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thunderhead
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PostTue Feb 28, 2023 9:25 pm 
Sparse information is better than no information. And internet forums often have some posters with skilled, valuable insight. Obviously this isnt the NTSB, but theres some value here.

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dave allyn
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 8:29 am 
Excellent article in today's Seattle Times. I'd share the link if I knew how. Best, most informative article I've seen regarding a rescue. Hopefully someone with more phone skills can post the link.

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Randito
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 8:40 am 
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/wa-volunteer-details-colchuck-peak-avalanche-search-and-rescue-effort/
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WA volunteer details Colchuck Peak avalanche search-and-rescue effort March 2, 2023 at 6:00 am Updated March 2, 2023 at 6:10 am Colchuck Peak, where a Feb. 19 avalanche swept a party of climbers, killing three. Six people were attempting to climb the peak via the northeast couloir route when the avalanche hit. Colchuck Peak is at center; the northeast couloir is partly sunlit. Argonaut Peak is to the right of Colchuck. Dragontail Peak is at left, and Colchuck Lake is at lower left/center. (John Scurlock / Special to The Seattle Times ) Colchuck Peak, where a Feb. 19 avalanche swept a party of... (John Scurlock / Special to The Seattle Times )More By Gregory Scruggs Seattle Times staff reporter “EMERGENCY CALLOUT! Two injured climbers, one broken leg, one unconscious since yesterday at moraine above Colchuck Lake.” Craig Gyselinck of East Wenatchee received this request for help via text from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office at 8 a.m. Feb. 20. Most Mondays, Gyselinck suits up as manager for the Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District. That Monday was Presidents Day, though, and he was looking forward to time with family. Instead, the 37-year-old suited up as a team leader for Chelan County Mountain Rescue. MORE FROM THE COLCHUCK AVALANCHE Feb. 21: Avalanche on WA’s Colchuck Peak kills 3; slide is nation’s deadliest this winter Feb. 22: Sheriff IDs climbers killed in avalanche on WA’s Colchuck Peak Feb. 24: Body of Colchuck Peak climber killed in WA avalanche recovered At the time, Gyselinck did not know an avalanche the day prior had flushed four climbers 500 vertical feet down a steep gully on Colchuck Peak known as the northeast couloir. Seong Cho, 54, of Connecticut; Jeannie Lee, 60, of New York; and Yun Park, 66, of New Jersey died of traumatic injuries as the avalanche funneled them into a narrow chokepoint of granite walls and blue ice. In the wake of tragedy, Gyselinck and Washington’s network of search-and-rescue professionals and volunteers raced to respond to the nation’s deadliest avalanche since the winter of 2020-21. This is how the rescue effort unfolded. First responders Gyselinck’s immediate reaction was to reach the injured climbers as soon as possible, then relay an assessment to the Sheriff’s Office. Snow was on the way and winds were scheduled to pick up that evening, with gusts as fierce as 80 mph. A rescue helicopter wasn’t an option. The Northwest Avalanche Center forecast “high” avalanche danger, and Gyselinck resolved to put together a rescue team but set a limit: They wouldn’t ascend into avalanche terrain. Colchuck Lake was as high as they would go. With no chopper available, Gyselinck braced himself for the worst. “It was kind of a nightmare situation,” he said. “How are you going to carry somebody out from Colchuck Lake in a litter in the snow?” Gyselinck recruited three other volunteers via text. He grabbed a pack with his backcountry essentials — harness, rock protection, warm clothing, stove — then drove to a county building in Wenatchee where Chelan County Mountain Rescue keeps extra gear. He picked up three hypothermia kits and hustled up Highway 2 to Leavenworth. “My thought was to get to the patients, and if they need warmth, we can provide support,” Gyselinck said. “I knew four of us were not capable of getting multiple injured patients down from Colchuck Lake. We went light and fast.” Chelan County Mountain Rescue provides technical expertise: climbing, ropes, harnesses and backcountry stretchers called litters. While Gyselinck and his teammates responded, Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue had sounded its own network to provide snowmobiles as logistical support. By midmorning, both search-and-rescue groups had convened at Bridge Creek Campground on Icicle Road in Leavenworth. Reaching base camp Come summer, this campground along idyllic Icicle Creek is thronged with families, hikers and climbers en route to the Enchantments. Up Eight Mile Road at the Colchuck Lake Trailhead, vehicles overflow out of the trailhead lot. Winter presents a different scene. The campground is shuttered, dormant under a white blanket, and a gate blocks the bridge over Icicle Creek leading into the high country. Few intrepid adventurers make their way into this patch of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to climb or backcountry ski during winter. Still, a seven-person party from the New York Korean American Alpine Club had set up base camp at Colchuck Lake last month for a multiday climbing trip, targeting Dragontail and Colchuck peaks. In the avalanche a day prior, Seung-chang Park survived but incurred a leg injury — not a broken leg, as the rescue call had stated — while Gab-jong Jang and Tae-gyu “Teddy” Kim had narrowly avoided the snow slide. Now huddled in tents at their camp, three of the group’s seven climbers awaited help. A fourth survivor from the climbing group, Seung-nam “Sam” Kim, stayed at base camp on the day of the accident. After the avalanche, he had hiked out for help, reaching the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Leavenworth substation around 7:30 a.m. Feb. 20. Gyselinck and the other rescuers didn’t