Avy 2 Class

After four days in the field and classroom, I finished my level 2 avalanche course tonight. Yesterday we spent the day in Togwotee Pass digging snow pits to check stability, working on guiding skills, and practicing rescue scenarios. We also got some decent skiing in. I had never been to Togwotee before, so it was fun to do some exploring and see some new terrain. Definitely need to go head back up there soon.

 

 [ First day in the field - Teton Pass ]

  

 [ Brook skinning up at Togwotee Pass ]

  

[ Our first destination ]

 [ Looking back at the Tetons ]

  

 [ Snow pits and lunch break ]

  

[ Looking West towards some cool mountains. You can see the highway down on the right. ]

 

  

[ Christian was our group leader for the day ]

 

  

 [ Some of our ski tracks ]

And a few photos that have been sitting on my camera for several weeks...

  

[ Nothing beats waking up to fresh snow ]

 

  

 [ Alex cleaning off the truck ]

 

 

[ Mike and I made heart-attack meat loaf a while back ]

End of January... already?

I'm half way through a four-day level II avalanche course. We're spending about 12 hours in the classroom and about 20 hours in the field. So far we've worked on search techniques, multiple burials, and snow pit data and strength tests. Tomorrow we are headed up to Togwotee Pass to work on some more snow pits and route finding techniques. I haven't skied Togwotee yet, so it should be interesting.

Last week we received five feet of new snow, finally allowing some fun days. Finally, we have most of our terrain open and we are able to hit drops and jumps without worrying about landing on rocks and ice. It finally feels like winter.

Due to the previous lack of snow leading to unexciting ski days, I haven't been bringing my camera out with me. I was getting pretty bored riding groomers and minimal good terrain at the mountain. Below are some photos I've collected from Mamie and Sara.

[ Me and Mike at Jake's Pizza party. We grew up together in AK - he moved down to Jackson about a month ago. ]

[ Sara and Mike ]

[ Kurt ]

[ Walking Oz with Mamie along the Snake ]

[ Headed to the Virge ]

 

[ Mamie, Me, Julie ]

 

[ Mike is definitely the king of leftovers ]

[Mexican night at our place leads to a fire pit on the back porch ]

[ Joana, Mike, Adam, and Courtney ]

[ Let's go skiing ]

[ Me and Sara ]

[ Thunder Lift - finally a pow day ]

[ Sara, Me, Mike ]

[ Me dropping a little guy in Paintbrush ]

[ Jake ]

[ Jake getting stuck in deep snow ]

[ Roomies - Sara and Me ]

37 inches in 48 hours, 54 since monday at JHMR. Life doesn't suck. Sendibility factor is getting extremely high, but so are avy conditions. Have fun and play it safe out there.

Finally some fresh snow.

Life has been a crazy blur since the beginning of the year. Lots of working, playing, and attempting to do school work.

Here it is the weekend again and I still haven't updated photos like I said I would. They are all on Alex's camera with him in New Zealand. It has been dumping snow this week, which is great. We've been needing it for longer than I can remember. Finally some over-the-head turns. Hopefully this will give me an opportunity to post more! Slow and steady, keep it coming!

Something funny my uncle sent me from craigslist... word for word apparently.

Sognar Snow Syndicate is currently filming a snowboarding movie. We are looking for indivuals that are down with the gnar. We are looking for someone willing to go to extremes with no boundries. We are looking to incorporate some jack ass styles and some new age shit. This is a serious company. Our idea was to find a midget willing to dress in a clown suit that can snowboard and have a good time. Snowboard experience is not required but is preferred. If you're intereseted in joining a tight knit riders team and company then please contact Gatlynn at (907) XXX-XXXX. Compensation for film will be due at time of release. We are looking for everyone not just midgets. Tonight we will be holding auditions, please call for more information. We look forward to hearing from you, thanks.

I started two more online classes this week, both economics classes. If all goes as planned, I will be finishing my engineering degree in May.

I've been slacking on the posting lately, but I will try to catch up on posting photos from the last couple of weeks this weekend... and try to get better at the updates.

Patroller Wolling dies

Sad news from Jackson Hole - Mark "Big Wally" Wolling died yesterday from injuries in last week's avalanche at JHMR.

The following article was taken from the Jackson Hole Daily - HERE.


Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patroller Mark “Big Wally” Wolling died in an Idaho Falls hospital Saturday afternoon, friends and resort officials reported.

Wolling was critically injured in an avalanche Wednesday. He had been performing avalanche hazard reduction duties before the resort opened to the public when he was caught, carried and buried under six feet of snow for about 10 minutes.

