible experience. May his partners rest in powder.

[sfotex]

View from the ground:

[ski_the_fraulein]

Vibes to you too sfotex! Thanks for all you do. Watched you guys come and go this morning. Can’t be easy knowing it’s a recovery…


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[mtnjam]

ooof, sobering. Thanks for what it is that you do sfotex. That can't be easy on the soul knowing it's a body recovery.

[Boissal]

The actual slide happened left of the back knob center of the pic right?
I assume the bigger slide in the middle of the pic (crown by the few scattered pines and very visible above) pull out during control work? It's not visible in the UAC pics which look to be from yesterday.

[crankplank]

This is terrible. Boissal sums up my feelings of the slide, this could have been me. Thoughts are with the survivor, families and responders.

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[sfotex]

The actual slide happened left of the back knob center of the pic right?
I assume the bigger slide in the middle of the pic (crown by the few scattered pines and very visible above) pull out during control work? It's not visible in the UAC pics which look to be from yesterday.

Yeah, the left is the parties slide path, the right is from the control work. You can see the hole right below the trees. We were kind of 2nd guessing waiting for control work to go in, but it was the right choice.

RIP Andrew and Austin

[telefreewasatch]

Damn, textbook trigger on the shallow rocky ridge. Not something I would ever think about with a 600+ snowpack at that elevation, but there it is... Lookers left of the ridge is more NE facing, with the W winds from the night before there was probably just enough loading to tip the scales. 10/10 would have missed that as well. Fucking hindsight.
Lots of small things coming together the wrong way for this to happen, and so close to the top, this is truly heart wrenching.

I've been on that face 3x and it was never a relaxing experience. First time we skinned up to an old crown 1/3 of the way up the face and turned around when we realized it was taller than us and we couldn't get over it. Next couple of goes I booted lookers right of the subridge and my butthole was puckered the whole time. It's a big slope in a big gnarly cirque, steep and rocky with jagged teeth at the top. Not an inviting place.
Vibes to all involved, I hope dude who came out OK can bounce back from this horrible experience. May his partners rest in powder.

Wasn't gonna respond to this, thought bout it for a while and decided to.
I've been on that headwall a bunch in all seasons.
Only have come in from the top.
Easy to get there.
Never thought of doing otherwise...

[wasatchgravityresearch]

Fuck. Big loss in the community. Rest in Peace Andrew. Such a great guy.

[MultiVerse]

A similar accident occurred mid-April 2019 but with no fatalities. They took a long ride on the same slope but weren't fully buried. Coincidentally, we planned the same tour that day but called it off due to overnight wind and low cloud cover.

A 2011 video of the tour with the Provo Bros along with Alecs Barton and Jim Harris. Alecs is sadly no longer with us either. He's missed too. I hope Jim is doing well after suffering a very bad back injury (unless I'm thinking of the wrong person he used to post here as the gnarwhale)

[D-Roc]

Wasn't gonna respond to this, thought bout it for a while and decided to.
I've been on that headwall a bunch in all seasons.
Only have come in from the top.
Easy to get there.
Never thought of doing otherwise...

Same, always have gone top down and used as an exit from Lone

[Boissal]

Wasn't gonna respond to this, thought bout it for a while and decided to.
I've been on that headwall a bunch in all seasons.
Only have come in from the top.
Easy to get there.
Never thought of doing otherwise...

Really? Straight up the apron is pretty standard for a winter Lone Peak ascent. Bit longer than coming in from Alpine but it saves you that endless S face slog and the airy summit traverse which doesn't always go well. Certainly faster than coming in from Bells and booting up the NE couloir which is steeper, way more exposed with the cliff at the bottom, and catches the morning sun as a bonus sketch factor. It's probably the less popular of the 3 main options but I wouldn't put it as the sketchiest.

[telefreewasatch]

Jacob's ladder is a good way to go. New trail now, too. Buncha switchbacks.
Better is Little Willow. It's in trim again.
Ya start up the divide where one crosses into Big Willow.
Don't like going up headwalls, the pucker factor, especially as a group until the snowpack is isothermal...

[D-Roc]

That video is NE-LP not the BWC Aprons

Anything steep like some of those lines back there I would take from top down from a safer entry, atleast from top down you have some mitigation options - ski cut, ski belay, ski cut with belay... by no means am I judging the parties or options here, but offering another view.

[The Gnarwhale]

A 2011 video of the tour with the Provo Bros along with Alecs Barton and Jim Harris. Alecs is sadly no longer with us either. He's missed too. I hope Jim is doing well after suffering a very bad back injury (unless I'm thinking of the wrong person he used to post here as the gnarwhale)

Thanks for thinking of me, I am well, just more of a blue square skid turner these day. Just here to lurk and send vibes to the friends and families of the deceased.

I think we booted up the same spot as this accident en route to NE LP in the Provo's video, looks like I elected to kick steps right up the rib where this avalanche was triggered at :28 second mark

[BFD]

I do not know anything about skiing in Utah. That video looks like they climbed the same slope as the avalanche victims. This was probably what this group was planning. Up the apron than down the NE couloir which appears to be the bigger line. Terrible tragedy. My thoughts to all those touched by this accident.

[graniteclmbr]

Ah man, interacted with Andrew a fair amount at skmo. Super kind & generous soul. RIP

[phatty]

Thanks for thinking of me, I am well, just more of a blue square skid tuner these day. Just here to lurk and send vibes to the friends and families of the deceased. I think we booted up the same spot as this accident on the day the Provo's made that video en route to NE LP, looks like I elected to kick steps right up the rib where this avalanche was triggered at :28 second mark in that NE LP video.

Great to see you post here, Jim! So inspiring to watch your recovery the last few years.

[Dantheman]

https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanche/87474

Sobering pics.

Man, definitely not a massive slide, though I'm sure those crowns look bigger in person.

[nest]

Wasn't gonna respond to this, thought bout it for a while and decided to.
I've been on that headwall a bunch in all seasons.
Only have come in from the top.
Easy to get there.
Never thought of doing otherwise...

I realize that you have forgotten more about snow than I’ll ever know but I hate the holier than thou expert shit that happens every incident. I bet you have some days that keyboard warriors would second guess.

[muted reborn]

and there goes the thread, thanks nest!

[nest]

Haha. I’m outraged!

[sfotex]

We're going to need some good spring skiing stoke to flush this out - we can't end the season thread on a low note!

[Benneke10]

There are a lot of people in my circle who I honestly wouldn't feel much for if they were involved in an accident because they insist on skiing steep terrain all season long in all conditions. Andrew was willing to ski safe terrain most of the winter and step out on the safest days. I have my issues with ascending Big Willow objectively but I don't think anyone who has been skiing this week would have anticipated this. I know he used this site, not sure if he posted much. We crossed paths many times, wish I got to know him better, always kind and generous.

[Phall]

Man, if I wasn’t a few beers in and tired I’d probably drive up to Alta to witness the Aurora.


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