Bald Mountain avalanche a reminder of need to be careful
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Fire
and ice. A west-Ketchum pile of firewood collects layers of fluffy ice as winter continues
to mount. Though the wood stack isnt ready to slide, the piling snows of late should
be trod on carefully in the mountains. There have already been 10 North American avalanche
deaths this winter. Express photo by Willy Cook
The avalanche in Bald Mountains Lookout Bowl on Friday, Jan. 14, was
an almost lethal reminder of just how dangerous and unpredictable winter in the mountains
can be, even within the controlled boundaries of a ski area.
With rising temperatures, significant new snowfall and a weak base layer
of snow, a three-foot-thick slab of snow150-feet wideswept more than 1,000
feet down Lookout Bowl. No one was caught by the slide, and two local residents who
watched the Sun Valley Ski Patrol jump into action after the slide hailed their follow-up
performance.
But the fact that an avalanche occurred on an open ski run at a major
Western ski resort while skiers navigated the run raises questions in the minds of some
critics whether the run should have been open at all. Rising temperatures and significant
new snowfall should have been clues of imminent danger, they contend.
The ski patrol, abiding by Sun Valley Co. policy, referred such questions
to Sun Valleys public relations officer, Jack Sibbach.
Sibbach said the ski patrol and mountain manager, together, decide what
parts of the mountain will be open. He said the ski patrol "probably" has more
power making such calls. Safety comes first, Sibbach said.
When asked what other considerations go into opening the ski area, Sibbach
responded that no other considerations are more important than safety.
In-ski-area-boundary avalanches in open areas are nothing new to Sun
Valleys Bald Mountain.
In January of 1998 local skier Darin Sales was buried by an avalanche
below Gretchens Gold in Seattle Ridge areas trees when he triggered a slide.
Adam Kraft, who was skiing with Sales at the time of the slide, began
digging his buried friend out and was later assisted by ski patrol members.
Another slide in 1951 ripped down Easter Bowl, burying and killing a class
of students and a ski instructor. Only one body was found before the spring sun melted the
snow.
Inbounds avalanches are also nothing new to ski resorts around the West.
In fact, last weekend a man was killed skiing inside the boundaries of
Crystal Mountain Ski Area in Washington. The avalanche victim and a friend were on a
closed slope that had undergone avalanche control work earlier in the day, according to an
accident report written by Crystal Mountain ski patrollers.
Another avalanche occurred the same day on an open slope at Crystal
Mountain, breaking another mans leg.
Avalanche experts say predicting avalanches is as much art as it is
science, and that fact is reiterated as winter mountains continue to swallow experienced
winter backcountry travelers throughout the West.
So far this winter, 10 people have died in avalanches in North America.
Some were experienced in the backcountry, and some were not, according to the North
American Avalanche Centers Internet site.
As the snow continues to pile on, local avalanche danger will remain
considerable to high.
The Sun Valley Avalanche Center called for "considerable"
avalanche danger by days end yesterday as snow accumulations steadily continued
through the morning.
"North facing aspects [of mountains] are harboring the weakest snow,
and the crusts on the sunny aspects could be a sliding surface for the new snow. Use good
route selection and heads up travel techniques today to get out and enjoy the new
snow," the report read.
Snow is expected to continue through Thursday and cool, cloudy conditions
will usher in the weekend.