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That Near-Death Buzz
February 15, 2004
Three Puget Sound men were killed by an avalanche last week while on an annual ice-climbing trip in the Canadian Rockies. They were climbing an ice waterfall, and one of them was an avalanche safety instructor. When avalanche safety instructors start getting killed by avalanches, maybe it’s time to re-think the whole winter “extreme sports” paradigm. This is a matter of personal judgement, not government intervention. Protests of “he died doing what he loved” can’t be too much salve for say, the five- and three-year-old daughters of a Washington State Assistant Attorney General who was killed by an avalanche last winter while backcountry skiing in British Columbia. Another victim in the same party was the founder of an outdoor gear company. Another batch of avalanche deaths last winter claimed seven lives, including that of a noted “back-country” snowboarder. Officials said, “we don’t know” if his party triggered the fatal avalanche. There had been a forecast of “considerable danger” of an avalanche in the area that day. The same day this very latest tragedy made the front page, there was another story about a self-described Washington “extreme skier” having portions of his legs amputated several weeks after an unplanned, four-night misadventure. Earlier this winter, three snowboarders were killed in a Utah avalanche. Last winter’s toll also included seven Canadian teens; backcountry skiers and snow-boarders. But it’s snowmobilers that account for almost half of all U.S. avalanche deaths; well ahead of backcountry skiers and snow-boarders. In California, the U.S. Forest Service has taken to air surveillance and ticketing of “scofflaw snowmobilers” who penetrate off-limits areas. The quest for “fresh powder” has gone too far. Sure. How can you live in the West or Northwest and not get out, and just maybe, push the limits a bit, in a sailboat, kayak, hiking, or skiing? The mountains and waterways make our region a spiritual oasis. There might be something to that tale about the Lemurians living inside Mount Shasta. I love a good 12- to 14-hour summer day hike in The Cascades, with up to a 4,000-foot elevation gain. But I stay on-trail, and know when to come home. Like last April, when all of a sudden there was way too much deep, soft snow as I got higher up on a hike off I-90. One outdoor industry backer of a Western Washington avalanche safety educational group praises the organization’s agenda as “a grassroots attempt to give kids a fighting chance at making good decisions at the right times…” That’s some aim: a “fighting chance” at not dying in an avalanche. Posted by Matt Rosenberg at February 15, 2004 09:06 AM Trackback Pings TrackBack URL for this entry: Comments:
Your mention of the "died doing what he loved" line reminded me of something from last year. A guy from Washington died when his small plane crashed in Alaska (I think). His son said he had died doing what he loved. I thought "he loved plummeting to the earth and smashing into the ground"? Posted by: Ken J at February 16, 2004 08:59 AMI do not know if they have the Right to do these things but my mom gave the advice when I was young, about being dead right!!!! Posted by: Scott D at February 16, 2004 11:50 AM"... But I stay on-trail." There is a huge gap between always staying on the trails and going into terrain so dangerous for avalanche that you get killed. Thousands of responsible people go off trail in summer and winter with small risk - known risk; there is risk in everything we do. And there are courses in off-trail travel - the most known are climbing courses. Indeed a mountain traveler can learn a huge amount by taking a climbing course, even if he has no intention of reaching the top of a single peak. Matt, I like your blog. This is my first response. Posted by: Ron at February 17, 2004 05:42 AMGood point, Ron, about manageable risk off-trail; and degrees of risk. I was going to mention in the original post a long scramble up to Tuck and Robin Lakes a friend and I made last summer. No trail after the first lake, just cairns, and they worked great. Glad to have you here. Stay tuned! Posted by: Matt Rosenberg at February 17, 2004 08:50 AMPost a comment
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