SLAB AVALANCHE!!! (POV): Heli-skiing in Colorado backcountry (San Juan Mountains, CO) 

Shouldn’t it be the guide who gets flack? Hard to ding an inexperienced skier who is realistic about their level of skill and hires professionals…

Yes 100%

@@gabelyon1071 that was a pretty easy face that was pretty low angle, guide brought him to a safe area. shit happens, luckily he was ontop of the slide. Waited long enough to pull the bag though

​@@bertrenolds5 you work for the guide company or something? Blaming the client? Shit happens? I saw red flags the moment they stepped off the helicopter. Lol. Take note people; these folks will take your money regardless of how dangerous conditions are.

like a freakin tsunami but in reverse!!

oh good iam not the only one

It's not traveling uphill; it just appears that way. The whole slab is sliding downhill. The wave you see is the slab flowing over the staunchwall as it goes downhill.

Yes it is traveling uphill He was standing still, stopped and was knocked off his feet

@@Useryofcsdnx hes standing still on snow that's moving down. look at the track he's following at 2:01 - it's clear he's moving down relative to where that goes beyond the slab edge

Hi there @GoPro 👋 It WAS an insane experience, thank you! You can DM me at my Insta: @ev_pow 🤘

looks like it released sympathetically

I didn't see another slide as they were traversing the slope. I did see a number of other ski/snowboard tracks, probably from other groups that skied the slope before this group triggered the avalanche.

TIL guided outfits and ski areas are not required to report to CAIC

The ob was available earlier today. No longer available to the public. Bummer, as it's a pretty demonstrative case of persistent slab failure after multiple prior tracks. It read as follows: Observation Summary: 17th skier on the slope. Guide traversed as the 16th skier, across the slope and waited for their first guest. The 17th skier triggered and collapsed the slope, triggering the slide propagating above the skier. The skier was never under the snow. The guide traveled along the slide and told the skier to deploy their airbag. They did. The bag was never utilized or needed for flotation. The skier rode nearly 1200 linear feet. No gear was lost. No injuries. No burials. No other involvements. This slide or collapse, either remotely or sympathetically, triggered a second slide. The first triggered slide on a SW aspect at 12,600'. This we classified as R2-D2. 550' wide 900' vert. The second remote slide was east aspect, 800' wide, 900' vert. Route Description: Heli-ski operations in the area known locally as The Sound of Music

@rigdiy1107, thanks for posting the observation. It’s a shame that it was taken down. Ironically, at 4:45 you can hear a client ask if the guide will send a report to the CAIC, and the guide clearly says that he will. “Yup, we’ll put this in.” @EvPowPMH, thanks for sharing your video so that the rest of us can learn from your experience. It’s not easy to expose yourself to the masses like this. I hope you’re able to ignore the trolls.

Technically no one is "required" it's all just volunteer observations. @@n8omg

Why tf does it matter😂 more snow will fall that snow will melt it can happen at anytime. It’s also documented clear as day in the video above

Just because there are tracks, does not mean it’s safe

Also: What aspect was this?

@@andrewwallus847 The dude was also skiing it like a ski cut (side slipping) over that thinly covered convexity. Not saying it wouldn't have gone on a lighter footed skier, but it may have had something to do with the trigger. Interesting how slow it moved and never picked up increasing velocity. Perhaps the temp of the snow and solar aspect like you mentioned contributed to it being not a very quick surface bed. Angle/Aspect? If homie pointed it and did a GS right hander to where the guide was, maybe he could've got off that dance platter.Maybe not. Fun stuff!

Oh absolutely on all of that! I wasn't trying to evaluate HIS actions but would have offered the same. I was really just trying to gather snowpack beta for my trip to Silverton in a few days since it was so recent;) @@JoeSmith-ru9xu

I wouldn't pay to heli ski that, however im a spoiled Alaskan thats lived in the chugach for over 30 years.

Yes, my parents used to ride these for miles too.

Yup...killed me to see how much time there was to ditch the skis but never made a move for em. Stay at the resort kook.

Jesus take the wheel!

@@svsleipnir I mean, maybe, just maybe he's never been in an avalanche before.

@@svsleipnirCurious, how many active avalanches have you personally been thru? Avalanches can occur within a resort during a beginner’s lesson. Considering he did not panic, stayed on top of the slide, and common sense took over, he could not have faired much better. Just how much “better” could the outcome have been in this situation if he removed his skis? At least he has documentation to learn from his experience. He lived to be able to post the video on RU-vid. Well done.

@@BigTee612 more than I can count or remember. His dumb luck isn’t to be celebrated. Judging by the way he was skiing pre slide he has no business being on that terrain. The masking tape with his name in the skis indicates rental gear further reinforcing my hypothesis. Just because you can afford the heli doesn’t mean you should be skiing from it.

It didn't. As mentioned above, "The whole slab is sliding downhill. The wave you see is the slab flowing over the staunchwall as it goes downhill."

Sometimes when Avalanches happen, the initial energy waves will send an Instagram to our parallel universe to activate. That enables anti gravity to take over for just an instant. Sending everything we know to reverse. Very rare this one was caught on camera.

It had not...I was on the run just before this one. You can see the guide and 1st skiier (This one) ran tracks higher than the previous 3 groups and it broke just above previous traverse lines...

No. Any time you enter avalanche terrain you do so knowing the risks. Avalanche training is about making informed decisions and being prepared for the outcomes. No guide on earth knows with 100% certainty what the snow will or won't do, only what the best bets are. All things considered this wasn't a terribly deep break and judging by the speed the slope angle wasn't likely that steep.

@@elhior23 "best bets" many taking all the available information into account and making decisions based on that information. Anytime you step into avalanche terrain, the risk is never zero.

This is absolutely on the guide company. Red flags everywhere. Shows how money clouds judgement. Careful which "experts" you put your trust in. Sad that the CAIC swept this under the rug.

What should he have done?

@@joemclaughlin8657 First, point at a 45 or more and aggressively ski out, 2nd, get your skis off, 3rd, start swimming in a direction away to the side of the slide and actively stay above and be prepped for the burial, 4th, know your gear from the getgo and pull it immediately, 5th FIGHT, and SWIM and don't be a dead lemming in a very quickly setup canvas of your possible future death.

@@MakersTeleMark It's probably the guys first time getting caught in an avalanche. Unless you have practical experience dealing with these conditions, on a regular basis, it'll take time for the brain to process what's happening, before taking action. You're basically expecting an expert response from someone who's not an expert.

how did you take it? everyone’s a tough guy until you’re caught in thousands of pounds of moving snow