Last Sunday we finished another amazing avalanche course. Despite the lower than average snow depths we have some fascinating conditions to contend with and learn from. Long periods of intense cold have led to Persistent Slab conditions much more common in Continental snow climates like Colorado. Added extreme high winds to the equation and we have created potential wind slabs sitting on persistent slabs. A better set up for an avalanche course couldn’t be made up… well… it could have been a little warmer last weekend. However 7 equipped and motivated students attended the weekend’s avalanche course and this strong team learned a lot about traveling in avalanche terrain during Considerable conditions. We are about halfway through our avalanche course season so if you haven’t signed up for a course yet don’t delay, some of the remaining dates have already sold out:
Near Hillman’sSome old debris at the corner of Hillman’s HighwayPretty wicked conditions above treeline, -40 to -50 wind chills up there…A small natural crown in the bottom half of Hillman’s HighwayOur group, with Hillman’s Highway behind usMy field notes from Day 3Our Ski Descent on Day 3Snow-pack Observations on Day 2Snow-pack Observations on Day 2Morning Trip Planning Session on Day 3
Another great avalanche course ended yesterday. Despite being a couple feet behind in seasonal snowfall the ravine had Considerable avalanche danger for our field day.
Cool iPhone Ap, TheodoliteObservational Outing along Mt. WillardSome group trip planning at Pinkham NotchA student makes some weather observationsThe Hermit Lake snow study plotGetting ready to head into the ravineConditionsConnection Cache, visibility starting to deteriorateFiguring out how best to Travel Wisely
It’s a somber coincidence that during the first day of this season’s Eastern Mountain Sports Schools Avalanche Course season we would have our first avalanche accident of the season occur on Mount Washington. Hours after finishing our first day of mixed classroom and companion rescue field sessions a Mountain Rescue Service call-out informed me there had been two people caught in an avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine. Over the next couple of days details would emerge as to what happened. Much has already been covered by the mainstream media. Some of that coverage can be found here:
While I originally wanted to blog about how this first avalanche course went, I can’t stop thinking about this accident (and the likely future accidents this season) and want to spend my efforts addressing a couple of issues I struggle with.
How can we, as a climbing community, raise the collective bar as to what is responsible travel in the mountains?
This is not a new issue. Mount Washington has a long (perhaps the longest) history in the US of being under-estimated and deadly. Read the book “Not Without Peril” if you are interested in some of the more illustrious stories of mishaps on the mountain.
It would be tough to argue that any other mountain sees more un-skilled travelers on a yearly basis with little “mountain sense”. Some of the reasons for this are obvious; it’s relatively low elevation and accessibility to a huge portion of the US population. Other reasons are more subtle. It’s clear that hikers/climbers push on in adverse conditions when they would not on any other mountain, instead relying on the closed summit buildings and weather observers, and the closed auto road, to provide a margin of safety that might allow them to still bag the summit (but then need help getting back down).
What frustrates me is the amount of education available to the general public that seems to get ignored on a daily basis. Detailed mountain weather forecasts, professional avalanche bulletins, trail information specialists, qualified guide services… all at our finger tips but often not taken into consideration for a climb on this mountain that has seen so many accidents.
Before I go further and people start thinking I am just wagging my finger I recently read, and shared, a great blog post on “Changing the Culture of Shame“. The message is when we, the climbing community, play “Monday morning quarterback” and start saying “That would never happen to us they were reckless, etc. etc.” we discourage the victims from taking ownership of their ordeal, sharing their experience, and helping other’s learn from their mistakes. I agree with this sentiment to a point, by I also think complete absolution from blatant mistakes inhibits the same potential positive outcomes of an accident.
In reading all the reports on this accident in the various regional news papers and watching video blogs a common theme presented itself. The media often romanticizes these victims in their stories. Some of the titles would probably elicit a hometown hero’s welcome. A few media outlets, especially the local ones, were more accurate in their stories;
“The hikers triggered an avalanche” vrs “The hikers were caught in an avalanche”.
There’s a big difference in these two statement in terms of responsibility, but avalanche awareness (or lack of) wasn’t the root cause of this accident. Lack of general mountain sense was.