know these specifics as they rode four snowmobiles to the Colchuck Lake Trailhead. Gyselinck knows Eight Mile Road well and has climbed in these mountains for over 20 years, including a successful March 2016 ascent of Colchuck Peak via the northeast couloir. His climbing partners had, in turn, become rescue teammates. At the trailhead, they strapped on snowshoes and hiked 4 miles toward Colchuck Lake. Around 2 p.m., the group spotted two yellow tents anchoring a well-established base camp just below the lake. The tents sat on platforms that had been dug out to shelter their occupants from the extreme winds above. Stoves, ice tools and climbing crampons rested in the snow. The wind howled, but the snow storm had yet to start. The tents were quiet. Gyselinck knocked on one; Jang and Kim were inside waiting for rescuers. Jang and Kim said their partner, Seung-chan Park, was in the second tent, injured. Park relayed that three climbers had perished and their bodies remained on Colchuck Peak. “At that point I determined we were only hours from the weather deteriorating rapidly,” Gyselinck said. “We needed to get out of there immediately.” Descending the mountain The group packed up warm clothing and left the campsite behind. Park, the climber with the leg injury, was in pain but able to walk. The rescuers lent snowshoes to the survivors. Gyselinck said the three-hour return hike was somber, the only sounds coming from the crunch of snowshoes underfoot and the wind swaying in the pine trees, several of which had already fallen off the windblown trail. “They had a calm demeanor,” Gyselinck said. “The accident had occurred well over 24 hours prior and these guys had time to process.” Gyselinck provided regular updates via radio and requested that snowmobiles be ready when the rescuers and three survivors reached the Colchuck Lake Trailhead at dusk. By that point, Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue had maneuvered a tracked vehicle resembling a small snowcat to the trailhead. Other rescuers drove the survivors down Eight Mile Road, while Gyselinck’s team returned to the Bridge Creek Campground via snowmobiles. It was dark by the time Gyselinck arrived at the campground, which had become a staging area. Police lights from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office pierced the darkness. Some 30 people awaited the rescue team, including volunteers from multiple search-and-rescue organizations. At the staging area, Park declined medical treatment, and all three survivors left in waiting vehicles driven by friends or acquaintances. Sergeant Jason Reinfeld of Chelan County Sheriff’s Office interviewed survivors Tae-gyu Kim, Seung-chan Park, Gab-jong Jang and Seung-nam Kim in the following days. The winter storm came in as forecast, dropping another 20 inches of snow on Colchuck Peak. The search for the victims’ remains did not resume until Feb. 24, when a rescuer on a hoist and cable from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office helicopter rescue team found Cho’s body at GPS coordinates provided by Seung-chang Park. Despite his injuries, Park had climbed back up to search for his partners. He found Cho’s body, put it in an orange sleeping bag and took a photo. The bodies of Jeannie Lee and Yun Park were last seen at the base of the couloir, but rescuers on that helicopter flight were unable to locate their remains. They searched mounds of snow that proved to be rocks. At least three avalanches have occurred since the initial accident, making an immediate return rescue mission a dim prospect. “We have no plans in the near future,” Reinfeld said. Aftermath of the avalanche The same day as rescuers retrieved Cho’s body, the New York Korean American Alpine Club confirmed that all four survivors had returned home, according to a situation report on the club’s website (translated from Korean to English). A representative from the climbing club declined to comment on this story. The club’s website catalogs an extensive list of hikes, rock climbs and winter mountaineering excursions throughout the Northeast, as well as trips like a 2018 Mount Baker climb, a 2022 Denali expedition and preparation for a 2024 Himalayan expedition. In February 2022, Jeannie Lee, who died in the Colchuck avalanche, and Seung-chang Park, who survived, both reached the summit of California’s Mount Whitney on a winter climb. Per the website, the group’s original destination was Mount Rainier National Park, but they switched their plans to the Enchantments upon learning the park’s alpine reaches are closed Mondays through Fridays this winter. The Colchuck climbers were not carrying avalanche transceivers or personal locator beacons. While backcountry skiers seek out terrain and snow conditions conducive to avalanches, winter climbers avoid those conditions. In general, slopes that make for enjoyable skiing usually make for difficult climbing, and vice versa. Gyselinck said “it’s fairly rare for climbers to carry avalanche transceivers” and noted the victims died of physical trauma, not snow asphyxiation. Avalanche transceivers would not have made a difference in the survivors’ ability to rescue their partners. “Due to the weather conditions, they climbed into a really dangerous situation probably unknowingly, because it had been very windy and that wind had blown all the snow over the top of Colchuck Peak and settled in the couloir and triggered the wind slab,” Gyselinck said. “Dragontail is the prize, but it’s big and scary. Colchuck is less intimidating. You could easily let your guard down on a smaller, less committing route and get in trouble really quickly.” Gyselinck noted that the group got caught “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Still, Gyselinck thought back to his winter climb of the northeast couloir seven years ago and remembered a sense of unease. “When I climbed the route, I was very concerned about snow stability when I got through that bottleneck,” Gyselinck said. “It gave me an eerie feeling. It did not feel like a safe place.” Gregory Scruggs: gscruggs@seattletimes.com; Gregory Scruggs is the outdoors reporter at The Seattle Times.

