Cody and I discuss Kyle Smaine, tragedy, & avalanche safety; separating vs always staying together in the backcountry; Mountain Town Advice, the most Canadian news; coffee gear; and more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- Babies, Getting Sick, & the NFL (4:34)
- Coffee Gear (8:10)
- Kyle Smaine (10:26)
- Tragedy & Improving Avalanche Safety
- Backcountry Ethics: Separating/Staying Together (20:07)
- Does cycling have a drinking problem? (35:52)
- The Most Canadian News (50:57)
- Mountain Town / Relationship Advice (55:55)
- What We’re Reading & Watching (1:27:01)
RELATED LINKS:
I actually love a glass of cold chocolate milk at the end of a cardio mission. Even more than beer.
Regarding a group splitting up while in the backcountry. I think there are many scenarios where this is OK. That said, I think it is rarely OK to leave a party member solo, especially if they are struggling. If you are breaking one group into two groups of at least two people, is that really so bad? If one person is in bad shape for whatever reason, maybe you’d want their subgroup to contain three people (the compromised person and two strong/competent people). Also, how far from the car are you? Are you on a well traveled and path at a high traffic time? Are you on a trail at all? How much daylight is there? Are weather/traveling conditions deteriorating? I believe there are lots of potentially mitigating factors. Anyway, I firmly believe there are lots of conditions where splitting up is OK and lots where it is not. Great topic for conversation and consideration!
Jonathan, owls are harbingers of death, keep em away from your house! They bad news man
Did I hear dinosaurs and humans?
Two topics, one strategy: lead in questions!
1. To the people behind you in line: “Mind if I jump out of line to …..?” Who says ‘no’ to a simple request?
2. To wife, and kids (future Cody dad): variation of “Want some advice?”, “Let me know if you’d like a pointer”, “I have thoughts about…., would you like to know what I think?”. No one likes a lecture. Or anything approaching a lecture. And if wife and/or kids, don’t want to hear what you think, then don’t. Ski on. And lessons, even just the effort of getting them, does wonders.
Spokane Alpine Haus — thanks for my first of many pairs of Bodacious 196s!
Have never skied in the backcountry, but I do carry a pack whenever I ski – mainly because I like the option to stow layers, emergency supplies and my own nosh. The pack I got, which I walked through recommendations from Dylan Wood (Got the Mystery Ranch Saddle Peak) is GREAT.
Even though I don’t plan to ski off piste, I live in Utah where we are getting a LOT of snow. After hearing about Kyle Smaine’s death and the in-bounds avalanches that have occurred, I’m planning to at least by a shovel and probe (since the pack is conveniently designed for this) and taking an Avalanche Awareness and Rescue Clinic put on by the Utah Avalanche Center.
Love the Blister Podcast! Maybe I’m listener 101 …
I want to add some details about the snow conditions during the Kyle Smaine tragedy. I was in Japan during that period and skied in Hakuba Jan 10. There had been good now before that, but by then, the weather had turned warm and the snow had turned hard and crusty at the resorts. During the middle two weeks of January this weather pattern continued. However, during the 3-4 days prior to the accident, the area had seen heavy daily snow fall. I remember looking at the generic Apple weather app on my iPhone, and during this period there was an avalanche warning every day for even the village of Hakuba –even on that general purpose urban weather service.
The area where Smaine had ascended is famous for avalanches reaching to just above the lift served area, and locals are extremely careful there. There are daily avalanche forecasts posted at the top of the Tsugaike gondola, by a “gate” (with transponder testing) which people by to access the general BC area above Tsugaike ski resort. Also, the area of the avalanche was not in a mellow wooded area, it was above tree line (down from the summit of Mt. Norikura), down an open scoured face, 30-40 degrees. Those slopes and the surroundings avalanche a lot.
The podcast discussion painted a somewhat different picture, that “this could have happened to any of us”, and that the avalanche warning service in Japan is somehow lacking. I felt it needed some correction.
Edit to add: Not technically above tree line, but 10 meters of snow usually covers the tree tops.
An update from the Japan Avalanche Network on the precise location and a full analysis, courtesy Alaska Avalanche Specialists: http://akavalanches.com/PDFs/20230129JapanHakubaKamijouAvalanche.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3E2jFIZQRN_7GjB18lfB47eD9WcZAPj6_Zzu2x3WQooI-MBHT4pS0-tfI
Joining friends in a lift line is OK imho as long as you are not adding to the number of chairs taken up when the lift opens (ie if you are joining a group of 3 to fill a 4 pack that’s cool). If you’re joining people and will add to the number of chairs that is NOT COOL! I disagree with the analogy of following a slow driver: the slow driver is operating within their level of comfort, they are not actively trying to delay people’s shredding of powder like someone who joins their 4 friends in a quad lift line on a pow day.