The group split up due to impending darkness and lack of headlamps. They did not have map & compass (and by inference the ability to use them). While not a major contributing factor they had inadequate footwear and traction for climbing Mount Washington this time of year. The media has been referring to them as “hikers” instead of “climbers”, to the approval of many vocal online climbing forums, but this is an issue of semantics. Basically they were somewhat prepared (ice axe, goggles, proper clothing), but lacking “essentials”, navigation skills, team work, communication, “mountain sense”.
Whether we call them hikers or climbers it doesn’t matter. They were woefully under-prepared and made bad decisions recognizable by the vast majority of the climbing community. But I’m not sure what the best way to reduce the amount of these type accidents. My gut tells me we are in for a tough winter with already 5 Mountain Rescue Service calls before the New Year; we are well ahead of average. Every year our avalanche accidents seem to increase.
I’ve changed my previous opinion that charging for rescues can be an effective deterrent. Education, it seems should be the best option. Education has increased driver safety, lowered STD transmission, reduced teen-pregnancy and drug use, it should be able to help keep us safer in the mountains. But there is a resistance to education in the mountains. It’s ironic, as there are more guide services, independent guides, outdoor education programs, online resources, climbing clubs, etc. than there has ever been. Yet the overall culture is not changing fast enough. Everyone, from the victims, the rescuers, the media, and fellow climbers, need to ask themselves how they can help shift the balance to a more responsible use of the mountains. The answer for each will undoubtedly be different, but important.
The photos from this weekend’s avalanche course:
Companion Rescue practice during avalanche course
Observational Outing during Avalanche Course
Weather forecast for our tour day on avalanche course
Trip Planning during avalanche course
First Avalanche Course of the Season
Field Book from Tour Day on Avalanche Course
Avalanche Course info and dates for the rest of the season are here:
As the last hours of 2013 are upon us take a quick inventory of your skill set in the mountains. What do you need to brush up on? What resolutions can you make for a productive, safe, fun 2014 climbing/skiing season?
Thanks for reading, please subscribe at the top right if you’d like to follow the progression of avalanche courses I’ll be facilitating this season.
It’s officially time to think about snow! This past Saturday concluded the 3rd Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop and yesterday I participated in an American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education Instructor Refresher Course.
Photo by Brian IrwinFull House
Colleague Jonathan Shefftz wrote up a great recap of the workshop and has given me permission to post his draft here. Final attendance numbers still need to be verified and there may be some minor tweaks before this is published in the February edition of the Avalanche Review published by the American Avalanche Association. All photos are mine.
Third-Annual Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop (“ESAW”) by Jonathan S. Shefftz
Our third-annual Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop was held on November 9 in North Conway NH, near the base of Mount Washington in the Presidentials Range.
This year’s ESAW was once again a collaborative effort of the USFS Mount Washington Avalanche Center – led by Chris Joosen – and AAA Eastern Representative Kyle Tyler. Strong attendance of 145 filled up the entire gym of our host, the John H. Fuller Elementary School. The $75 per-attendee registration fee was supplemented with a $500 grant from the American Avalanche Association, and registration fee proceeds over and above the hosting costs went to the youth-oriented White Mountain Avalanche Education Fund.
As with similar workshops in other regions, the presentations appealed to the attendee mix of snow professionals and enthusiastic recreationalists.
We started with Rebecca Scholand, a Mount Washington Observatory meteorologist. In her 2011 presentation on upslope snow development, she remarked that she didn’t care about snow after it falls on the ground. But since then, backcountry skiing has drawn her into our avalanche community, and her presentation covered resources and protocols for improving our avalanche-related weather observations.
Sign language? No, a cool way to estimate cloud cover
Next we went on a tour of Maine’s Baxter State Park and its Mount Katahdin with Chief Ranger Ben Woodard, who explored the ramifications of the limited winter road access (a sharp contrast to NH’s Presidentials). Bob Baribeau, from Mahoosuc Search and Rescue, demonstrated how Katahdin’s “Tableland” snow farm loads up even the technical ice climbing routes and summer hiking trails, so avalanche risk is not exclusive to skiers seeking powder. And with a limited number of on-site park rangers plus only a weekend and holiday presence of formal rescue groups, combined with long approaches, self-rescue is often the only option (a rarity in the Northeast). Bob noted that the average visitor now has more technical gear than common sense. Although sees more avalanche rescue gear among climbers, he also sees parties cutting down on time devoted to information gathering (tying in nicely with the prior presentation on the importance of weather observations).
