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Near fatal ski incident



 
 
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  #11  
Old February 25th 04, 02:42 PM
Me
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Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident



Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST
the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra
crust cruising maniac)!


First of all, I wasn't using skating skis. For the record, I can ski
skate, and fairly well, with a pair of thin telemark skis and telemark
boots. The metal edges glide fairly well.

Secondly, other than breaking through the snow, the skis I was using were
pretty good. I wasn't the only one on light equipment out there. If we
wouldn't have taken the last segment of the trail, at the end of the day I
would have considered my equipment selection to be OK.

A shovel on the other hand might be wise for reasons other than
avalanches.

Maybe using it to knock some sense into yourself? ;- )


ha ha...


Sorry to be so hard on you-- consider it tough love.


Hah! Imagine the welcome this would get on rec.skiing.backcountry,
talking about using skate skis and a light shell on a February
backcountry day excursion in Canada. Well said, Chris. -- GG



First of all, this wasn't true back country. This was ski touring as in a
ski set trail. True back country skiing is about skins, trecking off
trails, etc.

Secondly, have you ever skied in Canada in February ? It was a very warm
day the day we were out. Above freezing. The reason it was cold in the
valley was due to a cold air pocket caused by: shadows from the mountains,
it was beneath a glacier and no wind. Later in the day I was warm and
others were overheating. Was it really such a stupid decision ? Compared
to the people in sweat pants I was in excellent shape, clothing wise. They
were wet, I was dry.

People can sit back and criticize me and my story as much as they want. I
relayed the events of the day and emphasized mistakes we'd made for the
purpose of learning, both for me and for others. I made them look black
and white, but during the day they weren't so obvious.

The BIG mistake of the day was routefinding and not paying enough
attention to it. The other mistakes were more tradeoffs than mistakes and
that is kind of the point of the story: there is a fine line between
tradeoffs and mistakes when skiing in the wilderness AND the conditions
can change VERY quickly, making what was once a trade off, a BIG mistake.

Ads
  #12  
Old February 25th 04, 03:42 PM
Chris Cline
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Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

--0-319950034-1077723477=:68216
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi Kim-
Sorry to have criticized you based on mis-perceptions-- it's the biggest problem with this kind of a discussion in an email forum. This would probably be best done sitting around a table with a glass of wine.

I think we have all made mistakes in judgement from time to time that have quickly gotten us right up to the edge, if not slightly over it, and hopefully we all learn from it. There's a saying: experience leads to good judgement, but it's bad judgement that leads to experience.

Though I don't want to beat this (or you) to death any more, I still think that the number one lesson to take to heart is to 1) constantly be evaluating the environment around you, and how you're feeling in (and about) it; and 2) use those perceptions to evaluate if you're being sensible, and exercise the option to bail out or back off if you're feeling uncomfortable.

But maybe you feel that everything was just fine except for the falling in the stream part, and we're all over-reacting to the rest of the tour (which is understandable given the amount of text you devoted to building up the story of falling in the stream)-- in which case, just stay out of the water from now on! ;- )

cheers and enjoy the rest of the winter. I haven't skiied in Canada in February, but I am going for my first hut-to-hut trip (the Wapta traverse) at the end of March. I'm looking forward to it, and I plan to stay out of the creek beds!

Chris C.
SLC, UT

Me wrote:


Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST
the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra
crust cruising maniac)!


First of all, I wasn't using skating skis. For the record, I can ski
skate, and fairly well, with a pair of thin telemark skis and telemark
boots. The metal edges glide fairly well.

Secondly, other than breaking through the snow, the skis I was using were
pretty good. I wasn't the only one on light equipment out there. If we
wouldn't have taken the last segment of the trail, at the end of the day I
would have considered my equipment selection to be OK.

A shovel on the other hand might be wise for reasons other than
avalanches.

Maybe using it to knock some sense into yourself? ;- )


ha ha...


Sorry to be so hard on you-- consider it tough love.


Hah! Imagine the welcome this would get on rec.skiing.backcountry,
talking about using skate skis and a light shell on a February
backcountry day excursion in Canada. Well said, Chris. -- GG



First of all, this wasn't true back country. This was ski touring as in a
ski set trail. True back country skiing is about skins, trecking off
trails, etc.

