Avalanche
A 28-year-old Jackson woman was buried by an avalanche yesterday while in the backcountry with a group of friends in the Great White Hump area above Ski Lake. She was buried and carried 450-feet by the slide.
The woman’s group were taking turns to snowmobile each other up the slope in order to ski back down. She was at the bottom when a snowmobile taking a skier up triggered the avalanche above her. As the slide started flowing towards her she couldn’t move quickly enough to get out of the way.
“She was down below on a sled that wasn’t moving, and her friend was lapping someone up on a snowmobile to ski,” Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr told the Jackson Hole News and Guide.
There were nine other people in the area at the time, but after failing to find the buried woman with their beacons, they called for help.
“She was wearing a beacon, but it wasn’t turned on,” Carr said. “They found her with a probe strike.”
Teton County Search and Rescue personnel responded via helicopter with a medical team. It is unknown how long she was buried, and the severity of her injuries are also unknown.
“She was cold and pretty shaken up,” Carr said.
Friday’s danger was listed as moderate by the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.
“Measurable snowfall has occurred every day since last weekend,” the avalanche report stated. “Skiers and riders could trigger these slabs on steep, avalanche prone slopes.”
Unfortunately, a lot of people prefer to turn their beacon on once they’re in avalanche terrain. Why? To save pennies battery life? Remember the saying, “On at the car, off at the bar.”
“She was wearing a beacon but it wasn’t turned on “
Why do people in the backcountry even bother to wear safety equipment if they don’t turn the equipment on ?
Glad she was recovered but why didn’t she turn on her beacon ? That’s the first thing you do before getting on your sled, why bother to even buy an avalanche beacon if you’re not going to use it properly ?