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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE On sale now ISBN: 979-8371006769 <a href="https://<a href='http://www.avalanche-center.org/book/' rel='nofollow'>www.avalanche-center.org/book/https://www.avalanche-center.org/book/
Fatal Avalanches in the US: 2021-2022 reviews in detail all of the fatal snow avalanches of the season. They are summarized collectively, each is described, and noteworthy factors are discussed. Finally, the common factors and problems behind these tragic events are discussed. This information is invaluable for helping skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, climbers, and others avoid such incidents in the future.
This 1st edition reviews the 17 avalanche fatalities between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 in clear terms with simple and clear snowpack diagrams and no technical obfuscation. The focus is on understanding what went wrong and how risk management could have been improved.
“While it remains our right to venture forth into avalanche terrain it also remains our responsibility to manage our own risk, to our own acceptable level. Hopefully these experiences of others will contribute in some way to that. “ – James Frankenfield, Author
Fatal Avalanches in the US: 2021-2022: A Review of the Season’s Fatal Avalanches is a must-have book for anyone recreating outdoors in winter. It can be found both in Paperback and Kindle form on Amazon at <a href="https://<a href='http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQY4RNZV' rel='nofollow'>www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQY4RNZVhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQY4RNZV
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – James Frankenfield is a snow and avalanche professional with decades of experience as a skier/climber, snow scientist and engineer and mountain safety educator. He earned his M.Sc. in Physics in 1990 by studying seasonal snow and avalanches and has done scientific work in the field. In 1993 he started Avalanche-Center.org on USENET and a university gopher server and manages this project on the web to this day. He has climbed, soloed and guided alpine climbs throughout the western US, soloed a section of the Northville-Placid trail in winter in 1984, and has soloed multi-day glacier ski tours in the Alps. His website is snowman-jim.org
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CONTACT: The Avalanche Center (Avalanche-Center.org) 877-604-0166 snowavalanche-center.org
A brave dog, presumed dead in an avalanche, was found alive several days later at a trailhead.
An avalanche triggered by a skier in Colorado hit a skier and snowboarder on Thursday, and their dog.
The skier deployed an airbag before being partially buried under snow. However, they lost sight of their four-legged friend amidst the chaos.
Fortunately for the skier and snowboarder, they were uninjured and able to make it out under their own power.
After looking all over for the dog presumed dead in the avalanche, the owners and a search crew had basically given up hope.
They left the scene and assumed the dog had died in the avalanche.
Search and rescue members didn’t see any signs of tracks.
Miraculously, however, after several days of being missing, the dog was found at a trailhead of Monarch Pass.
The reunion was incredibly emotional.
This isn’t the first time a pet has been rescued after dire circumstances in the Colorado mountains this season.
In December a video posted on YouTube showed skiers digging out a dog who had been under snow for 20 minutes after an avalanche.
Despite the positive outcome this time, Lazar reaffirmed that the best course of action when caught in an avalanche was for riders to keep an eye on their pet and only attempt to save them once it’s safe to do so
“We don’t want dogs to wear avalanche transceivers. We want people to be searchable by transceivers and not mixable with potential dogs with transceivers on,” Lazar said.
That’s one story that this courageously good boy or girl will remember for the rest of their dog years.
Site where a dog presumed dead in an avalanche was buried.
A mistrial in the Colorado Avalanche case against two snowboarders has been declared.
The two snowboarders are facing charges in Summit County for an avalanche they triggered last spring. Evan Hannibal, 26, and Tyler DeWitt, 38, appeared in Summit County District Court Thursday for what was supposed to be day one of their trial, but only half of those summoned for jury duty appeared.
Now they will have to wait until June for their day in court. The judge had to declare mistrial in the colorado avalanche case.
“I’m disappointed for a lot of reasons,” said Judge Edward Casias. “I’m disappointed for the parties not being able to address this the way they should have today. Both the People and Mr. Hannible and Mr. Dewitt were entitled to a jury trial of 6.”
Jason Flores-Williams, attorney for the defendants said about half of the 40 summoned showed up.
“…and when we started questioning jurors about what they knew about the case, if they had any biases, it became pretty clear that we weren’t going to be able to get 6 impartial jurors,” said Flores-Williams.
Judge Casias thanked those who did show up and had some words for those who didn’t.
“It’s an important case. Every case is important,” he said. “There are very few civic responsibilities we ask of you. Jury service and voting really are the two that we ask you to be engaged in with your community and some of the people that were summonsed chose not to and I will address that with them and probably the community at large.”
Eisenhower Tunnel Avalanche and Damage
Hannibal and DeWitt were snowboarding on March 25 when they triggered an avalanche just above the Eisenhower Tunnel.
