# Avalanche near Terrace, BC claims 1



## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

Snowboarder dies in hospital after avalanche near Terrace, B.C.


> *Snowboarder dies in hospital after avalanche near Terrace, B.C.*
> 
> Staff Reporter, The Province
> Published: Saturday, January 10, 2009
> ...


GlobalBC OnScreen Meteorologist Kristi Gordon was in the group that got caught. This is her first-hand report of what happened. (the person referred to as in critical condition is now the deceased)


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## Dawg Catcher (Jan 5, 2009)

seems odd he would die after surviving the avy. what did he die from all that good candaian free health care ahahah jk.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Most people die from the trauma caused by an avalanche. Even if they are dug out in just a few minutes the damage is done. The best way to survive an avalanche is to not get caught in one.

RIP.


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2009)

Good advice =[ 


RIP


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2009)

have you ever triggered an avy or been in one killclimbz


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I've set off one riding a slope. Fortunately it only slid about 20 feet before settling on a bench. I grabbed a tree and hung on.

I've also set off several slides by dropping cornices onto slopes, making slope cuts, or just by being in the area. Earlier this season our group remotely set off several slides on Vail Pass just by our weight on the snow. We were in safe zones, but the ridges 30-60ft away were releasing as we traveled on top of the ridge. 

Here is a pic of the fracture from the slide we caused by doing a slope cut at Vail Pass. This was basically a one and done day. We rode the slide path and left. During the process of leaving we set off 3 more slides, though they were a good distance away from us. 








I've also seen some big releases from a distance. Natural stuff. If you travel in the backcountry enough, you are going to see/cause slides. It's how you approach it that makes the difference. Causing a slide because you intended to, is a whole lot different than causing one because you were riding a slope. I'll always take the former over the latter.

I had a friend get caught by one on Wolf Creek Pass and it was one of the hairiest moments in my life. Watching my buddy just get thrashed by the slide and being able to do nothing but watch sucked. Fortunately he was able to use a tree to halt himself while on the slope and not in the deposition zone. He lost one of his poles and had some bruises but was otherwise alright. At the time I was getting ready to have to dig. If it had of come down to that it would have almost certainly been a race to get him breathing and then get to a spot with cell phone coverage to call for help. Luckily it didn't come to that.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2009)

crazy i think it would be cool to see a avalanch. If your good could you ride one out? Just ride on top of the slid or would that be impossiable?


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

That has been tried by just about every pro, rider, skier out there. 90% of them are dead.

You might get lucky, those who have escaped did not have far to go to get to a safe zone. You might have 50-100ft you can travel before you are toppled over. That's being generous. The amount of force moving snow makes is incredible. Staying on top of it is not much of an option.

Getting caught is most likely your death sentence. Most people die from their injuries in an avalanche. Even if they are quickly recovered. The last avalanche incident in Montana had a quick recovery of a snowmobiler. That was a week ago. Last I checked he was still in the hospital in critical condition. Last year a skier that was buried and quickly recovered on Cameron Pass in Colorado died of his injuries two weeks later. Moral of the story, don't get caught in the first place.


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