The analysis is emotionaly difficult at this point, important in the long run. As an avid backcountry skier and father of two, like Cory, I never really want to believe that it can happen to me or any one else I know. The fact is that it can happen to anyone who is willing to take the risk in CO in midwinter and venture in the slack or back country in avalanche terrain.

I’m sure many of us recall those times when we believe we made a solid, complex decision and all turned out well. Does this reinforce our knowledge and skill base or were we just lucky? The greatest lesson for me at this time is the unpredicatabily of our CO snowpack calls for deeply conservative decisions- and how much it hurts those that are left behind in an accident such as this.

My deepest condolences to Cory’s family and friends.

Cory was a friend and my wife’s cousin. He worked ski patrol on Ajax since 1990. He’d spent a year patrolling at Chamonix and had an impressive climbing resume. He was a pro with tons of avi experience and always preached safety. And both Kate and I are at a complete loss as to why he showed such an error in judgment.

So I guess my question to you is this: what goes through someone’s mind, with that much experience, when they make that decision to ski an out of bounds run like Power Line – alone – on a day when avi danger is super high? Why do it? He’d skied a million runs, he had to know the danger was high, and he absolutely knew the danger of sking out of bounds alone, so why do it? What compels us to throw caution to the wind and take that mad plunge? What is it that entices us to chase a powder run on an avi prone slope by ourselves, in complete defiance of our sanity?

Your old NOLS student,

David Clark

Alaska’s Turnagain Pass buried a skier Saturday, but the skier’s buddies dug her out and she survived.

Jack

http://www.cnfaic.org/advisories/current.php?id=