His family and a friend were at his side at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center when medical workers removed him from life support and he died. Mike Fischer, a friend who had traveled to Idaho Falls to be with Wolling relayed the news to valley residents through an Internet message.

Word soon spread among workers at the resort, according to skiers there. Resort officials said they were “extremely saddened,” to confirm his death.

“Widely loved by colleagues at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and across the ski industry, his passing leaves us with an enormous sense of loss,” resort president Jerry Blann said in a statement. “We send our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends at this tragic time.”

Wolling, 58, was a veteran of the mountain, where he worked since 1978. He was a core member of the Jackson Hole outdoor athletic community who pushed fun to its limits. He worked summers as a carpenter.

Resort officials called him “an invaluable member” of the ski patrol since 1989. “As one of the longer tenured patrollers, his experience, camaraderie, team spirit and sheer size were legendary in Jackson Hole and he will be deeply missed for a very long time,” they said in a statement.

Truth.

Taken from Indexed.

http://thisisindexed.com/2010/01/squeal/

Inversion today. -6 at the

Inversion today. -6 at the base and 17 degrees at the tram summit. Thats a 23 degree temperature difference!

Patroller caught in avalanche headed for Idaho hospital

I went to the mountain early today to hit up the fresh snow. The lines were crazy and the upper mountain never opened due to an avalanche. A patroller was caught and may still be in critical condition... waiting for updates. You only live once- keep it safe.

The following article on today's incident was taken from the Jackson Hole Daily - HERE.


The ski patroller buried in an avalanche Wednesday morning at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was being transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, a spokeswoman for St. John’s Medical Center said just after noon on the day of the accident.

Mark “Big Wally” Wolling, 58, was caught in the slide at 8:26 a.m. as patrollers were reducing the avalanche hazard at the resort, the resort reported at a noon press conference. The slope was not open to the public.

Wolling’s fellow patroller found him by using a radio transceiver. He was buried under six feet of snow, dug out within about 10 minutes with no detectable pulse.

Rescuers transported him to the Teton Village Clinic by sled in a ride that took six minutes. After eight minutes of work there, medical personnel detected Wolling’s pulse, resort officials said. He was transferred to St. John’s Medical Center via ambulance and was prepared for the flight to Idaho Falls.

“Our prayers are with Mark and his family,” resort President Jerry Blann said at the news conference. “Our staff exhibited extreme professionalism.”

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort received 10 inches of snow in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday morning and substantial amounts in the previous week. The Bridger-Teton National Forest Backcountry Avalanche Hazard & Weather Forecast – www.jhavalanche.org – said the avalanche hazard was high above 7,500 feet in the Teton area.

The resort offered the following account of the accident:

Members of ski patrol were conducting routine avalanche hazard reduction on the Cheyenne Bowl Route at approximately 9,350 feet. Wolling threw and exploded a hand charge from Rendezvous Trail into Cheyenne Bowl with no result.

He and his partner ski cut the area below and stopped above a cliff. Wolling threw two more hand charges. These exploded simultaneously and caused the snow to fracture above where both stood.

Wolling’s partner, whom the resort did not name, was able to grab a tree. Wolling was swept over the cliff and down the slope into the bowl.

Ski patrollers conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and administered an automated external defibrillator while readying for transport to the village clinic. The AED is the mechanism that did not detect a pulse and hence did not administer a shock.

The slope had not been open to the public this season. It had been visited and bombed by ski patrol earlier this winter, however.

At the time of transport to St. John’s Medical Center, Wolling was exhibiting vital signs.

St. John’s Medical Center reported at 12:35 that Wolling would be transported via fixed-wing ambulance to Idaho Falls.

Wolling has been on the patrol since 1989.

“[Wolling] is an amazing person who has been on the JHMR team since 1978, he’s definitely part of our family.” Blann said in a prepared statement.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is operating all lifts except for the Aerial Tram, Sublette and Thunder quad which will be closed for the remainder of the day.

“Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has established standards and protocols for minimizing the risk of avalanche that are based on the current weather and snowpack conditions,” the resort said in its statement. “Jackson Hole Mountain Resort receives over 400 inches of snow annually and is dedicated to making the skiing and riding as safe as possible for our guests. Avalanche conditions change hour-by-hour and day-by-day. JHMR Ski Patrol continuously monitors elements of the weather and snowpack conditions 24 hours a day throughout the winter and uses this information to continually assess potential hazards.”

Dawn Patrol

Or something like that... we'll probably be skiing before sunrise actually. I'm waking up in in about 3.5 hours to hike Teton Pass. If all goes as planned, there will be a crew of six starting the hike at 5am (some of the members have to work at 8). With all the new snow, it should be epic. Bring it on!