Big thanks to Backcountry Access for sponsoring this avalanche education content. Check out the additional plethora of avalanche safety resources on their website.
PSA: Mountain Rescue Aspen will be offering a 2 day Avalanche Awareness class in Aspen later this month. No need to pre-register, just show up on Friday night, January 21, Little Nell Hotel, 5:30 for registration. Classroom session that evening, then field session the next day. These things are always good refreshers, and a great place to meet people for some backcountry networking whether you be a skier, rider or sledder.
4 comments
I noticed on the hutski.com description for Barnard hut there is mention of “at least one person has died in an avalanche while ski touring in the Express Creek drainage”. But when I checked the CAIC website I didn’t find any mention of it in reports going back to 1996. Can anyone tell me if there have been reports of anyone getting caught in the Express Creek drainage? Just curious. Thanks
Rick, CAIC accident reports only go back so far. There was a guy who died a number of years ago in an avy that went across the route the road takes lower down in Express Creek just above the Markley Hut, and I recall at least one accident or perhaps even a death on Green Mountain above Markley Hut. The death on the road route was tragic, as the guy was a Mountain Rescue Aspen member who really blundered, he just basically skied across a big avalanche path when he could have easily crossed lower down in the valley and totally avoided any danger.
Thanks for the info, Lou. I’ve skied under those runs after they’ve slid. Hard to imagine anyone surviving should they be so unlucky. I”m heading up there next week and I want to disavow my group of any false sense of security derived from their transceivers.
Rick, yeah, it’s Colorado so be extra careful up there. Danged transceivers, they save very few people unfortunately…
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