# Avalanche claims life of ski guide



## nzboardlife (Mar 25, 2008)

It has been a bad winter for avalanches in NZ with 3 deaths so far. The guide who died had dug out the australian talked about in the article who survived 3 weeks earlier



> The ski community in Methven is mourning the loss of a much loved colleague and adventurer.
> 
> Jonathan Harvey Morgan, 38, died in an avalanche on Totara Peak behind Mt Hutt on Friday afternoon.
> 
> ...


----------



## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

Yeah one of the guys is the son of friends of my parents. He is lucky to be alive by the sounds of it.


----------



## JohnnyBlaze (Dec 1, 2008)

what a shame, very sad. 3 deaths already, hmm you know I think that the weather has a lot to do with it, yet they are investigating the tour guide operation, according to the article they had no fatalities for over 20 years, so they are doing all they can to be as safe as possible


----------



## Guest (Aug 16, 2009)

Yes, it is very very sad indeed.... Condolences to his family, friends and work collogues.
For many years, we have been blessed with people like this to take punters to some amazing places.

I just hope the NZ government doesn't clamp down on these operators. 
Riding in these locations is a life choice, it has its dangers. Just like a lot of things.


----------



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

An avalanche doesn't care if you have 20 years experience with no deaths, if you are a professional, expert, guru, or n00b. That's the hardest thing about the beast, keeping your guard up. Spatial variability, temperatures, slope angle, persistent layers, wind direction, and a dozen other things have to be considered before you ride a slope. Even the best get caught with their pants down. The one thing I guarantee is that the warning sides were there and they missed them. By ignoring them, not investigating enough, whatever. It wasn't intentional, of that I am confident. Every so often there is a change in a region that makes the snow pack much more dangerous than everyone is used to. Utah experienced this two seasons ago, with a persistent weak layer that killed six or more people until the message finally got across. Sounds like something similar going on in NZ this year. 

Sadly, people pay the price in these seasons. Hopefully the message has been received and avy eyes will be more in tune as to what is going on. 

RIP Johnathan.


----------

