2 lb chunk of snow..........not bomb?????

Here's the latest avalanche discussion from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, CAIC, for the Summit County area;

Snow & Avalanche Discussion

"Backcountry snowpack observations read like a Little Shop of Horrors these days. There are layers of depth hoar, layers of facets, some hard crusts, and surface hoar both within and on top of the snowpack. There have also been some human triggered avalanches in the last 24 hours on NE-E aspects. The largest was triggered by a tossed 2 lb chunk of snow. The slide broke about 1' deep and ran about 1000' vertical on an east aspect".

I had to laugh at this one. Most ski patrols use 2 lb explosive charges to set off slides but this slide ran with the guy just throwing a 2 lb chunk of snow.

Also, the observations were funny, sounds just like a typical Colorado snow pack..... "layers of depth hoar, layers of facets, some hard crusts, and surface hoar both within and on top of the snowpack". Welcome to Colorado, right?

The newest addition to Keystone Ski Patrol.

This is my girl. A 2010 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport V6. She only has 2100 miles on her now. I see great adventures awaiting me and the new Tacoma. I mean come on, a patroller needs a way to get to the hill........in style.

Is the New NTN telemark binding really the future for tele patrollers?

Last Thursday the Western Winter Sports Reps Association, WWSRA, had an on snow demo day for industry professionals at Loveland Ski Area. I was on hand to try out the latest and greatest. In the next few articles I’ll give you, the Telemark Ski fans, a run down of what I skied and what I thought.

The one product I was very excited to try was the newest version of Rottefella’s NTN binding. I’ve skied the very first version and every version since its inception. Below are the stats and the design modifications and below these I’ll write what I thought about the binding.

Rottefella's NTN binding will be available in two sizes this season, a "large" for mondo boot size 26.5 - 32.0, and a new, much anticipated, mondo 23.0 - 26.0 "small" version. With two standard spring options in each size, NTN skiers will have four models to choose from in NTN's newest version.

In designing the smaller binding with its shorter flex plate, Rottefella made some modifications to last year's binding in order to allow everything to fit, most notably shortening the spring cartridge "Power Tubes," and changing the way they attach to the "hook," the part of the binding that engages the boot's under-the-forefoot "second heel." The new approach is said to make it easier to adjust the springs, but more importantly it moves the redesigned, shorter spring cartridges back approximately 15mm, probably a necessity in the shorter model and likely a desirable change in the larger model as well. Rottefella says that moving the rigid cartridges further out from under the area below the boot bellows results in a "smoother and more even flex," as does improving the angle at which the cable enters the spring cartridges. This smoothes things out even further, reducing the amount of required spring travel and allowing the flexible plate to bend more naturally. In combination with the reengineered Power Tubes, these changes are said to engage the springs earlier as the heel is lifted. Eliminating what Roottefella calss the “dead Spot”.

With new NTN boots from Scarpa and Cripsi already finding their way to dealer shelves, and with an exciting new high-performance NTN boot from Garmont, the Prophet, not far off, the industry's commitment to NTN remains strong.

I was excited to try this new version. I do feel NTN is the future of telemark binding design. I was wearing the Scarpa TX Pro boot and I’m a big fan of Scapa tele boots even though this winter I’ll be in Garmonts new VooDoo tele boot. The Rep put me on a large NTN and adjusted the power tubes to 2. The tubes can be adjusted from 1 to 3, 3 being the stiffest. I had some difficulty getting them on but I believe it was the brake design and the brain design in my head. Immediately I could feel even with the power tube position in 2 these things were stiff. Right when I lifted my heel I engaged the tubes.

My first run was horrible. I could not, for the life of me, make a tele turn. Now I’ve skied the 22 Designs Hammerhead in their number 5 position and I could still make a turn but these NTN’s were crazy stiff. I gave the bindings one more try and took the lift up higher. I had my friends watch me to see if I was doing something wrong. Once again, I looked like a hack, which is easy for me. I think the redesign to get rid of the “dead spot” has made this binding way too active and bottoms out the power tubes too soon. I felt like the binding was skiing me and not me skiing the binding. I’d like to see the brute who can ski this binding well.

All in all, I think the folks at Rottefella need to go back to the design table. I still think the NTN is the future but I don’t think I’ll live long enough in the future to see this thing be a realization.

Demo days at Loveland Ski Area.

Last Thursday was the second day of an Industry ski demo at Loveland ski area.

The snow was actually very good and the sun was out in force. It almost felt like a day of spring skiing. I was there with the Neptune Mountaineering crew and those folks are always a blast.

Hmmm.....what was interesting that I skied? Well, to start with I only tested Telemark gear. I was really interested in trying all the big rockered tipped skis.

