The Forest Service Avalanche Center for the Sierra would not exist without community donations, despite being a government operation.
Category Archive:skiing
March 25th, 2023 / Tags:avalanche , avalanches , california , sierra avalanche center / Categories: avalanche forecasting, Avalanches, california, ski area, skiing /
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February 25th, 2023 / Tags:avalanche , avalanche dog , avalanches , california , heavenly , ski area / Categories: avalanche beacons, avalanche education, Avalanches, california, ski area, skiing /
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Above average Sierra snowpack for the month of February continues, with California at 190% of normal snowpack for this time of year. With all this snow, the ski patrol team at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe is urging skiers to be extremely cautious of avalanche danger.
January 25th, 2023 / Tags:avalanche , avalanche accident , avalanches , book , colorado , colorado avalanche , risk management / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, avalanche education, Avalanches, colorado, Education, Idaho, montana, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling /
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Press Release via Google News and PR*Urgent
Description: Every year a multitude of people venture out into the snow to go snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling or climbing. Many are not fully informed of the dangers and the necessary risk management practices. This book sheds light on the fatalities that occurred last year and what went wrong in order to help others learn and improve their own margin of safety.
December 9th, 2022 / Tags:avalanche , avalanche control , avalanche mitigation , dutch draw , ski area , utah / Categories: avalanche control, Avalanches, ski area, skiing, utah /
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On many winter days explosions can be heard echoing across many ski areas. These are the sounds of avalanche mitigation.
There are a few ways the ski patrol can mitigate avalanche risks. While the explosive business is the most dramatic two other methods are used as well. Ski cutting and compaction.
“We don't do any mitigation outside of the resort and so it's 100% on the on the user, on themselves; we do worry about it from a rescue perspective but we do not do anything to mitigate that hazard," Andy Van Houten, snow safety director of Park City Mountain, said.
Last week an avalanche was reported in the Dutch Draw area of Park City, Utah between the lifts Peak Five and Ninety-Nine 90. According to Van Houten the avalanche occurred in the back country. "We worked with the Department of Public Safety helicopter," he said. "We're able to establish that nobody was involved. We had all of our witnesses accounted for, all is good.”
March 18th, 2022 / Tags:avalanche , avalanche accident , colorado , colorado avalanche , dog / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, Avalanches, colorado, skiing, snowboarding /
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A brave dog, presumed dead in an avalanche in Colorado, was found alive several days later at a trailhead.
December 14th, 2021 / Tags:avalanche , avalanche fatality , crystal mountain , washington / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, avalanche education, Avalanches, ski area, skiing /
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A skier was killed in an avalanche Saturday, December 11, in Silver Basin, a closed area of Crystal Mountain, Washington, that ski patrol had not mitigated for avalanche hazard. Six skiers from the same party were caught in the slide. Four skiers were partially or fully buried, three of whom were successfully recovered. The fourth skier was found unconscious and did not respond to resuscitation efforts. All skiers involved were carrying avalanche equipment and several had taken a recent avalanche course.
April 3rd, 2021 / Tags:alaska , avalanche fatality , heli ski , heli-skiing , matanuska glacier / Categories: Accidents, alaska, avalanche accidents, Avalanches, heli-skiing, skiing /
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A heli-ski avalanche near Matanuska Glacier killed a Fairbanks woman who was heli-skiing on Saturday. It was witnessed by four others in the group.
Erin Lee, 40, was rescued and taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital and pronounced dead.Erin Lee, 40, was rescued and taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital and pronounced dead.
She was part of a group heli-skiing about 7½ miles from the Glenn Highway east of the Matanuska Glacier, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska state troopers. It wasn’t immediately clear which mountain the avalanche occurred on. Troopers have not visited the exact site. McDaniel also noted that another group was heli-skiing in the same area Saturday.
February 26th, 2021 / Tags:alpine meadows , avalanche control , avalanche deaths , lawsuits / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, avalanche control, Avalanches, california, lawsuits, legal, ski area, skiing /
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Two Alpine Meadows avalanche lawsuits have been filed by the widow and a friend of a dead skier. They accuse the resort of negligently rushing to open the unsafe slopes for a busy holiday weekend.
Cole Comstock, 34, of Blairsden, California, was killed. His close friend Kaley Bloom was seriously injured. They were caught in an avalanche on an Alpine Meadows ski run on Jan. 17, 2020. Nobody else was seriously hurt.
The two Alpine meadows avalanche lawsuits were filed in Placer County Superior Court by Bloom and by Cole’s widow. They seek unspecified damages from Alpine Meadows. The allegations include negligence, gross negligence and breach of contract. Raymond’s lawsuit also alleged the resort was to blame for her late husband’s death.
February 20th, 2021 / Tags:avalanche accidents , avalanche center , california , forest service , sierra nevada , tahoe / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, Avalanches, california, skiing, snowboarding /
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Friday started as a perfect winter day. About a foot of new snow fell overnight. In the morning the sky cleared. Then by the end of the day the Sierra Avalanche Center had received many avalanche reports. Some happened naturally but many were caused by skiers and snowboarders.
In the morning the Sierra Avalanche Center posted its forecast. The center stated the obvious - that storm slabs in the new snow were a big concern. They rated the avalanche danger as “considerable,” meaning that skiers and snowboarders were likely to trigger avalanches.
The Sierra Avalanche Center works to prevent accidents by issuing daily forecasts. The U.S. Forest Service hires three full-time avalanche forecasters who backcountry ski and then write reports. The Sierra Avalanche Center fundraises on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service to cover much of the payroll and related expenses. There are also three part-time paid observers who go skiing to check on conditions.
February 3rd, 2021 / Tags:backcountry access , park city , Park City Ski Resort , PCMR , PCSR , Risk Discussion / Categories: Accidents, avalanche accidents, Avalanches, ski area, skiing, snowboarding, utah /
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The Park City Mountain Canyons Ski Patrol closed off its access to the backcountry adjacent to the resort. The unusual step was taken after a couple of recent deadly slides amid high avalanche danger. Prior to a couple of recent fatal avalanches there had been numerous others in past years as well.
A 31-year-old man died after being buried in an avalanche while skiing in the adjacent backcountry. He accessed it via special gates at Park City Mountain. More recently, a U of U helicopter responded to rescue two skiers. One was buried in an avalanche and died. They also accessed the backcountry via Park City Mountain.
