six solo skier/rider avalanche deaths US 24/25

[~mikey b]

as I prepare my gear and my mind for a big upcoming Sierra storm cycle I’ve been thinking about something that I noticed today when looking at the database of avalanche accidents for this season - I’d seen a few recents reports of people being caught, buried, and killed - but what I didn’t realize until I counted them up, is that so far this season six solo backcountry skiers/riders have been killed - although I was struck by the deaths of three guided heli skiers in Alaska, these solo incidents, and the incident involving the couple that were killed in Oregon recently, hit much closer to home

https://avalanche.org/avalanche-accidents/#/

if you know me at all you know I spend a lot of time skiing solo in the backcountry - although I know that’s dangerous in some ways, I don’t travel in the backcountry with much fear - I do get scared here and there, but that’s part of the fun!

I’ve always felt confident that through careful terrain management I can find good safe skiing

I feel like it’s good to remind myself that I need to always be aware of and adaptable to the conditions

good luck, have fun, and be careful out there friends

[BCMtnHound]

This has been on my mind as well. Haven’t delved deep enough to see why the numbers this year have trended to the solo, but it certainly has changed from the last couple years.
I too have spent most of my wilderness adventures solo. Not because of the danger and adrenaline so much as it is just a part of my psyche and connection to the natural world. It was supported by my work as well, and have so many amazing memories. But the lack of adverse solo incidents for much of the past few decades was part of my rationale that being alone didn’t necessarily translate to higher risk, just a necessary consideration to reasonable exposure. Not sure if that was a faulty heuristic on my part, or if it was a factor of the current backcountry community.

Then I married and we had a child. Almost immediately, but not so much consciously, my solo adventures diminished. And I got older - LOL. Work changed and now I manage a larger program with all the safety and non-operational considerations that go with that. I joined local SAR and contributed my knowledge, experience and energy. Parents needed more help each season to keep the farm. Still loved to be alone in the backcountry, but there was a lingering concern that someone had reasonable expectations of me coming back home - risk calculations had changed.

Daughter is now a teenager. Wife has cemented her place in her work. House will be paid off at the end of this mortgage term. Parents have now passed. Still have some strength in my body, and my bones are feeling the call to get back out where few care to travel.
The formula is changing again, and once my parent’s estate is cleared it is time to return to the backcountry. I’m still conservative IMO, and tech has really improved, but if I am fooling myself, I do think I have met most of the expectations of family and society.

[oltrepiave]

Very interesting and relatable BCMtnHound.

I also have a flurry of different/conflicting perspectives on everything.
I'm still not that wise yet but joining my local SAR (here in Italy) and hanging out/skiing with some of those guys has led me to reevaluate the actual weight of human dynamics. And that is after years of avid solo touring/skiing and nerding out on snow-based aspects rather than understanding how you cope with yourself and others while being out there.

I haven't gone out solo that much this year and I kinda long for it. At the same time going out with such a wide array of different people made me discover a lot of cool things all around.

[bodywhomper]

I haven’t toured much the past 3 seasons because of work and family obligations (fam ski days at the hill), but I used to solo tour frequently. I feel like I maintain conservative decisions to my tours.

I made some gear changes several years ago to facilitate more fun at lower angle dense treed terrain. One place I’ve toured a lot gets a lot of snow, but it’s often with high water content. It’s either 35+* open slopes or lower angle secondary growth conifer forest. I used to have to push my way down through the secondary growth lower angle terrain when the snow is knee deep or deeper, and I ran into circumstances where the open and steeper slopes were uncertain or clearly a no-go. So I bought some lighter very wide pow skis (for me older lotus 138) and the lower angle sloppy snow became more fun… plus almost all 3D backcountry snow is rad on those skis. And I started touring with a helmet because of all the branches in the dense secondary growth forest.

[oltrepiave]

When I did tour solo a lot I also had a lot of fun exploring smaller zones with bigger gear, it does make the whole thing more fun. In my case it also made me a way more technical "tourer"since it allowed me to practice kickturns by myself with a lot more time and less pressure.

The whole outlook on avalanches and snow science in Italy unfortunately is still so much wayward, I feel like there's a ginormous gap between the lab/deskbound "scientist" and the "outdoorsman" who gets in the field. Solo travelling In the BC isn't frowned upon but certainly not understood.

[~mikey b]

the local avalanche forecast a couple days ago mentioned observations from the day before that indicated that there might be a natural avalanche cycle overnight

it also advised people that they should avoid avalanche terrain altogether, and to not travel solo

I, being the contrarian asshole that I am, chose to do just that - I went out by myself in the same terrain looking for the avalanches and I didn’t find them

I went out looking for evidence and I didn’t find it -


but at a couple of the local ski areas there were significant problems that affected a bunch of people



the one big thing I did wrong is that I didn’t tell anyone where I was going

[Shredhead]

the one big thing I did wrong is that I didn’t tell anyone where I was going

You don't have to be buried, to die in an avalanche.
Many years ago, we had a Brit that always toured solo. He got sluffed through some trees and broke his leg.
Froze to death.
They found him clutching a bowl.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Ski touring solo is a game of trying to avoid objective hazard of all kinds.

[goldenboy]

The number of fatalities this year in the forty plus age group has been noticeable to me, more than the solo part.

[goldenboy]

The number of fatalities this year in the forty plus age group has been noticeable to me, more than the solo part.

[~mikey b]

…..

[The Nuclear Option]

Huh?

“ Brian Thomas Roberts was part of a guided cat-skiing group, a service of Diamond Lake Resort, ”

[sfotex]

The guy at Porter Fork, UT would 100% be alive if he had had a partner.. Pulled out a small pocket and got stomped.
He was from out of town, was in some super complex terrain , and dealing with a PWL.
I tour solo now and then, generally in pretty safe area or on low danger days.
But at the end of the day everyone had different risk tolerance, some people still smoke, don't use a seatbelt, etc.
I don't think anyone would argue its safer to tour with a solid partner vs. solo.

[oltrepiave]

Absolutely, I would never argue about safety, it's more of a personal preference that needs to be balanced very wisely with conditions.

At this point in time the only "resolution" I've been able to muster is that I'd rather go out solo (on silly terrain, probably just digging a pit and skiing small stuff) than with people that I don't know/don't like in terms of overall approach to things and decisions.

[~mikey b]

Huh?

“ Brian Thomas Roberts was part of a guided cat-skiing group, a service of Diamond Lake Resort, ”

yup

my mistake

[Cisco Kid]

Solo tours to test your survival skills make sense for some.

Going out naked, without a beacon, is weak tea.

[frorider]

I was recently asked about how often I solo tour by a friend who is a strong skier with less years of BC experience. I told him I tend to avoid it as much as possible, to the extent that I will accommodate the schedule or location of a partner even when I’m pretty sure I would get better quality skiing by doing my own thing. I explained my reasoning as having relatively little to do with the obvious factor of avalanche safety, which I have observed is over emphasized to the point that people overlook the other risk factors. You can take a slide for life on a corn tour and get lacerations that require direct pressure to get the bleeding controlled. You can fall into a creek when a snow bridge collapses. Fall into a tree well on a pow day. Have a major equipment malfunction far from the trailhead. I’m sure you all can think of many real life examples that have happened within your circle of friends over the years. Generally these situations are much easier to manage if you have one or two partners with you. I sometimes wonder if our easy access to satellite emergency comms is helping increase my safety on a solo tour, or if I should be cautious about subconsciously relying on it too much. Anyway interesting topic.