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mbravenboer
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 1:59 pm 
Bellingham Herald mentioned that the search is focusing on Blueberry Ridge, by which they probably mean the Blueberry Chutes:
"Officials told him an electronic GPS ping was received from that area Sunday." I'm not sure what kind of device they are referring to there. http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article185239753.html

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Yana
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 3:07 pm 
mbravenboer wrote:
"Officials told him an electronic GPS ping was received from that area Sunday." I'm not sure what kind of device they are referring to there.
Likely a cell phone. That area has spotty coverage and even without coverage sometimes you can ping the phone (or it can hit towers). What would be interesting to know is the margin of error on the coordinates. I'm guessing it must be pretty accurate for them to concentrate the search there. They've been missing a long time. :-(

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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gb
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 3:09 pm 
thunderhead wrote:
Wrong again, gb. The difficulty surviving in such a storm outside the most bomber shelter is quite relevant.
You are just trying to obfuscate your comment about tents. Apparently you are not familiar with Baker. If they left from Heather Meadows the skiing in the Austin Pass/Table Mountain area is at most 800 yards from the car with two exceptions, Herman Saddle and and the Swift Creek drainage. If the weather was foul they would have stayed near visibility - trees. The highest probability would be the Blueberry chutes not far from the old rope tow. If they were familiar with the area then Swift Creek. The report cited the Table Mountain area as the search area.

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DIYSteve
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 8:15 pm 
Yeah, from Table Mtn. or Blueberry Chutes or any of the other popular ski touring terrain you could ski or splitboard to the car in a fraction of the time it would take to dig a snow cave. The ping is not good news. Blueberry Chutes is a big terrain trap.

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cartman
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 8:53 pm 
rbuzby wrote:
Avalanche beacons give some people a false sense of being prepared for avalanches. There is no equipment that can substitute for staying away when avalanches are likely.
Yes. A beacon isn't a safety device; if you ever have to use one for real most likely you've already screwed up badly. And a Level 1 avalanche class often seems to be just enough knowledge to think you know more than you do. Both the device and the knowledge are essential, but not always used wisely. This is in general, not implying that was the case this time.

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RumiDude
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PostFri Nov 17, 2017 8:58 pm 
DIYSteve wrote:
Blueberry Chutes is a big terrain trap.
+1 I am hoping for a good outcome but realize each hour that passes diminishes that hope a little. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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gb
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PostSat Nov 18, 2017 7:45 am 
RumiDude wrote:
DIYSteve wrote:
Blueberry Chutes is a big terrain trap.
+1 I am hoping for a good outcome but realize each hour that passes diminishes that hope a little. Rumi
You read a report like this and it is kind of impersonal. Then you look into the articles and links and see the faces and listen to concerned friends and relatives and it takes on a very human feel. They looked like a couple of nice young kids. I wish I could be more optimistic.

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Chico
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PostSun Nov 19, 2017 8:03 pm 
Search suspended due to weather.

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mbravenboer
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PostMon Nov 20, 2017 11:11 am 
Also here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article185612758.html
Quote:
KOMO-TV reported Sunday that, if the weather cooperates, ground search teams could return with a device that can find people buried in the snow.
I suppose that's just an avalanche beacon and they've been using those already during the search, or is there some other tech they use for this kind of search?

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Yana
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PostMon Nov 20, 2017 12:39 pm 
mbravenboer wrote:
I suppose that's just an avalanche beacon and they've been using those already during the search, or is there some other tech they use for this kind of search?
Media coverage is often so inaccurate that I wouldn't get too hung up on any of the specifics mentioned. However, at this point in the search, I am guessing they have already attempted beacon searches multiple times. An option that does not rely on beacons is RECCO. They may be referring to that.

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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mbravenboer
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PostMon Nov 20, 2017 12:46 pm 
Thanks Yana.

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