“The avalanche put debris on the road that was over 400 feet wide and 20 feet deep,” said Ethan Greene, Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The pair reported the slide to the CAIC and handed over GoPro video to go with the report. They never realized it would be used in a court case against them.
They now face a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment and may have to pay some restitution for damage caused.
The trial has been rescheduled for June 7, 8, and 9.
A Mistrial in Colorado Avalanche Case was declared.
Avalanche investigators from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) must testify in the trial of Evan Hannibal and Tyler DeWitt according to Judge Casias. He dismissed a motion from the Attorney General’s Office to void subpoenas to keep them off the witness stand.
On March 25 DeWitt and Hannibal were snowboarding above the Loop Road at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels. They triggered an avalanche. Nobody was injured but it covered more than 400 feet of the roadway up to 20 feet deep and damaged a remote avalanche-control installation.
The District Attorney charged both snowboarders with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment.
Much has been made of the avalanche center’s role. The center contacted the defendants after the avalanche to collect information to put together a report on the incident. The defendants voluntarily supplied information. Which was later shared with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
The defense attorney Jason Flores-Williams fought to suppress the report as evidence. He argued that it represented a violation of the defendants constitutional rights because they were never informed the information could be used against them. Judge Casias ruled there were no violations. The avalanche center employees weren’t acting as law enforcement agents in their investigation and there was no formal search or seizure.
The avalanche center was directly involved the case a few days later. Subpoenas for their avalanche investigators were issued. They required the center’s Director Ethan Greene and forecaster Jason Konigsberg to testify as expert witnesses. On Feb. 26 the Attorney General filed a motion to quash the subpoenas on the grounds that such testimony could have an “unintended adverse ‘chilling’ impact on the CAIC’s ability to gather important information from people involved in avalanches.”
On Tuesday Assistant Attorney General Jeff Fugate defended the office’s stance. He claimed that forcing the men to testify would harm future efforts to gather information following an avalanche. It could create a situation where backcountry users would no longer view the CAIC as impartial.
“The center is very aware of conversations taking place in the backcountry community. And advice being widely shared that people should no longer speak to the CAIC if they are involved in an avalanche,” Fugate said. “…That’s the exact opposite message the center has worked hard to implement in Colorado. People should be willing to share information with the center without hesitation or reservation because the more information the center has, the better it can educate the public about avalanche safety.”
“The agency has fulfilled their role by sharing this information. However, appearing as an expert for the prosecution takes them outside of this informational or educational role. It leaves the wrong impression or the misunderstanding that the CAIC is now ‘on a side.’ That’s something this agency just wants to avoid at all costs.”
Fugate said the fear wasn’t that community members would stop reporting avalanches altogether. But they may report an avalanche and refuse to provide any follow-up interviews, photos or videos.
Fugate continued to say that the subpoenas for the avalanche investigators were unnecessary. They say prosecutors could find other avalanche experts who weren’t working for the state to serve as witnesses.
In response Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Cava called the assertions speculative. She said her office often deals with situations like this. She compared the situation to someone getting in a car crash, calling the police and still potentially getting a ticket.
She also said that some fears were driven by inaccurate news reporting. She singled out a recent story from The Colorado Sun. Which mistakenly called the case the state’s first criminal case involving an avalanche. She claims there were three cases that went to trial in Summit County in 2014 after a fatal avalanche. While those cases did not receive the same news coverage Cava claimed it did not impact avalanche reporting. She noted that field reporting to the avalanche center nearly doubled from 2014 (1,392) to 2020 (2,771).
Cava also says that reports her office seeks a set amount of restitution in the case were false. Any restitution amounts will be decided if the men are convicted. She noted that the most recent plea offer her office made to the defendants was rejected. It involved the defendants pleading guilty to reckless endangerment, performing 120 hours of public service and paying $25,000 in restitution.
Cava also said that prosecutors are given wide latitude to call witnesses. Quashing them in this case could create a bad precedent in the district. She claims that witnesses from state agencies frequently testify without compromising their impartiality.
“When a (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) forensic scientist comes and testifies in a DUI case, they don’t get up there and speak on behalf of the people,” Cava said. “… (They) don’t get up there and say, ’That person was drunk.’ They say, ‘Well this is the test that I did, this is how I did it and, based on that information, you could see these sorts of signs.’ They don’t give a conclusory opinion.”
Casias noted that avalanche investigators Greene and Konigsberg would be reluctant witnesses and that the case potentially could have impacts on future avalanche reporting. But he said the district attorney’s office didn’t err in issuing the subpoenas.
As expert witnesses, Casias said the men would be asked only to share their objective findings from their investigation.
“They don’t get to sit here and say this person is guilty or not guilty of any criminal conduct,” Casias said. “… Their expertise and their knowledge is providing an objective determination of what caused the avalanche to go.”
