Same old adage: Please heed warnings

I have no doubt that every comment I have about the snowmobile situation in BC has been expressed before, nevertheless I wish to contribute my perspective. As one spends an increasing number of seasons in mountain towns, surrounded by people whose daily lives revolve around serious risk taking, the number of critical injuries and fatalities of friends and acquaintances inevitably increases. It is an unavoidable fact that in a community of risk takers, such as the snowmobile community who gathered at the Big Iron Shootout this past weekend in Revelstoke, death is undoubtedly not a new affair. While pushing the limits, taking risks and seeking adrenaline are blameless pursuits, I fear that many members of the snowmobile community continue to disregard avalanche warnings and, worse, are uneducated and even ambivalent about avalanches. A snowmobiler may have hundreds of hours of experience sledding in the mountains and have never encountered a slide. I was thinking about an analogy for this, and perhaps walking on a frozen lake in the spring is a reasonable comparison. Just because you have been walking the same path across the frozen lake all winter and have never fallen through the ice, doesn’t mean that you can continue on this path every day. Conditions change. In fact, the more time you spend walking on the lake, the higher your odds of falling through the ice. However, measuring the thickness of the ice is a reasonable way to decide if the ice is safe on any given day. The same idea applies to avalanches and, fortunately for snowmobilers, the Canadian Avalanche Association measures avalanche danger in any given region in BC and makes this information available to the public via daily information bulletins.

 

On Thursday, March 11, 2010, along with the daily information bulletin, avalanche forecaster Greg Johnson published a Special Bulletin specifically outlining the anticipated increase in avalanche danger in areas very near to Revelstoke. (http://www.avalanche.ca/uploads/SPAW/SPAW%202010-03-11.pdf) Johnson cited the first big storm cycle in eight weeks on top of a weak snowpack as a reason to anticipate unstable conditions on the 13th and 14th of March, the days on which the competition was to be held. Suffice to say that the prediction of “very dangerous” conditions came to fruition and a slide occurred, killing at least two and injuring many more.

I have spent time with many sledders, many of whom have years of experience in the backcountry and I have listened to their tales of daring adventures. The prevailing theme of bravado, I fear, leaves little room for the humility and respect that the mountains deserve. I have heard sledders proudly talk of avalanches that they have set off, often on purpose, and many claim to be able to outrun slides, citing circumstances where they have done this or seen it done before. The mountain, however, doesn’t care if you are on the newest and fastest turbo-charged Skidoo. The mountain doesn’t care if you are an experience highmarker and the mountain certainly doesn’t care about your ego and the fact that 200 spectators are watching from below. The mountain is big and mean and will kill you if you’re not careful.

I respect and often commend risk taking. I absolutely understand the need for a daily dose of adrenaline and do not wish to condemn sledders for their continued quest for thrills. I do however implore snowmobilers and other mountain adventurers to heed the warnings from the Canadian Avalanche Association and other avalanche professionals. Education, along with a humble reverence for the mountains, will help to bring every backcountry traveler safely home to their families. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the deceased.