Doug Richmond, sporting a “Big Green” cap from his nearby alma mater Dartmouth College, assessed human behavior at the ski area boundary, informed by his many years as the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol Director. Back in the 1970s, a federal ordinance legally sealed off the ski area boundary. The legal status has since changed, as has interest in out-of-bounds skiing and the prevalence of ski touring gear. Doug’s “favorite” incident included a helmet cam video of a skier whose partner is avalanched, then takes out his beacon and … reviews the back of the housing for the instructions on how to conduct a search.
A series of short sessions started with Julie LeBlanc, who updated us on her presentation from last year on the avalanche forecast center in Quebec’s Haute-Gaspesie (aka Chic Chocs), the only avalanche forecast center east of the Rockies other than our own Mount Washington. (And once again, her Quebecois accent contrasted nicely with a bunch of American male presenters!)
Roger Damon, who has been teaching National Ski Patrol avalanche safety courses at Mount Washington since the mid-1960s, presented an update of his earlier ISSW paper on eastern ski resort avalanches. Our ski resorts’ natural snowfall and typically scouring winds, further combined with high skier density, almost never allow for natural snow avalanches. Yet our snowmaking prowess can also make … avalanches. A December 2002 avalanche at 750-foot Holiday Valley (near Buffalo NY) left a 2.1-meter crown, representing a crown face almost exactly one percent of the entire resort vertical drop – perhaps setting some sort of record? And preparations for the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics were evocative of a Monty Python scene:
“Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show ’em. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp.”
For the downhill race course, Whiteface Mountain blew onto bare ground a massive amount of snow. It avalanched into the woods, leaving bare ground. So Whiteface below onto the bare ground a second massive amount of snow. It avalanched into the woods, leaving bare ground. Fortunately the third try was not another strike!
Last year, Eric Lutz, a PhD snow scientist with the Dartmouth College Glaciology Group, had explained the art and science of snow penotrometry, taking us from the Ramsonde in the 1930s to the SnowMicroPen in the 1990. This year, Brint Markle, with his fellow MIT whizzes at their AvaTech Safety start-up, took us into the next era. As presented the prior month at CSAW, imagine if you could stick a sectional probe into the snow to immediately transmit a complete hardness profile to your phone, which would then be uploaded to a crowd-sourced geospatial map. And imagine if you could do that … pretty much right now. (Wow!) Extensive field testing will be conducted this year by many snow science professionals – stayed tuned for further updates.
MIT upstart company “AvaTech”Traditional pit profile (30 mins), compared to AvaTech penetrometer (30 secs)
After lunch was scheduled to be Sam Colbeck, retired from the U.S. Army’s Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory after three decades of groundbreaking cold lab research in snow crystal bonding. The prior two years, Sam had explained (to the extent we could understand it!) some technical snow physics, and this year was planning to explain wet snow physics, but unfortunately had to cancel because of a flu-like illness. (Best wishes for a speedy recovery!)
Instead we skipped to Dale Atkins, past President of the American Avalanche Association. Dale focused on the concept of risk, and introduced us to VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Our goal should be not to minimize risk but rather to minimize uncertainty. He closed on the thought that when faced with uncertainty, don’t rely on decisions that require predictions.
Another series of short sessions started with Dale Atkins again, this time on avalanche rescue. Dale is RECCO’s Training and Education Manager, but his presentation encompassed all the types, phases, and equipment involved in rescue. His closing thought was that rescue gear puts you in a place to be lucky – but you don’t ever want to rely on luck!
Indeed they are!
Next was Jeff Lane, one of our snow rangers, who introduced us to meteorological variability on Mount Washington (and also announced a new free continuing education series scheduled for the second Saturday of every month). Cyrena Briedé, director of summit operations for the Mount Washington Observatory, assessed how well the summit above-treeline 24/7 observations correlate with conditions for the avalanche forecast areas down in the at-treeline glacial cirques.
Tim Brown, an instructor trainer for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, had flown out to teach an instructor refresher course the following day. He explained the evolution and current usage of “avalanche problem” descriptors to communicate risk. With our local “arctic maritime” avalanche climate, wind slab is almost always our primary or even exclusive concern. But we eastern skiers see more varied avalanche conditions than anyone else, since we’re ones always flying out to various western regions in search of better snow and bigger mountains. Therefore, Tim’s presentation was especially important for us when suddenly exposed to the avalanche bulletin format of different forecast centers.