Avalanche testimony by Colorado Avalanche Information Center boss Ethan Green in a criminal case could hinder the function of the agency, according to the state Attorney General.
Defendant Provided his video
Evan Hannibal provided his helmet video of the avalanche he triggered above Interstate 70 last March. The avalanche buried a service road and destroyed an avalanche mitigation installation protecting I-70. He thought the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) would use his submission to help educate others.
But Summit County prosecutors used the video for a criminal case. They seek restitution for the damaged avalanche mitigation device.
Hannibal and Tyler DeWitt are charged with reckless endangerment. Restitution of $168,000 is sought for the destroyed avalanche mitigation device.
Adverse impact of video
Hannibal has argued that the charges could convince others to stop giving information to the CAIC. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as attorney for the state avalanche center, has agreed. He argues against the plan to call avalanche center director Ethan Greene as an expert witness. He states it “could have an unintended adverse impact on the CAIC’s ability to gather important information.”
Weiser’s office has filed motions to quash subpoenas requiring Greene and forecaster Jason Konisberg to testify as expert witnesses.
Novel Avalanche Case
It is a novel case in several ways.
Backcountry travelers have never before faced criminal charges over an avalanche in Colorado. Summit County Court Judge Ed Casias recently rejected the pair’s argument that their rights were violated when the helmet video was provided to police as evidence of a crime.
Now Weiser has stepped in, asking Judge Casias to reject having state employees testify.
“There is genuine concern that if CAIC employees appear as an expert witness it could adversely impact their ability to gather information from persons involved in an avalanche,” the motion filed by Weiser’s office reads. “The more involved CAIC is, the more it looks like they are working with law enforcement, resulting in a chilling effect on CAIC’s mission.”
Too busy for avalanche testimony in court
Weiser also argued that the subpoenas are “unduly burdensome, unreasonable and oppressive.” Because it takes them away from avalanche investigations and forecasting.
James Moss is an attorney with over 30 years experience in recreation law. Moss thinks the loss of avalanche testimony by Greene and Konisberg could hinder the case. Moss thinks that without them the district attorney will have a hard time explaining the CAIC report. Or to explain why the avalanche mitigation device was placed in that particular location.
But more important, Moss says, is the threat to the CAIC mission. Which includes educating the public on avalanche risks.
“The motion states clearly that this is going to screw up avalanche research and reporting in Colorado forever,” said Moss. He has no role in the case but urges backcountry travelers to avoid talking with the CAIC. “You never report to CAIC from here on out, period,” Moss said.
The avalanche in question in the case with avalanche testimony
Maurice Kervin has spent 65 days snowboarding so far this season. Friday is a day he won’t forget. On that day the snowboarder was caught in an avalanche.
“Friday was beautiful. It was golden. We had actually been planning all week to ski this line,” he said.
Recent AIARE Course
Kervin had recently completed a Level 1 safety course through the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE).
All week he and his friends had been watching the avalanche forecast and felt conditions were improving.
“Everyone was actually really excited that the avalanche danger level had actually gone down,” said Kervin. He wasn’t as sure about the forecast, adding, “I was very concerned. I was like, ‘I don’t know guys.'”
Nervous about the day
Kervin and his riding partner hiked toward a spot called No Name near Loveland Pass. They continued to check conditions on their way. And they tested patches of snow for stability. Although the results didn’t show any signs of instability he felt nervous before dropping in.
“I remember telling my buddy ‘I don’t know man. I’m kind of nervous about this run, and if it goes it’s probably going to go big,'” said Kervin.
Kervin think he made it a third of the way down when everything changed. Then the snowboarder was caught in the avalanche.
Caught in an Avalanche
“I cut into a thin patch of snow in some cliff bands. At that point it released below me and the whole slab started to go underneath me. I looked up and around and I saw the snow start coming down from above,” said Kervin.
The avalanche happened quickly and swept him off his feet.
“I definitely wasn’t in control at all, the avalanche was in control. I never had a doubt in my mind that I was going to get buried. My biggest concern was that I was going to hurt myself in some way and make it difficult getting off the mountain,” said Kervin.
He deployed the avalanche airbag in his backpack.
“So I freed my hands, I pulled the bag and I started to do backstroke and kick my feet up to stay on top of the snow, basically just to make myself as big and less dense as possible,” said Kervin.
Kervin was carried about 1,000 feet before he came to a stop on the snow surface. In his video you can hear his air bag fill up. Then seconds later his board hits a large rock where he went over a cliff.
“I was very calm through the whole thing. I think that’s very important thing to be in such a situation. Often times when people panic they make poor decisions or don’t make any decisions at all,” said Kervin.
