Another Avalanche Victim in East Vail

Got home late from a phenomenal pow day up in Routt County to read about yet another avalanche fatality in the East Vail backcountry.  Before this season it has been over 10 years since a fatality has occurred in this popular Vail resort backcountry locale.  My first East Vail experience was a few years ago when a friend of mine brought me and his girlfriend back there for some of the best steep pow skiing I’ve ever experienced.  Perfect pitch, fun drops, and great pillow lines spread across the East Vail region.  The several times I’ve been back there I couldn’t help but notice all the people without avalanche safety gear, packs, or even a clue as to what they were getting themselves into.  Now, the two incidents we’ve seen this year have been incidents involving “experienced” backcountry travelers, I still shake my head and wonder why?? In my book, if you are “experienced” you wouldn’t be skiing this:

on a CONSIDERABLE (CAIC rating) day and think all will be fine! No disrespect for the victim, but this just blows my mind.  

Incidents like this one sadden me as the skiers involved probably felt confident in their abilities, line choice, and probably knew the area very well, but they somehow got the short end of the stick and were in the wrong spot at the wrong time.  Who knows, maybe if they had skied that spot the next day all would be good and they would be bragging to their buddies about the crazy cold smoke they skied down King Tut chute.  Or, it could have been one of the many clueless fucks that rides that area not knowing the dangers and everyone would be shaking their heads.  I think the best thing we all can take from these situations is the discussions we have with our backcountry partners.  Incidents like these get people thinking and talking more about their decision making process and group dynamics.  Look at these events as a form of education and talk it through with your bc partners.  You’ll be surprised at what will come out of the conversation.

I’m ranting here and not really looking to make any sense out of this blog entry, but just writing down some of the things going through my head.  It really saddens me to see a backcountry rider go down and so I take these things to heart.  This could have happened to any of the 300 or so riders East Vail sees per day.  Whether they are experienced backcountry travelers or not isn’t really relevant.  I hate how the news glorifies how these guys were “experienced”, and they knew what they were doing.  Yes, maybe they were experienced and knew what they were doing and how to deal with certain situations, but nature will always be the more powerful one and deal the cards.  This time nature overpowered man and didn’t leave any room for man to make up for his mistakes. 

 Even though I didn’t know the rider, I still feel for him and his family.  Him and his partner chose to ski a very risky line that day and they got bit.  There have been many others who have skied that same line under similar conditions and have gotten away unscathed, but in this situation the odds caught up with this particular group.  Some of the best backcountry skiers and riders I know take risks beyond the odds and put themselves on that same very fine line, and that is what part of the sport entails.  I admit that I’ve put myself up against bigger odds before and have fortunately come out unscathed, but I think there is something beyond the odds.  I think those looking to push the envelope almost have to accept the associated risks and look at how they can minimize and lower those risks in every way possible.  It is kind of like gambling at a Casino.  When the Casino has an overwhelming edge on the gambler, what do you do? You look at it from different angles.  You work on your skill, how much you are betting, and they method in which you are betting.  The same holds true for high risk skiing during high risk days.  You play your cards right and minimize as many risks as possible you will have a much lesser chance of losing (ie getting caught). 

 I certainly hope folks who ride the East Vail area look at these instances and learn or take something away from these tragic deaths.  Although these are tragic and horrific events, we all can take something away and learn from these events.  If anything, events like these get people thinking about their decision making and the chain of decisions that lead up to making a ultimate decision of whether or not to ski that tempting line or peak.  Everything comes down to a chain of decisions that ultimately lead to a consequence or reward.  It is a problem solving game of sorts.