The first ski I tried was the from Icelandic out of Denver. I skied the Nomad. Let me first say that I skied these skis 5 years ago when they first came on the scene. Back then I liked the skis but my only problem was they were a bit gimmicky. They were big, fat and very short. Now they are still big and fat but now a bit longer. I thought the ski was great and alot of fun. It felt big but then again it was a big ski. I had no problem pushing the Nomad around with the mounted Hammerhead bindings and my new, very sweet, Garmont Voodoo's. All in all, it was a nice ski with bitch'n graphics. I'd buy it.

I also skied the big Black Diamond skis like the Mega Watt and the Justice. These were interesting. The Volkl Gotama's with their new design and flex were awesome. The G3 skis like the El Hombre were as always fun. K2's were not a disappointment and never are to me. I skied all these skis and I'll post about them in future blog post. Come on, I can't write about everything or this post would be wayyyy too long.

For me the big disappointment of the day was the newest version of the NTN binding. I skied the very first version and every version since but this version I could not get into a telemark turn. My gawd, the thing was so stiff and active I felt it was skiing me and not me skiing it. I don't know what to say, I feel it's the future of telemark skiing but I don't know if I'll live long enough to see that future. The one good thing I can say is...It makes a great alpine binding that tours nice.

For the women out there, Camille (ski tester extraordinaire) Loved the Volkl Aura with the Marker Baron bindings

Weather Forecasting 101

Weather Forecasting For Powder Lovers

View more documents from Joel Gratz.

I was looking through the Colorado Powder forecast web site and came across this Power Point presentation teaching weather forecasting. I thought it was really very good.

One thing I've noticed in looking for powder in Colorado is watch for storms to come across the west coast north of San Francisco, CA and south of Portland, OR. It seems that entry corridor is ideal for heavy snow to come directly at us.

Cheers to searching for that winter gold......POWDER.

8 inches of snow in Boulder.....The deck railing doesn't lie.

Wow, here in Boulder we got a nice little snow storm. It was a culmination of two storms over a 3 day period. As you can see from the SnowMagination Headquarter's official snow depth measuring device we got just a bit over 8 inches.

The thing about the snow we get here in Boulder is it's always very light. This is the kind of powder I look for every time I head out into the backcountry. Don't get me wrong, we do get our fair share of ice storms but when it snows it's beautiful and light.

Oh yeah, I was looking through Lou Dawson's web site, wildsnow.com, and he had a post for a new Colorado snow site, Colorado Powder Forecast. I looked it over and it seemed interesting. I'll keep an eye on it and see how this guy does with his forecasting.

So, what do I do with all this snow. Well, we get out in it and go for a ski tour on the trails right behind the house.

I'm going to finish my coffee and get out there.

Ladies and gentlemen......The AXL.

That's right SnowMagineers, the folks from 22 Designs has done it again. These are the guy's who make the Hammerhead telemark binding. This year they came out with their own version of a free pivot binding.....The Axl. A telemark binding with free pivot allows for the binding springs to not be engaged for uphill skinning. All this means is less energy used skinning up hill so more fun skiing down hill.

Yesterday I was in a meeting with the 22 Designs Rep (Tim). He had many good things to say about the Axl. The beta testing last year washed out all the bugs and it's ready to go. The switch to put the binding into free pivot is pretty slick and easy to do with a ski pole. Tim also made mention that you can get a 10% softer spring and a 20% stiffer spring.

Here are some points from the 22 Designs web site:

-The first free-pivot binding with three cable guide positions. Optimize your bindings for your skiing style and snow conditions.

-Super durable: 2000 lb test cable attachments won't break, toe piece forces transmitted steel-to-steel.

-Over 2" of spring travel for smooth action and durability.

-The spring-loaded HammerHeel is the easiest to use climber available; Flip it up or down with your ski pole. Climbing bails available in 3 sizes.

-Cables routed underfoot for maximum control; plastic boots flex at the bellows instead of tip-toeing.

-Riser height: 1.1" or 28mm at rear, with a 2 degree ramp.

-Pivot location: directly under pin-line.

-Weight: just under 4 lb per pair, including climbers.

-Size Small for Mondo 25 and under, Large for 25.5 and up.

-2 Year Warranty.

-Made in the USA.

Tim said the binding should be available starting in Mid December. It does look like 22 Designs had hit a home run with this binding. Powerful yet free pivot, this binding should do everything you need in a telemark binding.

Avalanche incidents and close calls.

I was just looking at the Colorado Avalanche information Centers web site and saw that already this year in Colorado there have been 8 people caught and 1 close call with avalanches. All in all 9 avalanches have caught 10 people. Of those 10, 3 were partially buried and 2 fully buried.