Secondly, have you ever skied in Canada in February ? It was a very warm
day the day we were out. Above freezing. The reason it was cold in the
valley was due to a cold air pocket caused by: shadows from the mountains,
it was beneath a glacier and no wind. Later in the day I was warm and
others were overheating. Was it really such a stupid decision ? Compared
to the people in sweat pants I was in excellent shape, clothing wise. They
were wet, I was dry.

People can sit back and criticize me and my story as much as they want. I
relayed the events of the day and emphasized mistakes we'd made for the
purpose of learning, both for me and for others. I made them look black
and white, but during the day they weren't so obvious.

The BIG mistake of the day was routefinding and not paying enough
attention to it. The other mistakes were more tradeoffs than mistakes and
that is kind of the point of the story: there is a fine line between
tradeoffs and mistakes when skiing in the wilderness AND the conditions
can change VERY quickly, making what was once a trade off, a BIG mistake.






---------------------------------
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--0-319950034-1077723477=:68216
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii

DIVHi Kim-/DIV
DIVSorry to have criticized you based on mis-perceptions-- it's the biggest problem with this kind of a discussion in an email forum.  This would probably be best done sitting around a table with a glass of wine./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVI think we have all made mistakes in judgement from time to time that have quickly gotten us right up to the edge, if not slightly over it, and hopefully we all learn from it.  There's a saying: experience leads to good judgement, but it's bad judgement that leads to experience./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVThough I don't want to beat this (or you) to death any more, I still think that the number one lesson to take to heart is to 1) constantly be evaluating the environment around you, and how you're feeling in (and about) it; and 2) use those perceptions to evaluate if you're being sensible, and exercise the option to bail out or back off if you're feeling uncomfortable./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVBut maybe you feel that everything was just fine except for the falling in the stream part, and we're all over-reacting to the rest of the tour (which is understandable given the amount of text you devoted to building up the story of falling in the stream)-- in which case, just stay out of the water from now on! ;- )/DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVcheers and enjoy the rest of the winter.  I haven't skiied in Canada in February, but I am going for my first hut-to-hut trip (the Wapta traverse) at the end of March.  I'm looking forward to it, and I plan to stay out of the creek beds!/DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVChris C./DIV
DIVSLC, UTBRBRBIMe >/I/B wrote:/DIV
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"BRBR> Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUSTBR> the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the SierraBR> crust cruising maniac)!BRBRFirst of all, I wasn't using skating skis. For the record, I can skiBRskate, and fairly well, with a pair of thin telemark skis and telemarkBRboots. The metal edges glide fairly well.BRBRSecondly, other than breaking through the snow, the skis I was using wereBRpretty good. I wasn't the only one on light equipment out there. If weBRwouldn't have taken the last segment of the trail, at the end of the day IBRwould have considered my equipment selection to be OK.BRBR>> A shovel on the other hand might be wise for reasons other thanBR>> avalanches.BR>> BR>> Maybe using it to knock some sense into yourself? ;- )BRBRha
ha...BRBRBR>> Sorry to be so hard on you-- consider it tough love.BR> BR> Hah! Imagine the welcome this would get on rec.skiing.backcountry,BR> talking about using skate skis and a light shell on a FebruaryBR> backcountry day excursion in Canada. Well said, Chris. -- GGBR> BR> BRBRFirst of all, this wasn't true back country. This was ski touring as in aBRski set trail. True back country skiing is about skins, trecking offBRtrails, etc.BRBRSecondly, have you ever skied in Canada in February ? It was a very warmBRday the day we were out. Above freezing. The reason it was cold in theBRvalley was due to a cold air pocket caused by: shadows from the mountains,BRit was beneath a glacier and no wind. Later in the day I was warm andBRothers were overheating. Was it really such a stupid decision ? ComparedBRto the people in sweat pants I was in excellent shape, clothing wise. TheyBRwere wet, I was dry.BRBRPeople c!
an sit
back and criticize me and my story as much as they want. IBRrelayed the events of the day and emphasized mistakes we'd made for theBRpurpose of learning, both for me and for others. I made them look blackBRand white, but during the day they weren't so obvious.BRBRThe BIG mistake of the day was routefinding and not paying enoughBRattention to it. The other mistakes were more tradeoffs than mistakes andBRthat is kind of the point of the story: there is a fine line betweenBRtradeoffs and mistakes when skiing in the wilderness AND the conditionsBRcan change VERY quickly, making what was once a trade off, a BIG mistake. BRBRBRBRBR/BLOCKQUOTE phr SIZE=1
Do you Yahoo!?br
a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailtag_us/*http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools?tool=1"Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard/a - Read only the mail you want./a
--0-319950034-1077723477=:68216--




  #13  
Old February 25th 04, 04:29 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident


I skimmed the initial post. My take is that there are a few issues:

1) Equipment choice, i.e., narrow race skis vs. wider touring skis. I
see this as more a performance issue than a safety issue. Skis that
submarine are simply harder to ski, but I don't see that as having
been directly related to the real incident. On an out-and-back,
uphill tour, poor equipment usually means that you just don't get as
far before you turn around and go home.

