Two very lucky Adirondack BC Skiers

jake · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 94 Location: Eastern Adirondacks

PLATTSBURGH PRESS REPUBLICAN
Published March 01, 2010 04:51 pm - Two backcountry skiers escape white death at Angel Slide on Wright Peak.

Backcountry trek triggers avalanche

By KIM SMITH DEDAM
Staff Writer

NORTH HUDSON — Weather and large amounts of new snow have set dangerous avalanche conditions in the Adirondack backcountry.
Two men were caught in an avalanche last weekend on what is commonly called the Angel Slides on Wright Peak.
Both men escaped unharmed, said Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman David Winchell, based in Ray Brook.
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“One man was pinned against a stump and buried up to his chest, while the other traveled more than 600 feet before stopping, buried up to his neck,” Winchell said.
“Both were able to dig themselves out of the snow and left the area without further incident.”
Winchell said the two backcountry skiers, whose names were not released, triggered a 300-by-1,200-foot area to slide down the mountain. He said the pile of snow debris at the base exceeded 20 feet deep in spots.
DEC forest rangers were not called in for rescue, he said, but began an investigation to make sure no one else was in the area at the time.
“(Forest rangers) found no evidence of people unaccounted for in the area and have determined that, fortunately, nobody else was in the avalanche,” Winchell said.
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Wright is the most northern peak in the MacIntyre Range, with long gashes along the northeast side that resemble open trails, which are really areas scraped clean by rock slides.
They are popular with winter guides taking skiers into the backcountry.
The Wright slides drop to Marcy Dam, a central gathering point for hikers year round
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Bob T · Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:07 pm Post subject:

stevesliva · Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Posts: 4338 Location: SLC

Wasn't Wright Peak the site of the last deadly slide in the Adirondacks?

FlyingCow · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 332 Location: Groton, CT

Last I checked, Angel is the site of the only fatal avalanche in the Adirondacks. This is heavy snow sitting on top of ice here.
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josef · Joined: 12 Jan 2005 Posts: 328 Location: vermont

Mahk · Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:06 am Post subject:

Yikes! Maybe they'll now enroll in the following: http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=66808
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powderpond · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 1594 Location: Salt lake City

It is an interesting range prone to avalanche, even rock slides off it Shocked

I remember seeing debri as a kid and not even knowing what it was. Although it would make an interesting conversation, lucky both weren't buried up to their necks.

Peter C · Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:25 am Post subject:

very interesting...

if woodi and i had more motivation we might have ended up there this weekend...

we skied the slide intersecting the whiteface tollroad, pretty low visibility on our way down. As we skied out the road we got some third party info that someone had supposedly cut a turn on the upper slide and had it let go below them pretty well. We didn't see any of that while we were up there but maybe it was because of the visibility Shocked

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xtrpickels · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 53

Someone asked me last week if I knew the conditions up there. Hope it wasn't them...
Gotta stay safe, even in the ADK

yad · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 505 Location: Somerville, MA

I was up at Pinkham on Sunday and talked to two snowboarders who were determined to ride the headwall in Tucks. They were completely unaware of the avy report, and were in seeming denial about any changes in their plans. I found out I was the fourth person to talk to them and we all got the same response.

"But we have ice axes and stuff..."

stevesliva · Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Posts: 4338 Location: SLC

jake · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 94 Location: Eastern Adirondacks

Yeah, let's hope these guys and others planning on skiing BC slides take an avy course. I haven't but don't ski the slides, but you'd think common sense would tell you that 2 feet of wet heavy snow on top of an old crusty base layer is ripe for an avalanche.

Intelligence and common sense don't always go hand in hand
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If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.

Briverny · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 938 Location: Lake Placid, NY

I read the article in today's paper........Pretty sobering.

Interestingly, The Slides at Whiteface opened at the end of last week and have been open pretty much since then. These are the inbounds trails at Whiteface that sometimes don't even open in a given year due to either too little snow or extreme avy danger. Perhaps because they are south-facing, the earlier snow consolidated better before this most recent heavy snow.

powderpond · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 1594 Location: Salt lake City

jake · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 94 Location: Eastern Adirondacks

Skied the Whiteface slides this morning. They were open on and off late last week also. I know WF patrol goes in there to check things out, not sure what they do for avy control. Never heard them blast, so have to guess they check snow conditions and cut the top cat track to see what happens. I'll have to ask patrol.

OBTW, conditions were pretty good. Lots on snow in most places, a few icy stretches and some rock still sticking up in places, but very skiable
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If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.