Finally, up again was Doug Richmond to explain Bridger Bowl’s avalanche program and operations. Despite those previously discussed snowmaking avalanches, and also Whiteface Mountain’s lift-served access to avalanche-prone landslide paths, eastern ski resorts are pretty much immune from avalanche danger. Therefore, Doug provided a glimpse into a world that we do not experience locally.
Interspersed throughout were raffles of prizes donated by our sponsors, including American Alpine Club, American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, ARVA, Backcountry Access, Black Diamond / Pieps, DPS Skis, Dynafit, Leki, Mammut, Mountain Hardwear, Off-Piste Mag, Petzl, Ortovox, Skimo.co, Sterling Rope, Toko, and Voile.
ESAW finally adjourned down the street to our second host International Mountain Equipment for socializing plus vendor displays from AIARE, AvaTech Safety, BCA, BD/Pieps, La Sportiva, Mammut, Ortovox, Petzl, RECCO, and Sterling.
Social Hour at IME
The following morning, the AIARE instructor training happened to be held at the 2011 ESAW venue: we marveled at how we were ever able to squeeze into there only two years! And indeed we are now outgrowing our 2012 and 2013 venue, so plan to join us for the fourth-annual ESAW at the even larger “Theater in the Woods” in neighboring Intervale NH November 8, 2014.
AIARE 1 Instructor Refresher Course
Jonathan Shefftz lives with his wife and mondopoint-size 16 daughter (still too small for “Tech”-compatible ski touring boots) in Western Massachusetts, where he patrols at Northfield Mountain and Mount Greylock. He is an AIARE-qualified instructor, NSP avalanche instructor, and AAA governing board member. When he is not searching out elusive freshies in Southern New England, he works as a financial economics consultant and has been qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts. He can be reached at jshefftz@post.harvard.edu or just look for the lycra-clad skinner training for his NE Rando Race Series.
While we barely have any snow on the Mt. Washington these two events signal the start of the 2013/2014 Avalanche Course season for me. Now is the the time to take a personal inventory of your goals for avalanche education this season. Events like these continue to reinforce that even after a decade of practice and dozens of courses the learning never stops!
I will be continuing my own professional development in December when I fly out to Mt. Rose, Nevada for an AIARE 2 Instructor Refresher Course. Then our season begins in earnest with our first course starting December 28th.
Since we’ve added online reservations our early enrollment has been significant. A few of our scheduled dates are close to full, so if you’ve been thinking about taking a course this season please check out our dates for our AIARE 1 Courses here.
This year we’re also offering 2 special 4-day “touring gear only” courses that combine the regular 3-Day course with an additional day of touring to help solidify skills learned during the 24 hour course. Those two courses are found here.
I’ll be updating again before the first course kicks off. In the meantime, time to find my avalanche beacon, tune up the skis, and think of snow!
While winter is not quite done with Mount Washington we finished our last avalanche course of the season this past weekend. Looking back on the season I can say with no embellishment that this has been a banner year for me along with the EMS Schools Avalanche Course Program.
We ran 11 AIARE 1 courses and 1 AIARE 2 course this winter. That’s 114 AIARE students! From our first course at the end of December to our last course that ended April 1st Mother Nature has provided excellent snow conditions for learning about safer travel in the back-country. In mid-January we had 4 EMS School guides travel out west to take an Instructor Training Course in Steven’s Pass, Washington. We are now the largest avalanche course provider in the East with 3 certified AIARE 1 Instructors and 1 AIARE 2 Course Leader on staff. That is exciting as we strive to meet the growing demand of back-country travelers seeking avalanche education!
Human involved avalanches on Mount Washington appear to be on an increase. Early this year a 12 person group triggered an avalanche in Central Gully that caused significant injuries and has stirred up quite a bit of debate.
An accident report from the USFS can be found here.
Then on March 1st a tragic event unfolded on Pinnacle Gully when a solo climber triggered an avalanche that caused him to fall and sustain fatal injuries.
Crown line is visible in this photo just below the rock constriction.
The accident report for this can be found here. That same afternoon an experienced mountain guide was ski descending Lobster Claw Gully in Tuckerman Ravine when one of his clients triggered a size-able slab that carried the guide who was able to self-arrest successfully and did not result in injury.
Just yesterday a skier triggered a rather large hard slab in the Lower Snowfields that could have easily taken a life.
