Why skiers need to train for back country

[sunvalleylaw]

http://vimeo.com/6581009

Scary stuff. Amazing to get this footage. Not many survive this kind of thing, and fewer have cameras on.

[Spudman]

That is what happened to my friend Eric this spring. He's a NOLS certified and trained back country guide. He was guiding Heli ski clients in Alaska and when he went to do a pre run to see if it was good the whole thing cut loose and buried him. It broke his back but didn't paralyze him. He had to have some serious surgery and is still recovering.

Better be fit, smart and have friends along to dig you out for sure.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, and by train, I meant not specifically for fitness, but to train using the gear: avalanche beacon, probe, shovel, etc. You only have so much time to perform a meaningful rescue, and there are techniques that make it much more efficient. Also, being smart means knowing yourself. The studies are showing that very experienced skiers/other backcountry users get caught because of the sweet powder (oh it looks so good!), familiarity (I have skied here many times), etc. Group dynamics are a big thing too. I am pretty limited in what I will approach because although I have the equipment, I know I am a rookie in terms of true backcountry experience and knowledge.

I know that break over he skied over right before it went is a danger signal for terrain, but maybe I would have skied it too, depending on what the folks I was with said. It is certainly within my ability and looked sweet.

I think he had an avalung (a thing like a camelback with air in it) that might have helped him too.

P.S. The noises he was making while he waited to be rescued were unnerving to say the least!

EDIT: I first watched this vid embedded in facebook and did not see the comments written. They confirm what I said. He had an Avalung. It was not all the way in his mouth, and he got some snow and ice in as well. He may have gotten caught in some powder fever skiing the direction he did rather than another route, and by not doing some final check things before "pointing it" and dropping in over the breakover. All stuff you are taught against but all things that good skiers sometimes do. The comments note he was recovered in 4:28, a miraculous time of recovery, and that also he was face up, and a glove came off right before he was finally buried to guide his buddies to him.

I don't mean to go on and on, but it is some pretty amazing footage. We lost some very long time local, very experienced skiers last year. Just causes one to think.