2) Clothing choice. Yeah, he was under-dressed and should have
brought more clothes. But, this certainly didn't cause the main
problem of the day. I didn't get the feeling that they were really
that far out there (i.e., if you ski uphill for a couple hours and
have lunch, chances are you can ski out relatively quickly if you
start to get cold). But, having extra clothing is definitely a good
idea and does prepare you for unexpected circumstances.

3) Route choice. By taking an alternate, less-skied route out, they
were definitely taking chances. This is the only conscious decision
that was definitively linked to the incident. This could have lead to
a much longer day (if the route proved particularly difficult),
especially given their gear.

4) Falling in a creek. Without having a clear image of the accident
site, this seems like a somewhat freak accident. They weren't the
first ones over the terrain, normally following someone else's tracks
should be pretty safe. He's just lucky he didn't end up in the creek, very
lucky someone was there to help pull him out. He did some things very
well, i.e., remained stable and out of the water until there was
someone to help.

All in all, it's pretty hard to say that having insufficient clothing
or light equipment was why he ended up in the creek. He was just in
the wrong place and the wrong time.

Brian
  #14  
Old February 25th 04, 04:43 PM
Gene Goldenfeld
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

I misread. I don't find that model listed anywhere, but presumably that
44 is 44cm, which seems way too narrow for the terrain and distance you
were planning to take and, even more important, the level of ability you
convey in your story.

As I read your replies in this thread, what I keep hearing are the "10
excuses." Routefinding was not your main problem. Learning to think
through the trip in advance was. Take your medicine and move on.

Gene

Me wrote:

The skis were NOT skating skis. There were 210 cm Rossignol Silver 44
skis. They aren't an all out racing ski either.

Kim

  #15  
Old February 25th 04, 04:57 PM
Gene Goldenfeld
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Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

Chris Cline wrote:

--0-698804422-1077686971=:61134
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra crust cruising maniac)!

thanks for the compliment!
C


I was thinking of Mark as I wrote that Even if they weren't skate
skis, it wasn't April or May, with lots of days above and nights below
freezing that creates the wonderful crust that Mark taunts us with,
while we slog on our bikes against a stiff head wind and wet snow.
Isn't the sign of an experienced skier someone who knows the difference
between those conditions and a couple of days above freezing several
degrees lattitude farther north in February?

GG
  #16  
Old February 25th 04, 05:27 PM
Me
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

Comments below.

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 07:42:30 -0800, Chris Cline wrote:

--0-319950034-1077723477=:68216
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi Kim-
Sorry to have criticized you based on mis-perceptions-- it's the biggest
problem with this kind of a discussion in an email forum. This would
probably be best done sitting around a table with a glass of wine.


No foul, no harm.

I think we have all made mistakes in judgement from time to time that have
quickly gotten us right up to the edge, if not slightly over it, and
hopefully we all learn from it. There's a saying: experience leads to
good judgement, but it's bad judgement that leads to experience.


Agreed.

Though I don't want to beat this (or you) to death any more, I still think
that the number one lesson to take to heart is to 1) constantly be
evaluating the environment around you, and how you're feeling in (and
about) it; and 2) use those perceptions to evaluate if you're being
sensible, and exercise the option to bail out or back off if you're
feeling uncomfortable.


I agree.

But maybe you feel that everything was just fine except for the falling in
the stream part, and we're all over-reacting to the rest of the tour
(which is understandable given the amount of text you devoted to building
up the story of falling in the stream)-- in which case, just stay out of
the water from now on! ;- )


I've kind of got mixed feelings about the day. We weren't in over our
heads until the creek incident. We were on the line with clothing, skis,
etc, but like one poster put it, you just ski slower. I guess one just
has to be really careful and stay away from situations where you are close
to the edge, especially in multiple areas.


cheers and enjoy the rest of the winter. I haven't skiied in Canada in
February, but I am going for my first hut-to-hut trip (the Wapta traverse)
at the end of March. I'm looking forward to it, and I plan to stay out of
the creek beds!


