First Ski Death of the Season

[CMCM]

Sad to say the first ski death of the season has occurred...early Christmas day on Squaw's Red Dog run....he was buried by a moderate avalanche, apparently. Very sad, he was a lifelong skier but this was very steep terrain and there had been a huge snow dump the night before, so I'm surprised the Squaw avalanche teams hadn't taken care of this area. Perhaps they can't cover everything...

https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/25/BARV14VADC.DTL&feed=rss.news

 

[SnowHot]

Mortality is a sobering thing.......I'm always deeply saddened by situations like this, but understand the risk and sense of adventure that plays a part of this activity.
RIP fellow skier.:(

 

[abc]

I'm surprised the Squaw avalanche teams hadn't taken care of this area. Perhaps they can't cover everything...

Avalanche control is kind of like earthquake science. We're begining to get good at it but we're not entirely understanding it fully yet.

The Squaw avi control team wouldn't have open the area had they not thought it safe. But, even the best of the avi control team of Squaw are not 100% accurate.

May he RIP.

 

[Slidergirl]

Just like the avalanche the other week that killed the woman at Snowbird, the avalanche control was done and it was thought to be OK. They can only do so much, snow is inherently dangerous when it piles up.
It is not shaping up to be a good ski season, death-wise.

 

[altagirl]

There have also been two deaths at Whistler this year due to rock impacts.

Definitely not a good start to the season. :(

And abc said it, but the word is that avalanche control had been completed at Squaw and the skier was either caught in a large sluff or small slide that buried him. In steep, heavily treed terrain, it's not hard to imagine that happening.