More skiing at Snowbird

My kid who arrives today from Montreal will be very, very happy to hear that. Although this week's heat, with temps pushing 100 all week under sunny skies here in the SL Valley, will make that stuff melt fast now.
 
wow, that's awesome! talk about a win win. the tram is open for the summer any ways and skiers get a free ride up eliminating quite a bit of time and hiking. hopefully no knuckleheads will ruin it. even with the waiver, it just takes a screwball doing something he shouldn't and some bad press and that will get shut down. a waiver is only protection against a law suit, not from bad press. oh wait, is there such a thing as bad publicity? :lol:
 
great idea :roll: .......but it's doomed. DOOMED i say

sure, they've been open after they close in previous years, but now
there's a lift to access what is now being considered "backcountry" terrain.
do the words uncontrolled and unpredictable mean anything
to people who are visiting from out of state (or perhaps even in
state) who want to ski in July? i'm sure that most of the folks who will
utilize the tram to get some turns in are, for the most part, ontop of thier
game. however, there are those who enter the backcountry that
shouldn't, and providing such easy access to just anyone who wants a
ride is (i think) asking for it. 57" base mid mtn and perhaps more in
other area's. follow the sun. :wink: :lol:

well, i'm sure the waiver will protect them from all liability, just like
the fine print on the back of lift tickets do.
 
That's some of the best news to come out of the skiing industry in a while.
Do you think any other resorts will follow suit?
 
hamdog":3mi9plpf said:
sure, they've been open after they close in previous years, but now there's a lift to access what is now being considered "backcountry" terrain.
Click to expand...
Other than the time when it's occurring, this is nothing new for Snowbird. Once they go to their spirng skiing schedule, with only the Tram and Little Cloud lift running, all other parts of the resort are officially declared backcountry skiing. You're on your own and there's no ski patrol. There are backcountry gates (with requisite USFS signage) at the entrance to Chip's run, the upper and mid-cirque gates, and at the entry to Bassackwards below Little Cloud. Even during the regular winter season, there is a backcountry gate just above the Gad II lift and a few others (eg: part way down the Road to Provo, providing access to American Forks Twin Peaks and Pipeline). Using them requires checking in with ski patrol and signing a waiver. Alta, Solitude, and Brighton all have had multiple, marked backcountry gates for many years. IOW, there has always been extremely easy lift served BC access at all the resorts.

Right now a bit of a hike is needed to reach any snow and this will only increase with additional weeks in the upper 90's in the valley. Also, a significant hike either down or back to the summit awaits anyone who does ski. All of this pluse the waiver and likely "Experts Only" warnings will act as an effective filter for the casual. I don't think there's any doom involved with the idea at all.
 
Marc_C":1ux4ia87 said:
Also, a significant hike either down or back to the summit awaits anyone who does ski. All of this pluse the waiver and likely "Experts Only" warnings will act as an effective filter for the casual. I don't think there's any doom involved with the idea at all.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the fact that a transceiver and shovel are required. A shovel's no big deal, but a transceiver is a $300 investment. Your average touron isn't going to have one, and I doubt that any will plunk down $300-worth of coin to simply gain access.
 
Admin":2pm6m0m9 said:
Marc_C":2pm6m0m9 said:
Also, a significant hike either down or back to the summit awaits anyone who does ski. All of this pluse the waiver and likely "Experts Only" warnings will act as an effective filter for the casual. I don't think there's any doom involved with the idea at all.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the fact that a transceiver and shovel are required. A shovel's no big deal, but a transceiver is a $300 investment. Your average touron isn't going to have one, and I doubt that any will plunk down $300-worth of coin to simply gain access.
Click to expand...

that seems unnessary to need that stuff, is there really any change of an avalance
 
awf170":2atn7rdx said:
that seems unnessary to need that stuff, is there really any change of an avalance
Click to expand...

Bingo, just my point. The gear requirement serves as an "entrance exam." However, there is the possibility of a wet slab release even at this time of year.
 
awf170":1df2cqmk said:
that seems unnessary to need that stuff, is there really any change [sic] of an avalance
Click to expand...
Short answer: yes.
Slightly longer answer: although not as common as during the winter, you can still get avis as things heat up, especially if there's a trigger...like a skier or climber.
Long example from the Westwide Avalanche Network below. Dated yes, but some googling will reveal more. Note the comments about cornice collapse. On Monday there was still a 15' cornice above Perla's Chute on Baldy and 20' or more on American Fork Twin Peaks above Old Reliable. (Old Reliable is the small bowl above the Snowbird trails Road to Provo and Mark Malu Fork).

July 5, 1997, Gladstone Peak (San Miguel Mountains), Colorado

2 climbers caught, 1 injured, 1 partly buried and killed

Accident Summary

Gladstone Peak (13,913 feet) is a spectacular looking peak located between it two more famous 14'er neighbors Mt. Wilson and Wilson Peak. At about 1400 hours on Saturday afternoon two Colorado climbers were caught by a natural wet-slab avalanche high on Gladstone Peak. The pair were traversing a snowfield about 100 feet below the summit when they triggered the avalanche. Details are still sketchy, however, it appears the pair were on a small rock ledge that crumbled beneath them triggering a small wet-slab avalanche. One man was carried a very short distance but suffered only cuts and bruises. The other victim, a 23-year-old Castle Rock man was carried about 150-200 vertical feet and partly buried. He apparently died from serious head injuries suffered during his short ride. He was not wearing a helmet. Two other friends were on the ridge above the pair but did not see the avalanche. They only learned of the tragedy when the one slightly injured climber was able to scramble back to the ridge. Not equipped for steep snow travel the three were unable to descend to their friend, so they left to get help. At a campgroundlower on the mountain they borrowed a cellular telephone to alert the San Miguel Sheriff's Department. A rapid response got rescuers to the victim by about 1700 hours. They then evacuated the body.

Avalanche Data

This avalanche can be classified as a WS-AF-2-G. This small-sized wet slab fractured 2.5 to 3 feet deep to the ground and was only about 30-40 feet wide. It was artifically triggered by the weight of the climbers and rocks. The steep snow slope faces to the northeast, and the avalanche released from about an elevation of 13,800 feet. Rescuers said the day was hot and added that the snow was very wet. They also said the avalanche entrained considerable amounts of dirt and rock, typical of summertime avalanches.

Comments

Falling rock and avalanches are certainly among the dangers climbers face when tackling the rugged and rotten summits of the San Miguel Mountains. Though this group suffered bad luck their accident was typical of many that occur in the mountains. Warm temperatures, late afternoons, rotten rock, shallow wet snow and steep slopes are key ingredients to rock fall and avalanches. Add to this list the group's inexperience, lack of proper equipment and poor decision-making and you have the recipe for disaster. Sadly, these ingredients came together on Gladstone Peak. This accident is a grim reminder that even in summer avalanches can still threaten the visitors to steep, high-elevation slopes.

The last Colorado avalanche victim killed during July occurred on July 4, 1976, on Mt. Ypsilon. Though that accident was unwitnessed the avalanche is suspected to have been caused when a portion of the cornice collapsed onto the steep snow slope the victim was climbing. The following year on July 3, 1977, two climbers were caught and injured, also on Mt. Ypsilon when a huge portion of cornice collapsed above them.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top