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SteeperColder
paralysis x analysis
Joined: 18 Mar 2016
Posts: 67 | TRs | Pics
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"You won't find reasonable men on the tops of tall mountains" - Hunter S. Thompson
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Randito
Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9513 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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 Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:26 pm |
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Wow so young, three fatalities in one storm.
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Ski
><((((°>
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12832 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
><((((°>
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Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:31 pm |
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"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 3370 | TRs | Pics
Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Mon Feb 26, 2018 7:23 pm |
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| RandyHiker wrote: | | Wow so young, three fatalities in one storm. |
Exactly. This is tough--those young guys. The parents must be besides themselves. Snowshoeing sounds mundane and innocent to many folks, but it has its perils too--especially in the Alpental--Source Lake area at this time of year. ~z
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Randito
Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9513 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:10 pm |
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| zephyr wrote: | | Exactly. This is tough--those young guys. The parents must be besides themselves. Snowshoeing sounds mundane and innocent to many folks, but it has its perils too--especially in the Alpental--Source Lake area at this time of year. ~z
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On T-A-Y there was a thread with some indication that they were on Cave Ridge -- not sure what route they took.
The huge avi slopes off of Chair Peak have killed many, but even a small slope can be deadly.
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 3370 | TRs | Pics
Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:45 pm |
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| RandyHiker wrote: | | On T-A-Y there was a thread with some indication that they were on Cave Ridge -- not sure what route they took. |
Cave Ridge is a whole other story. Interesting that they would choose that area.
I have been looking through T-A-Y and could only find the barest mention of the incident--not a thread. Could you please post a link? Thanks. ~z
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Arginine
Member
Joined: 04 Apr 2005
Posts: 179 | TRs | Pics
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Arginine
Member
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Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:51 pm |
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| RandyHiker wrote: | | On T-A-Y there was a thread with some indication that they were on Cave Ridge -- not sure what route they took. |
They were on a south aspect below the switchbacks to the snow lake divide.
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cascadeclimber
Member
Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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| Arginine wrote: | | They were on a south aspect below the switchbacks to the snow lake divide. |
That is a bad place on high avy days- slides can start out of sight above you. Saw an entire troupe of mounties setup there for snow school a few years back on a day when wet slides were trigger above on very low angle slopes.
So, so important to consider what might be hidden above you on high risk avy days.
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hikerbiker
Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 155 | TRs | Pics
Location: Rock Creek |
From NWAC Report:
Two teenagers were killed by a slab avalanche that released on a south aspect at 4250 ft in the Alpental Valley. The avalanche initiated just below ridgecrest at the final steep switchbacks of the summer trail to Snow Lake Divide, NE of Source Lake. NWAC staff investigating on 2/26 estimated the avalanche 350 ft wide and that it ran 500 vertical ft into mature timber with crown depths up to 36" (85 cm). The failure interface was a layer of small facets above a thin melt-freeze crust that was buried by storm snow on 2/23 (SS-U-R3-D2.5-I).
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Pahoehoe
Member
Joined: 12 Oct 2017
Posts: 563 | TRs | Pics
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Pahoehoe
Member
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Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:18 am |
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Holy hell, does anyone proof read anymore?
| Quote: | | Avalanche danger in the area is the mountains. Just 16 miles away from Alpental is Stampede Pass, where a snowmobiler was killed over the weekend when he was buried in an avalanche. |
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DadFly
Member
Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Posts: 402 | TRs | Pics
Location: Redmond |
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DadFly
Member
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Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:32 pm |
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https://www.nwac.us/mountain-weather-forecast/current/
I have the ap on my phone and check avy conditions daily. Knowing the history of the snow pack is important.
Use it often. Post it more.
Donate if you can. They run on our donations.
"May you live in interesting times"
"May you live in interesting times"
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 7464 | TRs | Pics
Location: The Hermitage |
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
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Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:43 pm |
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| Pahoehoe wrote: | | Holy hell, does anyone proof read anymore? |
No. It's all about the clicks. Don't be needin' to right any bearly recugnyzabel inglesh to get clicks.
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Just_Some_Hiker
Member
Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA |
Very unfortunate but honestly I'm surprised that avalanche fatalities don't happen more frequently in the Source/Snow Lake area.
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cascadeclimber
Member
Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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| Just_Some_Hiker wrote: | | Very unfortunate but honestly I'm surprised that avalanche fatalities don't happen more frequently in the Source/Snow Lake area. |
^^^ That.
Stroll up the groomed cat track, and just a few minutes past the end is the first dangerous avalanche slope.
I've also noticed an increase in (for lack of a better term) herd mentality as trails have gotten more crowded: People fall in line with others and traipse along without invoking their own situational awareness.
Everyone, especially in winter, needs to look up and around, consider the entire situation, and think for themselves. Whether you are a leader or a newbie isn't relevant. If your leader doesn't appreciate questions or concerns, find a better leader. If your newbie isn't asking questions about the terrain, route, snow conditions, ask them for their thoughts.
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joker
seeker
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Posts: 7953 | TRs | Pics
Location: state of confusion |
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joker
seeker
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Thu Mar 01, 2018 12:09 pm |
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It's not just the winter route, accessed via said cat track. It's also on the summer trail, which traverses even more hazardous terrain than the winter route (on average - specific conditions may make one or the other worse on a given day of course). I almost always see a beaten trough on the summer trail these days when driving up to ski the lifts there. And often see people coming or going from that trail. I've seen several posts suggesting that as a good "safe" winter snowshoe on the WH&C FB group (I am always willing to be the fuddy duddy who begs to differ, as are a few others I see chime in on such threads, but it's like whack-a-mole). A lot of people seem to see winter snowshoeing as simply how one travels on summer hiking trails to continue hiking in wintertime, rather than seeing it as a completely different and much more technical mountaineering activity requiring a particular set of skills.
"Social proof" heuristic via social media seems to be on net hurting not helping matters...
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