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wannabe
Nov 26, 2004, 10:05 PM
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I didn't see this posted anywhere else, so I thought I would share it.
First Gully, Eureka (near Silverton), San Juan Mountains
November 21, 2004
3 ice-climbers caught, 1 buried and injured, 1 partly buried
Mid-morning, three ice-climbers (all males in their early 20’s) on the second pitch of First Gully were hit by an avalanche. The lead climber was knocked off the route, and fell approximately 200 feet to the ground. He was buried under about 6 inches of debris, but able to clear his face by himself. The avalanche hit the other two climbers, partially burying one, and breaking all but their back-up anchor. The party had planned to climb Stairway to Heaven, but changed routes because they felt avalanche danger on Stairway was too high. Poor visibility and unfamiliarity with the area prevented them from seeing the avalanche terrain above First Gully.
Events Prior to the Avalanche
The group left Silverton around 0700, planning to climb Stairway to Heaven near Eureka. The group felt uneasy about avalanche conditions but had not called the CAIC hotline. On the way to Eureka, they saw evidence of natural avalanches on a north aspect, and knew the avalanche danger would be relatively high with the new snow. Because Stairway was exposed with a large and steep avalanche starting zone above the climb, they altered their plans to climb a route they felt would have less avalanche danger. They began climbing First Gully at 0800.
At approximately 1100, the lead climber was about 100 feet up the second pitch. Looking up, he saw the avalanche coming, and then was hit and knocked off the climb. The leader fell about 200 feet. He was buried under 6 inches of snow, but was able to quickly uncover his face. The avalanche hit the belayer and third climber as well. The force of the snow broke all but their backup ice-screw anchor. The avalanche knocked over the belayer and buried him to his waist in a sitting position. The third climber was standing at the belay, and not buried.
About 200 feet of the gully between the base of the climb and the road was filled with debris.
The CAIC issued an avalanche warning for the all of the Southern Mountains, including the San Juans, at 7:00 am that morning. Between 8 and 16 inches of snow fell overnight on the mountain passes near Silverton. The Silverton highway forecasters measured snowfall rate of 1-inch-an- hour for most of the morning.
Rescue
The third climber (an Emergency Medical Technician) and belayer rappelled to the leader and uncovered him fully. An assessment indicated the leader’s back was broken. The climbers stabilized the leader on a ledge they dug in the avalanche debris, and brought warm clothes from the nearby car. One climber went down to the road and flagged down a car. The group in the car contacted Search and Rescue.
Search and Rescue arrived within an hour. The belayer and third climber were down at the road, talking with the Sheriff, when another avalanche ran. Debris buried the injured leader under about 6 inches of snow again. He was able to uncover his face by himself. The debris filled about 200 feet of the gully, so was probably similar in size to the first avalanche, but the debris was described as softer.
The two climbers participated with Search and Rescue in the evacuation of the lead climber. He was taken to the hospital, apparently with a broken back. [No word on his condition.]
Comments
Many ice climbs form low in avalanche paths, and even small avalanches can hit climbers with considerable force. The climbers knew that there would be avalanche danger on their intended route, and altered plans to climb a route they felt would be safer. They did not know, could not see, and were unable to evaluate the terrain and snowpack above the climb they chose. One climber commented that the avalanche hazard evaluation was different than if they had been backcountry skiing, where they could easily evaluate snow conditions. At the base of the climb, there was only the new snow on top of rocks, and no way to assess the snowpack above the route.
The two uninjured climbers have medical and avalanche training. Their medical training helped assess and stabilize the injured climber. They did not move him because of the spinal injury. They were lucky that the second avalanche was no larger than the first, that the injured climber was able to clear his head, and that only one of the party was caught.
It is unknown whether the avalanche was a slab or a loose snow avalanche; most like it was a loose snow avalanche that released naturally (or spontaneously) in the fresh snow off steep rocks or ice. Loose snow avalanches from steep terrain are common during times of heavy snowfall or high-intensity snowfall. Ice climbs can be especially dangerous during times of higher-intensity snowfalls. (In Colorado this means snowfall rates typically equal to and greater than about 1-inch-per-hour.) Even small loose-snow avalanches can hit with tremendous force in the narrow confines of an iced-gully. (In terms of impact pressure it is the velocity -- because the term is squared -- that is most important rather than the density of the snow.) Ice climbers should be very leery of narrow gullies during times of higher intensities snowfalls.