Even during early season all backcountry skiers need to be extra careful. It's easy to be lulled into a sense of safety because the snow depth is not deep. Never forget that one of the many reasons why the snow pack in Colorado is so dangerous is because our depth is so shallow. We'll talk about this in future post.

Here is a re-cap of all the avalanches that were reported to CAIC in the month of October:

October 5, 2009. Mount Meeker, Rocky Mountain National Park
The first avalanche incident occurred on October 5th on Mt Meeker in Rocky Mountain National Park. A small slab broke loose about 6 inches deep and 40 feet across and took two climbers on a short ride. The avalanche ran on the first pitch of the Dream Weaver alpine climb, on the east side of the prominent north buttress of Mt Meeker. The first pitch ramps up to 50 degrees in some places. This route can see significant cross-loading deposit any fresh snow as slab at several areas along the route, though primarily at the first and last pitches.

October 11, 2009. Grizzly Peak, Independence Pass
A narrow escape occurred on October 11th on Grizzly Peak south of Independence Pass. Three skiers remotely triggered an avalanche in a steep, northerly facing couloir. The avalanche fractured about 40 feet below the second skier. It broke down to rocks and summer snow, taking out the two to three feet of recent snow. The crown was estimated at 45 degrees, and the avalanche ran from near the summit to the lake, about 1200 vertical feet.

October 17, 2009. Tyndall Glacier, Rocky Mountain National Park
An incident occurred on October 17th on the Tyndall Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park. A skier triggered a two foot deep, 200 foot wide avalanche that ran over 200 vertical feet. The skier took a ride and was not buried. Again, the slide took out all the recent snow drifted onto the permanent snowfield underneath. The slope angle at the crown was estimated at 35 degrees, and it was on an east-northeast aspect.

October 23, 2009. Jones Pass
An incident occurred on October 23rd near Jones Pass. A skier triggered an avalanche and was caught mid-slab. The crown was about 80 feet above him, 2 feet deep, and 50 feet wide. The skier was taken for a ride, avoided rocks and cliffs, and ended up with only his legs buried. The slope was above treeline with an east aspect, and the snowpack was highly variable. The party had noticed some cracking and one whumpf on the ascent.

October 25, 2009. Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park
There was a third incident was in Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday the 25th. The slide was skier triggered on Flattop Mountain on a run known locally as the Hourglass. The second skier down the couloir triggered the slide. It was on a north aspect around 12,200 feet. Initially the crown was 4 inches deep but stepped down another foot. Initially the shallow crown was about 100 feet wide but propagated to about 150 yards wide. The skier suffered a few bumps and bruises and some lost gear. Of note with this slide, there was no old summer snow field at the bed surface.

October 25, 2009. Loveland Pass
Another incident occurred on Sunday the 25th. A skier triggered a soft slab on a hard ice crust or possible summer snow field on an east aspect near 12,000 feet on Loveland Pass. The crown broke about 40 feet above the skier. The crown was about 20 feet below a corniced ridge, about 40 feet wide and 20 inches deep on a slope estimated between 35 and 40 degrees. There was very little debris, not enough to be buried by the slide after the skier rode and tumbled about 150 vertical feet.

October 25, 2009. Apache Peak, Indian Peaks
While ascending two skiers triggered and were caught in a large avalanche on Apache Peak on October 25. They had skied the line the previous day. Disappointed they had not skied from the summit, they planned to ascend farther and ski a longer run on the 25th. They ascended into the narrow, 40 to 45 degree couloir. They became nervous when they found an 18 inch deep hardslab with a icy crust. In between was a thin layer of facets. They triggered the avalanche at that point. The avalanche caught both and carried them about 1000 vertical feet. One skier was completely buried, the second buried with just a hand free (partially buried critical). The second skier was able to clear the snow from his face and dig himself out. Battered and exhausted, he began a beacon search once free. He quickly located his partner and cleared the snow from his face. Both sustained minor injuries and returned to the trailhead on their own.

October 27, 2009. Missouri Mountain
A party of hikers intended to summit Missouri Mountain. Worsening weather turned them back. They glissaded down a narrow couloir. As the couloir opened, one hiker triggered an avalanche. The hiker was caught and "rode it down for perhaps 300 feet. Luckily I was able to stay on the surface and never came close to getting buried, but it was scary nevertheless."