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Cyclopath
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 11:56 am 
RumiDude wrote:
Problem is you can't get that here.
Your trying hard to make that true.

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RumiDude
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 4:32 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
RumiDude wrote:
Problem is you can't get that here.
Your trying hard to make that true.
No, I am stating an observation. Precious few backcountry accidents discussed on this and other forums have sufficient confirmed information to make even a general discussion about any particular accident fruitless. And even if they do, the forum analysis is very uneven. A newbie will likely be confused or worse, confirmed into a dangerous conclusion. This thread was started as a counter to the discussion thread surrounding the most recent avalanche fatalities in the Cascades at Colchuck Peak. If these had been locals the usual customary action would be to be respectful to the victims, their friends, and family. I am of a mind that should apply to all such accidents regardless of whether they are locals or not. YMMV I am also of the mind that social media is a poor source of safety practices and analysis. There are lots of books and organizations which are much better sources for that than anonymous individuals of unknown experience on the internet. Again, YMMV. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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Cyclopath
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 5:24 pm 
If you don't like a conversation, and clearly you don't, you don't have to take part in it. smile.gif

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RumiDude
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 7:18 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
If you don't like a conversation, and clearly you don't, you don't have to take part in it. smile.gif
I don't take part in lots of discussions for various reasons. Conversely, when I take part I do so for various reasons. I am not sure what "like" has to do with it. It seems to me, and correct me if I am wrong, that from your previous two posts directed towards me, it is you that doesn't want me to take part in this thread discussion. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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Bruce Albert
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PostThu Mar 02, 2023 8:58 pm 
RumiDude wrote:
This thread was started as a counter to the discussion thread surrounding the most recent avalanche fatalities in the Cascades at Colchuck Peak.
This thread was started to encourage the separation of memorializations of accident victims from discussions of causative factors on the internet I am encouraged that at least in this thread my suggestion is being honored.

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gb
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PostFri Mar 03, 2023 9:23 am 
NWAC will issue an accident report, but unless the survivor who was avalanched is willing to talk (language, distance, and personal trauma), and saw the slab as it was released, little will be known about the exact weak layer, and the thickness and extent of the crown in as much as this information was fully buried by the time rescuers arrived; and I am sure none of them took the risk to go visit the crown. Many times it is known what the Avy education of the group was and what they did as far as collecting information aforehand. This may also not be known; we'll see. The NWAC report may be left with nothing more than the above account after the avalanche and Mountain Weather and Avalanche Forecasts leading up to the date of the accident. There were obviously reports of a multitude of potential weak layers and strong winds at the time. I climbed the NE Face Couloir (is this the route they were on) in May of 1977 with 3 Skoog brothers in cold weather and described it thus:
Quote:
The couloir began with a short 60 degree section. After another 70 degree section of water ice and an easier section, a hard 20' section of 80 degree water ice was climbed. The 45 degree snow was followed to the top of the couloir.
1976-77 was one of the lightest snow years on record, so perhaps the lower couloir was much better filled in as these unfortunate folks climbed.

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PostFri Mar 03, 2023 7:36 pm 
cylcepath Your position is that internet accident threads provide value? Please cite an internet accident thread you have learned from. What was the lesson? How did the lesson apply to you? Bonus points if you can demonstrate real learning by remembering an example off the top of your head vs having to search for response or asking a chat bot to make one up for you. Share your wisdom w/t crowd and make Socrates proud! My personal experience is that internet forum accident analysis is an ish show of smugness, insults and entitlement, masking as education. Recent colchuck thread is good example. Randy is the only one in the thread w/good advice/analysis. For me, Randy's analysis is not a new lesson, nor something I learned on forums. But I can see how it would be helpful to others. Unfortunately their comment is burred in the onslaught of "how could they have done this, I demand to know full details."
Randito wrote:
The accident occurred on a holiday weekend and involved people that have traveled to the area.