The Avalanche Danger rating for the day for all three of these incidents was “Moderate”. Nationally most human involved accidents happen during “Considerable” danger, but Mount Washington is quite different from our western back-country areas in both terrain and user group make-up.
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center forecasts on a “micro” scale, gully by gully, which may lead some climbers with limited avalanche education into a simple “Moderate means I can do it, Considerable means I can’t” kind of mind frame. The bottom line is “Moderate” means that while natural avalanches are unlikely, human triggered slides are possible. This means the traveler needs to be able to recognize signs of unstable snow, trigger points, terrain traps, etc. in order to move through that terrain.
Our user group is a bit of a factor as well. We have a disproportionate amount of highly skilled technical climbers with limited knowledge related to traveling in avalanche terrain. We’re an area known for breeding world class alpinists. New climbers can learn to competently climb Grade 4+ ice in just a season. They may master rope-systems and technical ice climbing but not understand the differences in wind slab or storm slab.
EDIT: 4/9/2013 USFS Ranger Chris Joosen just posted about “Moderate” and it’s implications in our area. It is very relevant and the post can be found here.
I took my first avalanche course 11 years ago after watching two climbers die in an avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine. I left that course, and subsequent courses, with a healthy dose of irrational fear and an inability to really “put it all together”. After years of practice and learning from experienced avalanche educators around the country some light-bulbs started to go off. I could go on about this for awhile, but I want to sum it up in one sentence.
Avalanche courses today are not like avalanche courses 10 years ago!
The good news is we, as a culture, are learning that. Word of mouth is spreading from partner to partner that a modern formal avalanche course is a wise investment for anyone who wants to spend time in the winter mountains. It goes without saying that what you do with the skills after you leave the course will determine whether or not you are any “safer”. Quality experience is as important as theoretical knowledge! However all the feedback forms this season indicated that time in the course was well spent and provided a great foundation for a life-time of learning!
While I still plan on getting quite a few more days up high skiing this season, I look forward to next winters avalanche course season. I’ll be heading back out west again to get updated in an AIARE 2 Instructor Refresher Course at some point and we’re tweaking some logistics and gear issues at the school to make our courses even more efficient and effective.
To all participants from this season, thank you. Your engagement in the learning process has helped me become a more effective course leader, and I hope to see you all out on the mountain!
Yesterday wrapped up our 2nd to last AIARE 1 Avalanche Course. 10 participants enjoyed mid-winter snow conditions after a late March snowstorm dumped over a foot of fresh on the mountain. Field conditions were perfect to learn about decision making in the back-country.
EMS School Guide Keith Moon addresses the group before we head out on an observational outing on Day 2Heading out to the southeast side of Mt. Willard for some field workEMS School Guide Keith Moon demonstrates how to measure slope angle in the field, an important component in Terrain SelectionHeading out on our Ski Tour on Day 3174cms of snow at the Hermit Lake snow stakeConducting a quick hand-shear test below Connection CacheEntering Tuckerman Ravine with the very large crown visible in the bowl…Spreading out and ascending up towards Right GullyChecking out the layering on a 34 degree SSE slope at 4,400ftWildcat in the backgroundOur pit locationA shot of the crown before descending the Little HeadwallDay’s tour notesKeith facilitates a course debrief
Well our last avalanche course of the season is next weekend, and temps look to be staying below freezing up high and snow showers are expected up there tonight and tomorrow so our snow-pack should stay dynamic for the last course, which has 1 spot left in it. So… last chance… if you wanted to get this course in this season call the school office now! 800-310-4504!
Today wrapped up another AIARE 1 Avalanche Course with interesting snow-pack conditions and great weather, Mother Nature is really keeping the avy course season going strong this year! Our first day focused on recognizing avalanche terrain and learning about the different types of avalanches along with what to do if someone in your party is caught in an avalanche. On Day 2 while we learned about how dynamic the winter snow-pack can be we stepped outside early morning to look at some beautiful 3mm Stellar snow crystals, and talked about how they could act as a buried weak layer in some situations:
Intact Stellars
Later that day we went on a short tour along the south east side of Mt. Willard and saw some great wind effected snow, deep “whales” from earlier intense blowing snow, shooting cracks on some small slabs, and evidence of last weeks rain event.
Today we met at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, and after a trip planning session we skinned up to the snow study plot below Hermit Lake.