October 31, 2009. Bartlett Mountain, Fremont Pass
A party of three ascended the lower angle west aspect and north ridge of Bartlett Mountain. They dropped into a steep northeast to east facing couloir. The first skier was 2 to 3 turns down when the slope avalanched. The crown was 1 to 2 feet deep and only 15 feet wide at the top, but widened out to 75 feet part way down the couloir. There was an icy layer on the bed of the avalanche. Towards the bottom, the slide entrained deeper snow and left many exposed rocks. The skier was buried to his neck and injured. The other two were able to excavate their friend and call out on a cell phone. Flight For Life evacuated the injured skier.

The moral of the story is be careful. Early-season snow can slide just as easily as mid-season snow and late-season snow.

A paper from CSAW.....interesting.

At this years CSAW, Ian McCammon presented a paper on slope angles and slope meters. I found it very interesting so I posted it here. This is the kind of SnowMagining I want this site to be about.

Everyone who has ever taken a level 1 avalanche class knows that most avalanches happen on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees. But 38 degrees is often cited as the “magic number” where most slides happen. I believe that 38 degrees is also the "angle of repose" but i know this depends on many factors. Is this a wives tale? Actually, this magic number can vary between 38 and 51 degrees, according to Ian McCammon, who spoke at the Colorado Snow and Avalanche Workshop (CSAW). The event is organized by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

The magic number can depend on snow climate, avalanche type, and grain type, said McCammon, who studied several hundred avalanches since 1972 in which the slide was skier-triggered and the starting zone’s slope angle was actually measured. While continental and intermountain snowpacks slide most frequently at 38 degrees, maritime snowpacks slide most frequently at 40 degrees. Hard and soft slab avalanches are most likely to start at 38 degrees, wet slabs at 40 degrees, wet loose slides at 42.5 degrees, and loose snow avalanches at 51 degrees, he said.
Regarding grain type in the weak/failure layer, surface hoar creates the most headaches, with a median slope angle of 38 degrees but a lopsided tendency toward slopes even gentler than 36 degrees. Depth hoar fails most at 38 degrees, but with less frequency on those gentle slopes. Wet grains fail most frequently at 45 degrees.

The moral of the story, according to McCammon: Beware of surface hoar, even on slopes well below the “magic number” of 38 degrees, which isn’t so magic after all. His other caveat: most slopemeters are not accurate within +/- 2 degrees anyway, at least at the time he did his research. Bruce Edgerly, of Backcountry Access , told me just yesterday, that BCA's slope meter is spot on accurate and passes all test.

Signal, Coarse, Fine - Run, Walk, Crawl

There has been a change in the Avalanche beacon search terminology. Not to long ago, when searching for a buried victim, you broke down the search grid into three sections. Primary search, secondary search and pin-point search. The newest terminology is Signal Search, Coarse Search and Fine Search. I like these terms because they come directly from probing techniques. Remember, coarse probe and fine probe?

So, to re-cap. You witness a partner being caught in an avalanche. Keep an eye on him (women don't get caught, they're too smart) to determin his last seen spot. Make sure scene is safe, turn your beacon to receive and enter the slide path to the last seen spot.

First seach for the signal. This is the Signal Search phase. It's in this phase you can run. Once you find the signal you will then enter the Coarse Search phase. During this phase you slow down to a walk and follow your beacons directional arrows to within three meters of the victim. At three meters you enter the Fine Search phase. At this point you should be crawling. You will also use more of a mini grid pattern search method and follow only distance readings from your beacon. What you're trying to find is the lowest distance number.

Once you find the lowest distance number this is where you want to begin probing.

We'll talk about strategic probing and stratigic shoveling in later post.

Remember, Signal, Coarse, Fine - Run, Walk, Crawl.

To learn more details about this technique go to the Backcountry Access website and look under their education section.

JF

The Beginning of a winter.

It's been a couple of years since i've written in this blog. I guess the main reason is that I went down to part-time status with keystone patrol and I wouldn't have much to say. Well, i'm still part-time but now I feel I will have some things to say.

This past weekend was our ski patrol refresher. This is the event where we, as a patrol, relearn all that we forgot about patrolling over the summer. I'm always incredibly impressed by all the knowledge these men and women have. Their dedication to ski patrol and Keystone Resort (owned by Vail) leaves me speechless.

So, the photo shows the main meeting hall at Keystone Lodge. As you can see we have quite the large Patrol. The 4 days of learning is very hands on and very extensive.

Today was the last day for the refresher. I left my house at 5:30am and as I was driving through town in the corner of my eye I saw a moving figure. It was Jesus walking down the street. For a second I thought this was weird until I remembered last night was Halloween. I thought two things, one was, even Jesus does the early morning walk of shame ( I bet that guy can score the chicks) and the second thing I thought was, I wonder what Jesus would be for Halloween?

Anyway, I'm excited to be back updating The Ski Patrol Chronicles. I'm even more excited for this winter, it's sure to be a great one.