TelemarkBlog

Global Warming

I'm ready to get out and lay down some new tracks in the backcountry.  Trouble is, there isn't enough snow right now and no big storms are on the horizon.  Perhaps those massive coal fired electric plants that everyone loves to build in Utah were not such a good idea after all.  Hummm.  Here's hoping that we get a string a good storms in the near future so that our traditional Thanksgiving ski-day is not a bust.

ACR GPS Personal Locator Beacon

Just prior to a river trip on the Selway this summer I purchased an ACR Microfix satellite-based personal locator beacon.  I bought it for a few reasons:
1. The Selway is nowhere near a cellphone tower and we were worried about what we would do in the event of an accident
2. A few members of our group were over 65 years old and had prior medical conditions
3. I'm deep in areas where there is no cellphone coverage often enough to care
4. I've been watching "I Shouldn't Be Alive" on the Discovery Channel and thought that a PLB would have saved each of those people a lot of trouble.

When activated the beacon transmits your GPS location and personal information via satellite to NOAA who coordinates rescue efforts with the local search and rescue organization.   

If I ever need to use it (and hopefully I won't), I'm sure it will be the best money I've ever spent.

Hikers Rescued in Big Cottonwood - Hey that guy looks familiar!

Here is a link to a video taken today by the KUTV news helicopter of my father and his friend Klein before they were rescued by a medivac helicopter.  They were coming down the ridge after summiting Mt. Raymond (and Gobblers Knob earlier in the day) when Klein fell and severely broke his arm.  They called 911 for help with a mobile phone and Sky2 happened to be in the area and helped locate them.  This video is of them scrambling down the ridge to a place where they could be safely evacuated.  The video shows the exposure of the summit ridge of Mt. Raymond and how my father was helping Klein down.

KUTV reported on TV and their website that they were lost.  However, they have both taken this route  several times and each consider this one of their favorite hikes.  When they called 911 and explained precisely where they were located (three times), the 911 operator said - now sir, can't you just tell me your street address?  After a subsequent long time on hold the phone dropped its connection so they decided to call search and rescue themselves. 

I called my dad while on his way to the hospital to visit Klein.   He said in a very matter of fact way that Klein's arm was very badly broken with serious trauma and that they had to be rescued.  Klein is a diabetic recovering from a recent heart condition and hikes to stay in shape (he maintains the summit logs found on many of the summits in the Wasatch). 

I'm relieved that they are both ok.  Crazy old guys..

Steep and Cheap

I pulled up my account history from Steep and Cheap today and was surprised at how much gear I buy from the site.  Within the last six months I have purchased two headlamps, three running shirts, two pairs of running shorts, a pair of telemark skis (nice!), a backpack, and a new pair of sunglasses.  I'm hoping to pick up a new softshell jacket (because you can never have enough) and a new pair of hardshell pants before it starts snowing again.  The site feeds into my RSS reader so I can see the new products on sale as soon as they pop up. 

I wonder if this makes me a certified junkie..   Anyway, I love the site.  Keep the good deals coming.

Warm Days

Boy has it been warm in Utah this last week.  It is wreaking havoc on the snowpack.  I have never seen wet slab avalanches like this in my life.  All of Scotts Bowl, an in bounds area of Park City slid along with major in bounds slides on Pioneer Ridge and Jupiter Peak.  Looks like Tahoe is having the same issue. Lets hope that more resorts, businesses, and others "go green."

Avalanche Fatalities in Utah

As I was sitting on the chairlift at Snowbird on Saturday I saw a medical helicopter buzzing down the Little Cottonwood Canyon and thought that there was another backcountry avalanche accident to add to the list this year.  I chose to ski at the resort on Saturday because of the tricky conditions and because I did not want to test my route finding skills. 

This has been a bad year in the Wasatch from a snow pack perspective.  We usually get some nice warming and good snow consolidation between storms.  This hasn’t happened this year.  Conditions in the backcountry have been really unstable.

Three people had died, two of the three were wearing beacons.  The picture to the left was from a snowmobile fatality where the victim was buried underneath his sled.  The avalanche was in a classic slope profile for a slide and the snowmobilers had triggered a slide with a similar aspect earlier that day.

A second victim was an out of bounds skier at Snowbasin.  A family of three walked through a gate with a skull and crossbones warning explaining the danger.  A dad was waiting at the bottom of the run for his two sons, who triggered the slide.  One son took a good ride, the other was buried and found by rescue dogs after it was too late. 

The third victim was on Gobblers Knob.  Gobblers is notorious for its slides and I have been up there only on very safe days.  Apparently his two companions were not comfortable with where the victim wanted to ski and agreed to meet at the car at the end of the day.  The victim never made it back and was killed in a slide in a really unusual place.  The beacon he was wearing allowed the rescue team to find his body.

With a 100 inch base at Alta, skiing is finally getting back to Wasatch standards.  Lets hope the Backcountry stabilizes soon and there are no more tragedies.

Millcreek Yurt Via BCC

We visited the yurt in Millcreek again.  Instead of trudging up Millcreek to get there, this time we accessed it from the Spruces campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon, via Dog Lake.  It is much better to access it this way because it is a shorter journey, and you can ski down from the Dog Lake pass to the Yurt.  We had to shuttle a car though because we came out Millcreek the next morning.  The avi danger was high, so our skiing was limited to low angle tree filled slopes, but the recent snows made it enjoyable.  If we go there again in the future, this is the way to do it, or possibly we may start higher in BCC and do more touring before we ski to the Yurt.  Posted by Lars.

Wowasatch

Do you ever say, "wish that were me!" when you see a site like Wowasatch?   Bob Athey is a true legend.  If Bob had a fan club, I would be a member.

I'm so glad the storms have been lining up with frequency lately.  Although the snow pack is excruciatingly unstable, at least we are starting to get regular storms.

Colorado Snowpack

It's not often you see an avalanche like this in Utah.  Spooky.  Makes me want to stick to the resorts this weekend.

Are You Beeping?

I love the concept of this sign.  As you approach the sign (by the church in the Alta parking lot) a transceiver attached to the sign picks up the signal from your beacon and broadcasts it over a small speaker.  It serves as an additional check for each member of your party as they pass.  The sign could be twice the size and still be OK with me and I would love to see these at more trailheads. 

It has always been my wish that everyone in the backcountry would wear a beacon at all times (even those who tour alone).  To illustrate this point, a few years back a person who was touring alone was completely buried in an avalanche off of Cardiac Ridge. A highly trained friend of mine saw the avalanche from a ridge about a mile away and was able to run over, locate his beacon signal, and save the person.   My friend was a hero and the person in the avalanche survived, all because of wearing beacons.