143 cms of snow at the stake…
After we got our first look at the Ravine we re-fueled with some food & H20 then headed up into the floor of Tuckerman Ravine.
BluebirdSkinned up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail
Along the way we had some interesting Hand Shear results along with positive ski cuts that produced impressive shooting cracks. We were happy that we were on low angle terrain given those results!
Once we reached the floor we soon noticed a size-able crown below The Chute. USFS Snow Ranger Jeff Lane was investigating it by conducting tests in the crown and exploring higher above it while fellow snow ranger Frank Carus spotted him from over by Right Gully.
Can you find the crown, or Jeff?A zoomed in shot of the crown… it’s lower far edges reach almost both sides of the frame…
Sticking to our original tour plan we started heading up a skin track to Right Gully.
Kick-turns & some exposure…
We stopped to the right of the mouth of Right Gully for a closer look at the snow-pack.
Great position in the bowl
Results were quite impressive, as we got repeated CTE, Q2 40-60cm down (depending on which pit), on an almost indistinguishable layer interface (wasn’t the crust from the previous weeks rain). This matched up with what USFS Snow Ranger Frank Carus had shared with us on our ascent, and was enough evidence for us that even though the bulletin only put Right Gully at “Moderate” it was above our level of risk acceptance to enter the gully proper. We decided to ski one at a time from this high point back to the floor of the ravine. 3 turns into the slope I buried a ski in the heavy snow and face planted pretty hard… first fall of the season! Given the pit results I did look up quickly to make sure my tumble didn’t tip the scale, but all was well and worth a chuckle.
Spotting the last couple people in our group from outside the run out…
After we regrouped at the floor of the ravine we made for the Little Headwall, which had a few dicey spots as last weeks rain had blown it out and there were some gaping holes that required some careful navigation. The rest of the Sherbie was pretty enjoyable, though the bottom half will be very happy with the new snow coming tonight into tomorrow!
My tour notes from the day:
Well, only 2 courses left this season. Next weekend’s course has 1 or 2 spots left in it. If you want it you can book it online here. This incoming storm is sure to produce great conditions for the next course, which can be hit or miss this late in the season!
“Spring is in the air” would be a common theme as we hit near record highs during our 8th AIARE 1 Avalanche Course of the season which concluded today. Despite the warm temperatures our snow-pack is certainly still dynamic as we got to experience a wide variety of conditions in the three days we spent together. Day 1 saw some productive morning discussions about different types of avalanches and avalanche terrain in general before heading outside for some great companion rescue practice.
Day 2 was VERY interesting as despite the warm temps it was very cold, clear, and calm the night before… so driving up to the Highland Center I was a bit excited to see obvious Near Surface Faceting all over the place from Bartlett to the Highland Center. I was even more stoked to see aggressive Surface Hoar all over the field right next to our classroom. I realized the warm temps and strong solar radiation expected would destroy it early so I grabbed some pics with my iPhone before class started.
Surface HoarSurface HoarSurface Hoar
While I have found small pockets before this stuff is a bit rare here in our windy “Arctic Maritime” snow climate and this was the largest area I have ever seen covered in it. Some of them measured 5mm in height, which is pretty impressive. An hour and a half later when we left the classroom to check it our the daytime warming and sun had destroyed it. I was glad to have the photos!
That afternoon we headed south along the east side of Mt. Willard and quickly noticed some huge “pinwheeling” from the strong solar radiation we where getting. I would call it “prolific” as it was everywhere. In some areas it looked like debris, but was just massive amounts of “pinwheels” and “rollerballs”. Some where quite big!
BIG pin-wheel!
Other than just indicating strong solar radiation these little features can often preclude wet loose snow avalanches, and possible wet slabs if unstable conditions exist. On a slope covered in pinwheels Keith demonstrated measuring slope angle with his ski poles.
SE Side of Mt. Willard, 1880ft
Minutes later we wrapped around to the more southern exposure of Mt. Willard and found fresh debris from a small slab avalanche that came down just to the right of Cinema Gully and almost reached the train tracks…
Small debris pile near Cinema Gully
We finished the day looking at some layers on a small NW slope and found some buried Melt-Freeze crusts with free water sitting on top. Compression Tests were rather inconclusive.
Keith demonstrates a Compression Test
Day 3 started at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. After accessing the bulletin we made a trip plan for Tuckerman Ravine.