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FiveNines
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PostFri Mar 03, 2023 8:23 pm 
In the interest of making a positive contribution, I'll start. Although I did not learn this on the internet, but through local news, sustained thought and discussion/observation w/friends. Understand what drainage you're in. If you walk downhill only, where will you end up? This helps me immensely navigating off trail and not getting lost. I learned this sometime between 2000-05 from news stories about missing hiker at Melakwa. Eventually they were found, days later, down Pratt River, or somewhere in MFK. Denny Creek is a popular trail with lots of people that leads directly to a lake. I did not understand how they got lost. But this is not correct and I was pretty inexperienced hiker back then. The trail does not lead directly to the lake. There is a jct just short. I was surprised to learn Melakwa is not even in I90 drainage, it's in the MFK. I'd hiked to the lake many times before, but never noticed. If you hike to melakwa, get confused or are not paying attention, then hike DHO to escape, you will not be anywhere near your car. Notice the passes. Know where the water flows. When you know you know, but it's not always obvious when you don't know, so always pay close attention. Even on trails. Test your knowledge. What watershed is 520 from I5 to Darrington in? If there is a pass, what milemarker is it at? Play these games by yourself and with your friends, everywhere you go, to build habits that become 2nd nature and lead to knowledge/understanding of surroundings. Generally my awareness of drains, combined w/t navigation chapter in FotH, (baselining is really the only thing I remember from there) has paid big dividends for me in both route planning and field navigation. One time specifically I was goofing around on Icicle Ridge. I'd planned to cross and criss cross the ridge multiple times in a complex loop. A few bad decisions and a single instance of poor judgement left me stuck on Hwy2 side, far away from my car and not wanting to take anymore risks by returning the way I'd come or venturing further on my loop. But even so, it was easy for me to understand where I was and what options I had to escape. I didn't have to keep doing stupid or dangerous things to get out. I could just hike DHO to Hwy2 and safety. Although it was embarrassing to have to call friends for a pick up at Chiwakum and shuttle back to Icicle, it wasn't a big deal. Extra credit: What should Blewett Pass on US97 really be named? Why?

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fourteen410
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PostFri Mar 03, 2023 11:49 pm 
Good grief. This is an internet discussion forum, not an academic consortium. Not every comment is going to have scholarly value or high level analysis. Who cares whether someone learns something new or not? It's just a discussion.

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PostSat Mar 04, 2023 12:09 pm 
You are correct. Time to get back to normal internet mode of complaining and quips. Thanks for your contributions in this thread. It's a lot of helpful information to digest, but w/a little effort, I'm sure I'll find something valuable to help me on my next trip.
fourteen410 wrote:
There's nothing wrong with discussing accidents/fatalities here. It's an internet forum, not a funeral.

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Bruce Albert
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PostSat Mar 04, 2023 12:59 pm 
I think an objective look at causative factors common to both the Tunnel Creek and Colchuk accidents …beyond the painfully obvious matter of Bad Day To Be There…for me centers around Group Size and Dynamics and a little bit around Living by the Calendar and the effects those factors can have on decision making. At the least some thought about those initially subtle matters can have a positive effect on the quality of my own decisions. None of that is new, and your mileage may vary; since I already know how I feel, I state this here with an eye to learning others points of view. But I’m also curious about something else maybe readers can weigh in on. Couloirs, with both their advantages as route choices and attendant risks, have long been common ascent choices for mountaineering, but in recent years I sense that couloirs have also become plum routes for winter ski/snowboard descents when avalanche risk is generally higher, yet paradoxically I don’t sense a high fraction of couloir avalanche incidents on what is at least visually some very high risk terrain. To whatever extent this is true, then why is it? Why are more skiers not being caught and carried in these features? Is there a decision structure in place that is working or is it just good fortune? And here’s a little objective hazard thing I learned once by accident, a significant slab formed not from snowfall and wind transport but from accumulated spindrift. This was at the base of the Squamish Chief in conditions and snow depths that would never have led us to suspect avalanche hazard until I was caught waist deep and carried a short distance into the forest. I can easily see such slabs forming on steep mixed ground which is constantly sluffing in storm conditions.

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PostSat Mar 04, 2023 2:50 pm 
I haven't heard anything yet about what sort of avalanche safety education the unfortunate folks in the recent tragedy have had. The Tunnel Creek tragedy involved people with avalanche safety training and equipment , who didn't take into account a rapid change in conditions and abort their planned route in light of that rapid change..

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