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iceisnice
Nov 26, 2004, 10:21 PM
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thanks for the info, i had heard about the accident the next day on the CAIC site but was wondering about the details. do you know which SAR team was called? La Plata County SAR or the team out of Ouray?
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wannabe
Nov 26, 2004, 10:32 PM
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I have no idea which SAR was called or responded. I pulled the info from the CAIC website.
http://www.geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche/Default.aspx?tabid=1
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vashie
Nov 26, 2004, 11:24 PM
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Wow, scary.
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iceisnice
Nov 27, 2004, 4:02 PM
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vashie, not too scary. its pretty typical for that canyon. eureka is well known for its avalanche dangers and the forecast for that day was high on all aspects at all elevations. very bad time to be there. when you get back to aztec we can go hit stairway to heaven if you would like.
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kid
Nov 28, 2004, 2:12 AM
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I was out yesterday assessing an ice route on Cannon Mt in Glacier National Park when a cross loaded wind slab released naturally. To close for comfort. 75M Across 2- 2.5 M crown and a run out of 500M. It is particularly interesting to note that the slab ripped to the bed layers. We had only received 3 inches of fresh snow but a wind event the night before rapidly loaded the steep slopes above. The avalanche had a large cloud that followed and traveled well into the "Dry" terrain below. Get out your avalache gear folks because the season is looking like a rough one. The sun crust and the whore frost from the last month of cold dry weather is going to haunt us for a while. Climb safe and climb often. ~ Greg F.
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kailas
Nov 29, 2004, 2:29 PM
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Probably a loose snow slide since before this storm cycle there was very little snow above all the climbs on that side of the valley. Were these guys from New Mexico? Word to the wise, avoid that area until well after a storm cycle, then do some serious snow evaluation before climbing in this area.
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iceisnice
Nov 29, 2004, 6:52 PM
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actually, there was a 30+ inch base above the climbs. i don't think anyone has confirmed if it was a slab release or not. that entire area has had a substantial base for the last few weeks.
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enjoimx
Nov 29, 2004, 7:10 PM
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In reply to: The sun crust and the whore frost from the last month of cold dry weather is going to haunt us for a while
Sun crust?
Whore frost?
Huh?
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fixednut
Nov 29, 2004, 8:18 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: The sun crust and the whore frost from the last month of cold dry weather is going to haunt us for a while Sun crust? Whore frost? Huh?
Yeah, stay away from that whore frost. You just don't know where it's been...
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killclimbz
Nov 29, 2004, 8:27 PM
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That is pretty scary :shock: . I just get the feeling that with the low avalanche fatality numbers last year, this year is going to make up for it. I certainly hope not, but it's just a gut feeling.
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iceisnice
Nov 29, 2004, 9:53 PM
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enjoimx, are you confused about sun crust and hoar frost (yeah, its not really "whore" frost, hehe)? hoar frost forms when there is an early snow fall with a long period of very cold weather with no snow. the top layer of the snow forms "hoar frost" which is essentially just large crystals of snow/ice. the danger is that later snow falls will build up on this layer of hoar. then, later in the year usually, that hoar layer will collapse (it is very weak snow/ice due to its low density) and the snow on top with form huge slab avalanches. anyway, i'm not sure if you were truly confused or just joking about the "whore" frost. hehe
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prezwoodz
Nov 30, 2004, 11:40 AM
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glad to see everyone came out of it ok!
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natrajk
Nov 30, 2004, 11:55 AM
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In reply to: glad to see everyone came out of it ok!
Didn't one of the guys break his back?
Any word on his condition?
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web_slave
Nov 30, 2004, 2:18 PM
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In reply to: Whore frost? Huh?
Think of it like ball bearings under a piece of plywood. :shock:
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kailas
Dec 1, 2004, 3:23 PM
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iceisnice, there was very little snow above the gullies, since I've been climbing there for weeks now. The upper slopes face the sun most of the day and a lot of the snow had melted, in fact it was very warm up in Eureka, you had to finish climbing by noon. Right now there is a lot of snow above, but that only came about since this last snow cycle. By the way I live here.
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