Setting out from Pinkham Notch Visitor CenterMaking some observations at the Hermit Lake snow study plotOur first view of the bowl
At HoJo’s we chatted with Lead USFS Snow Ranger Christopher Joosen about the conditions and his and his fellow rangers job on the mountain, then we continued up the Tuck’s trail towards are original objective of Lobster Claw Gully.
Ranger chatRight side of the bowl
We bumped into Frank Carus, another USFS Snow Ranger who pointed out an almost indistinguishable old debris pile that had come out of Lobster Claw the week before.
USFS Snow Ranger Frank Carus
After some group discussion the majority voted to change our plan due to the strong solar radiation and warm temps possibly making things a bit iffy on the right side, and fell back on our more conservative plan to head over towards Left Gully and The Chute. The decision was made to spread out when crossing the main run-out.
10 meters apart looks differently to some 😉
We got a good vantage to see the debris and the crown at the top of Right Gully from the skier triggered avalanche the day before.
Crown is hard to see, it is top left of gully and we could see the ski tracks from the skier who triggered it…
We chose the slope between Left Gully and The Chute to poke around. We got some super positive hand shear results on a 25cm pencil hard slab sitting on graupel that was mentioned in Friday’s bulletin. That got us excited to dig further and we got tons of positive CT results along with a RB4, MB. A student sent me this video of the Rutchsblock.
I’ll upload the hand shears and Compression Tests later.
After we descended via Little Headwall and Sherburne we had a good course close back at PNVC. I stuck around for the annual NH Search & Rescue dinner and a great presentation by the Director of Summit Operations, Cyrena-Marie Briede, on her work in Alaska.
Full house
More to come on this event, along with the videos from the Handshears, CT’s, and Rutschblock tests so please check back!
Last Friday, March 1st, we started another 3-Day AIARE 1 course. March 1st seems to be a dangerous day, as just 2 years ago a very experienced skiier took a huge ride in Gulf of Slides. This year a very experienced local climbing guides party triggered an avalanche while he was ski guiding in Tuckerman Ravine and a solo ice climber triggered an avalanche in Huntington Ravine that was fatal. Until I see official reports from the USFS I am with-holding talking more about these incidents but I will update links here as more info becomes available. In the meantime let’s reflect on the tragedy that has occurred; a 24 year old climber has lost his life pursuing his passion. Without a doubt lessons will be learned for this, but let none of us think we couldn’t have made the same mistakes of either party.
As usual we met at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch. After introductions we took a look at the Gulf of Slides case study before breaking into small groups to learn what we could from the incident and consider a structured decision making process like AIARE’s “DMF”.
Deep in thought
That afternoon we spent a few hours outside practicing Companion Rescue, i.e. how to efficiently rescue your partner if they are buried in an avalanche. After some classroom the morning of Day 2 we drove over to Marshfield Station at the base of the Cog Railway to begin our Observation Outing. After a weather observation and beacon function check at the trail-head we started our ascent.
EMS Guide Keith Moon and the AMC’s Jerome lead the pack…
We soon noticed some interesting Surface Hoar growing on some twigs, and along the rails of the Cog and to a small extent the closest snow surfaces to the railway.
While I tried to wrap my head around why this was so prolific during considerably overcast conditions we climbed up to 3,800 feet and took another weather observation at Waumbek Tank. About 45 minutes later we arrived at our high point objective, Jacob’s Ladder, and poked around in the snow a bit looking at the layering and learning about Hand Hardness scales and Compression Tests.
285cms of snow just left of Jacob’s LadderGetting ready to descend
It was a pretty sweet ski back down to the trail-head where we reviewed our choices and expectations and made plans for the following day on the other side of Mount Washington.
The next day we met at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and broke into small groups again to work on a trip plan for the day. The avalanche bulletin for the day was complex, and even included the line “The avalanche conditions are paydirt for avalanche practitioners, guides, and educators.” Perfect for our goals of moving through complex avalanche terrain, making observations about snowpack, weather, and avalanches!
Heading up the Tuckerman Ravine trailChecking out the snow study plot below Hermit LakeChatting with USFS Snow Ranger Frank Carus
After reviewing our trip options created that morning and updating our weather expectations we decided we could stick to Plan “A” and set a skin track up the Little Headwall to get into the ravine.