Role of Training and an Airbag
He made it out with only a dislocated finger. He’s been skiing and riding in the backcountry for about 10 years and completed a Level 1 safety course through AIARE. Despite that, he did not avoid the recognized risk. But Kervin believes the airbag and his training likely saved his life. “I knew what we were doing, and the possibilities that I had feared came true,” said Kervin. He called 911 to report the avalanche but did not require assistance from a rescue team.
He was skiing again the very next day but he wants his story to be an cautionary tale for others who might be venturing into the backcountry, some for the first time.
A final report on a fatal skier triggered avalanche that killed two Durango backcountry skiers last weekend says it appears the skiers likely triggered the slide while climbing up an avalanche path.
The skier triggered avalanche occurred on a steep slope above tree line. “They went on a day that wasn’t a good day to be there,” the official report said. Other skiers in the area that day were interviewed. They mostly stayed in lower angle areas and in the trees. They noted the dangerous conditions on the higher, steeper and open slopes.
The Avalanche Events
The two skiers – identified as Dr. Jeff Paffendorf, 53, and Albert “Bert” Perry, 55 – left Durango on Saturday morning, December 19, to ski the north face of an area known as Battleship, northwest of Silverton.
The report says the pair reached the trailhead about 10 a.m. They then skied about a mile before coming down a slope into Mineral Creek.
From the bottom, the Colorado Avalanche Center said, they headed east and onto the north face of Battleship. The two made one run, then climbed west through sparse woods toward the center of the north face of Battleship.
It is believed they were traveling uphill in an avalanche path when they triggered the slide, which started above them. It is not uncommon for slides to break above skiers.
“Ascending a big avalanche path during conditions like that is dangerous,” said Ethan Greene, executive director of the CAIC. “It’s a really unfortunate accident.”
The avalanche occurred on a steep slope above tree line. It had a crown face about 12 to 20 inches deep and about 700 feet wide. The avalanche ran 1,600 vertical feet, from the alpine into a tree-line creek bed.
Around 8 p.m., Paffendorf and Perry were reported overdue. Crews with San Juan Search and Recuse began a mission, and a Flight For Life helicopter scanned the area. They found “significant avalanche activity” on Battleship.
Because of the significant avalanche risk and the dangers of traveling at night the search was postponed until morning.
Recovery by Friends
However, three close friends of Paffendorf and Perry went to search for them on their own. They followed tracks to the avalanche debris and used avalanche beacons.
The friends found the pair before midnight at an elevation of about 11,100 feet. Both skiers had deployed their avalanche airbags. The friends excavated the bodies and marked the location. They returned to the trailhead around 2 a.m.
Greene said Paffendorf and Perry were “very experienced backcountry travelers.” But he said conditions so far this year have presented avalanche risks not seen in recent years, so places people may be familiar with could hold dangers that haven’t existed on previous trips.
Conditions
On the day of the accident the avalanche danger in the San Juan Mountains was “considerable.” It is not the highest risk category but one that highlights possible avalanche danger and the need for sound decision-making.
The unstable snowpack is a result of early season snow in October and dry weather for weeks in November. That caused the snowpack to become weak. Additional snow on top of that weak layer causes avalanches.
Of the pair’s friends’ rescue attempt, the report states that “the three rescuers were willing to accept a level of risk that was not appropriate for Search and Rescue. While they found the bodies hours before Search and Rescue would have, the swifter discovery did not change the outcome of the accident.”
Paffendorf was an anesthesiologist at Mercy Regional Medical Center for the past eight years. Perry was a homebuilder before becoming a realtor for Coldwell Banker Heritage House Realtors in Durango about four years ago.
Friends and colleagues have noted how experienced and familiar the pair was with the terrain.
“This year is a little bit different,” he said. “That place you always go to, think about whether it’s a good day to go there.”
Several natural and human-triggered avalanches have been reported across the state this week, including one near Vail Pass on Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche Center said.
The Vail Pass avalanche broke at the ground, they said. Although it was relatively small, it could have injured someone if they had been caught in it. The avalanche was triggered by skiers.
People should avoid steep slopes, especially on north and northeast faces where cohesive slabs of snow are formed by the wind. Avalanches can break in upper wind-effected layers or at weak layers near the ground, the Avalanche Center said. “With a relatively shallow early season’s snowpack, it is not difficult to affect these layers and create a failure. It is best to avoid traveling on steep wind-loaded slopes where these conditions exist.”
There were several natural and human-triggered avalanches across the state on Wednesday. Avalanches were reported at Berthoud Pass, Montezuma and near the Eisenhower Tunnel.
The Avalanche Center said most of the mountains will see a moderate risk of avalanches on Friday and Saturday at and above treeline.
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