A russian heli skiing operation was buried and all souls lost after an avalanhce swept though the LZ. Often the heli will stage in what they believe to be a safe zone for an LZ (perhaps AKTahoe1 can elaborate.) Who knows what details of this LZ were, but they were taken out.

http://vtolblog.com/?p=2595

Depending on the size/severity of the slide, the runout can stretch for a really LONG way past the bottom of a slope.

Well, at least it was snowboarders...........................


Bad deal. Looks like ten deceased and eight injured.

ANFO first then skiers where I worked, but I guess it's still possible.

mepps1 wrote:Well, at least it was snowboarders...........................


Bad deal. Looks like ten deceased and eight injured.

Ten people are killed and you're making light of it?! I can think of at least 20 words to describe your response, starting with "low class." Go away - find another forum where you can post your tasteless and callous remarks - but don't bring the rest of us down with your crap.

Eric Goss

PA12_Pilot wrote:

mepps1 wrote:Well, at least it was snowboarders...........................


Bad deal. Looks like ten deceased and eight injured.

Ten people are killed and you're making light of it?! I can think of at least 20 words to describe your response, starting with "low class." Go away - find another forum where you can post your tasteless and callous remarks - but don't bring the rest of us down with your crap.

Eric Goss

Just to make up, I'm downloading a funeral dirge to my laptop. No doubt if I'm sad enough someone in Germany or Russia will feel better.

Aside from that, I don't know what to tell you. We're all doomed someday. I really could care less if someone laughs at my own funeral. I don't expect to live long to be offended by it. I only hope that the last thought in my mind isn't, "Oh, sh!t, that was stupid!"

These people were doing what they loved. Wrong place, wrong time. Happens to the best.

In a past life... OK, several past lives ago, I was a deputy sheriff for Sonoma County in California. One of my assignments while there was a two year stint as detective, doing coroner investigations. I got a shitload of funny stories about some of the stupid ways people find themselves dead. And some that'll give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

But shit, lighten up people. It was a joke. And too bad there wasn't a bunch of skateboarders, lawyers, and Muslim radicals on board too.

Gump

1SeventyZ wrote:Depending on the size/severity of the slide, the runout can stretch for a really LONG way past the bottom of a slope.

I spent quite a bit of time backpacking in the Salmon River mtns of central Idaho in my younger days. One alpine lake I would occasionally visit had a rocky ridge (no trees on the ridge) behind it. The ridge was about 300-400 ft high. Beyond it was a V-shaped valley about a half mile across that was filled with timber and a 2000 ft. high cliff on the other side of the valley.

One summer, I went up there, and the lake was filled with broken trees, and there were broken trees scattered all over the rocky ridge. I hiked up to the top of the rocky ridge to where I could better see the cliff beyond it. An avalanche had come down the cliff to the valley collecting trees as it went, went down to the bottom of the valley, and roared up the other side onto the ridge where I was standing, and then down that ridge into the lake.

Before that, I never knew that avalanches could go uphill that far, but now I'm a believer. It's something to think about if you're in steep terrain in the winter.

This one goes big. Anything in the runout path may as well have flown into a tornado filled with lava.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=3047880

Eric-

I understand your responce but unless you are part of the "Powderhounds" you won't quite understand that the humor shared between the Board bums and the skinny skier's we all have a way of dealing with this sort of thing, lord knows when I do catch the best powder that is out there to be had there will hopefully be a few snickers in the back ground with a "I didn't think you could get a Turbo Sled that high" comments...... and a big ass party with pictures and Video of the things I love most, Fresh Powder and a screemin' sled and a ton of Airplanes!!

1SeventyZ wrote:This one goes big. Anything in the runout path may as well have flown into a tornado filled with lava.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=3047880

WHOA! that turned Creepy Quick!That slide was outta hand.