Keith sets a track up the Little HeadwallBill Jr. realizes kick-turns take more than just great fitnessAlex takes a breatherBill Jr. with the 2008 Hillman’s Highway D4 destruction and the Hurricane Irene landslide path behind him…
With the majority of the ravine rated “Considerable” we stayed low and traversed the main run-out by spreading out with eyes on the start zones of anything that looked sketchy…
Seems my water-proof iPhone case had some moisture in it as this came out quite blurry…We dug into a small north east slope below and to the left of Left GullyBill Jr. decides between 4F or 1FEMS Guide Keith Moon coaches snowpack observations while a large group enters the ravine below
We got some interesting Compression Test results and a eye-opening Rutshblock (RB3 MB 18cm down followed by RB4 MB 38cm down). Unfortunately we didn’t film it. After wrapping up our observations we dropped the Little Headwall and enjoyed the packed powder run down the Sherbie… back at PNVC we debriefed the day and the course in general. My esoteric field notes from the day;
Well, only 4 weekends left to the avalanche course season, two are sold out. Winter is not leaving as fast as it did last year. Safe “Spring Skiing” conditions were already here this time last year, but are weeks away looking at the long range forecast. Read the bulletin. If you are unsure, scale back your ambition, and come back when conditions match your confidence and understanding!
Conditions over the last few days were perfect for another AIARE 1 Avalanche Course. Over a foot of new snow had fallen over the week and on Friday we gathered at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch to begin the 3-Day course. After a morning indoor session we headed outside and practiced companion rescue with burials at a realistic depth of 1.2 meters.
On Saturday we headed over to the west side of Mount Washington to ascend the ridge between Burt and Ammonoosuc Ravine alongside the Cog Railway.
From Marshfield Station The Cog ascends the ridge between Burt and Ammonoosuc RavineStarting our ascent with Marshfield Base Station behind usContinuing up after a quick break and weather observation at Waumbek TankNick, one of the students, starts to “ski cut” the slope just off the tracks. We did get some small shooting cracks and positive results in a few spots in the new storm snow.Jacob’s Ladder, 4,725 feet in elevation
Digging in the snow on the northwest aspects here revealed fairly uniform pencil hard slab with a lack of buried weak layers. Just on the southwest side of the ridge I was able to get very positive ski cuts along with observing some small cornices.
Looking into Ammonoosuc Ravine
We thought we saw a small recent avalanche down in Ammonoosuc but it was hard to confirm from our position up on the ridge. I definitely need to add a small pair of binoculars to my kit! The weather turned pretty quickly and by 3:15 we were de-skinning and getting ready to drop a fairly sweet powder run back to the trail-head.
On Sunday we met at the very busy Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. With a forecast of “Considerable” avalanche danger and a complicated bulletin the group worked together on a trip plan for the day.
Morning Trip Planning Session
Enroute to Hermit Lake we made a quick stop to check out the snow study plot. 1.3 meters of snow on the ground, with more accumulating through-out the day on the 24 hour and storm snow boards. 5-6% density snow = fluffy greatness!
Hermit Lake Snow Study Plot
When we reached Hermit Lake USFS Snow Ranger Jeff Lane chatted with the class regarding their mission up there and the local variability that effects their forecasting operation.
Chatting with USFS Snow Ranger, Jeff Lane
After updating our weather observations and reviewing our route options from the morning the group selected Hillman’s Highway as an area we could tour through in order to complete our course goals.
Before entering into the area effected by the large D4 avalanche a few years ago we discussed how best to use the terrain to stay protected.
Where should we go? Photo by Mike Lackman
After traversing some ground and learning the value of a solid uphill kick turn we dropped back down below the dog-leg of Hillman’s and made some snowpack observations on a small slope, concluding our observations with an entertaining Rutschblock Test.
Esoteric info: 33 degree slope on East aspect @ 3,950ft, RB 4, MB, 35cm down on older storm snow
I actually got to use “esoteric rhetoric” in a sentence when describing how we might try to interpret our results and that word combination still gives me a chuckle for some reason.
My tour notes from the day:
5 more courses and that will be it for the 2012/2013 avalanche course season. We only have 1 spot left in this upcoming weekend’s course so if you are interested call and book it today! 800-310-4504.
You can see the other dates we have scheduled here. All 5 courses are close to full so don’t delay if you were hoping to get this course in this winter!