All winter, the road my driveway exits on has a few cars parked during the day: out of bounders who ride the chairlift up and then hike up and south to appear on the summit pictured in my avatar, from there it's 4K vertical to my place, or you can "go over the back side". It's the reason I have my split board, as I get to end up right in front of my shop! Every season we deal with a few avalanches, every now and then someone gets hurt, no deaths for a while now. I have had a few tense moments, but so far so good.

Anyway, as last weekend was last call, all she wrote, end of season, and my second week of ski flying, I just had to go up and leave some tracks in a area where knuckle draggers and skinny skiers alike exit the tree line and usually encounter one last large untrammeled run of snow down to the parked cars. My timing was perfect, 12" overnight, and I landed and took off 4 times.

I found out later the tracks appearing out of nowhere, and then disappearing made some wonder what the hell, and one skier when realizing it was me said,"should have known it was a snowboarder". We all get along, but for sure a lot of razzing goes on, REAL similar to the whole taildragger/tricycle gear thing. A snowboarder (12 years now) with a skiplane, in the mountains, is there any wonder I've had a sh*t eating grin for the last couple weeks! I've landed on level ground twice, all others have been in the mountains, what a blast The picture is a few days later, after some freeze thaw cycles so pretty hard snow, the ski skegs work great on the side slopes.

Yep, splitboard is the way to go.I can go out the door here, but I cannot park my plane in my yard.Sounds like a good setup you have there>4 thousand vert to the shop? Sounds like I need to come visit and bring the board with me.

low rider wrote:Yep, splitboard is the way to go.I can go out the door here, but I cannot park my plane in my yard.Sounds like a good setup you have there>4 thousand vert to the shop? Sounds like I need to come visit and bring the board with me.

Yep, 9271' to my place at 5400', close enough to 4 K, and more if I go past the house and down to the valley another 1k below! But the slope shallows out. I'd like to take credit for planning this all out, but really just got lucky! The best thing is the range faces the prevailing summer winds and is a GREAT soaring site. I am still hoping to get a deadstick soaring flight in before I take the wheel skis off, just for the hell of it

Hottshot wrote:Eric-

I understand your responce but unless you are part of the "Powderhounds" you won't quite understand that the humor shared between the Board bums and the skinny skier's we all have a way of dealing with this sort of thing, lord knows when I do catch the best powder that is out there to be had there will hopefully be a few snickers in the back ground with a "I didn't think you could get a Turbo Sled that high" comments...... and a big ass party with pictures and Video of the things I love most, Fresh Powder and a screemin' sled and a ton of Airplanes!!

Wup,

I understand the rivalry between board bums and skinny skiers, and poking fun at one another is fine. But making light of 10 people dying isn't cute or clever or fun. It's callous. None of us would ever make light of the deaths in front of the relatives of the people who were killed, right? Doing it anonymously on a web forum doesn't make it OK.

Eric Goss

PA12_Pilot wrote:

Hottshot wrote:Eric-

I understand your responce but unless you are part of the "Powderhounds" you won't quite understand that the humor shared between the Board bums and the skinny skier's we all have a way of dealing with this sort of thing, lord knows when I do catch the best powder that is out there to be had there will hopefully be a few snickers in the back ground with a "I didn't think you could get a Turbo Sled that high" comments...... and a big ass party with pictures and Video of the things I love most, Fresh Powder and a screemin' sled and a ton of Airplanes!!

Wup,

I understand the rivalry between board bums and skinny skiers, and poking fun at one another is fine. But making light of 10 people dying isn't cute or clever or fun. It's callous. None of us would ever make light of the deaths in front of the relatives of the people who were killed, right? Doing it anonymously on a web forum doesn't make it OK.

Eric Goss

Some articles are numbering the dead at eight. Would you be my friend if I only made a quip about eight boarders dying?

I should get credit for being (at least potentially) 20% less calloused, I think.

A later report has the helicopter unaffected, so I guess initial reports were inaccurate.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/318218,skiers-triggered-deadly-avalanche-in-russia-officials-say.html