I wish you a safe and happy trip. The Wapta traverse is a big
undertaking. I've never done, but I've heard about it from those that
have. Ski safe. Watch for avalanches, which can happen with high
frequency during a warm spring day.




Chris C.
SLC, UT

Me wrote:


Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST
the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra
crust cruising maniac)!


First of all, I wasn't using skating skis. For the record, I can ski
skate, and fairly well, with a pair of thin telemark skis and telemark
boots. The metal edges glide fairly well.

Secondly, other than breaking through the snow, the skis I was using were
pretty good. I wasn't the only one on light equipment out there. If we
wouldn't have taken the last segment of the trail, at the end of the day I
would have considered my equipment selection to be OK.

A shovel on the other hand might be wise for reasons other than
avalanches.

Maybe using it to knock some sense into yourself? ;- )


ha ha...


Sorry to be so hard on you-- consider it tough love.


Hah! Imagine the welcome this would get on rec.skiing.backcountry,
talking about using skate skis and a light shell on a February
backcountry day excursion in Canada. Well said, Chris. -- GG



First of all, this wasn't true back country. This was ski touring as in a
ski set trail. True back country skiing is about skins, trecking off
trails, etc.

Secondly, have you ever skied in Canada in February ? It was a very warm
day the day we were out. Above freezing. The reason it was cold in the
valley was due to a cold air pocket caused by: shadows from the mountains,
it was beneath a glacier and no wind. Later in the day I was warm and
others were overheating. Was it really such a stupid decision ? Compared
to the people in sweat pants I was in excellent shape, clothing wise. They
were wet, I was dry.

People can sit back and criticize me and my story as much as they want. I
relayed the events of the day and emphasized mistakes we'd made for the
purpose of learning, both for me and for others. I made them look black
and white, but during the day they weren't so obvious.

The BIG mistake of the day was routefinding and not paying enough
attention to it. The other mistakes were more tradeoffs than mistakes and
that is kind of the point of the story: there is a fine line between
tradeoffs and mistakes when skiing in the wilderness AND the conditions
can change VERY quickly, making what was once a trade off, a BIG mistake.






---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want.
--0-319950034-1077723477=:68216
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii

DIVHi Kim-/DIV
DIVSorry to have criticized you based on mis-perceptions-- it's the
biggest problem with this kind of a discussion in an email forum. 
This would probably be best done sitting around a table with a glass of
wine./DIV DIV /DIV
DIVI think we have all made mistakes in judgement from time to time that
have quickly gotten us right up to the edge, if not slightly over it, and
hopefully we all learn from it.  There's a saying: experience leads
to good judgement, but it's bad judgement that leads to experience./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVThough I don't want to beat this (or you) to death any more, I still
think that the number one lesson to take to heart is to 1) constantly be
evaluating the environment around you, and how you're feeling in (and
about) it; and 2) use those perceptions to evaluate if you're being
sensible, and exercise the option to bail out or back off if you're
feeling uncomfortable./DIV DIV /DIV
DIVBut maybe you feel that everything was just fine except for the
falling in the stream part, and we're all over-reacting to the rest of the
tour (which is understandable given the amount of text you devoted to
building up the story of falling in the stream)-- in which case, just stay
out of the water from now on! ;- )/DIV DIV /DIV
DIVcheers and enjoy the rest of the winter.  I haven't skiied in
Canada in February, but I am going for my first hut-to-hut trip (the Wapta
traverse) at the end of March.  I'm looking forward to it, and I plan
to stay out of the creek beds!/DIV DIV /DIV
DIVChris C./DIV
DIVSLC, UTBRBRBIMe >/I/B wrote:/DIV
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px;
BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"BRBR> Yeah, but what those rec.bc
folks don't know is that skate skis are JUSTBR> the tool on thos
spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the SierraBR> crust cruising
maniac)!BRBRFirst of all, I wasn't using skating skis. For the record,
I can skiBRskate, and fairly well, with a pair of thin telemark skis and
telemarkBRboots. The metal edges glide fairly well.BRBRSecondly,
other than breaking through the snow, the skis I was using wereBRpretty
good. I wasn't the only one on light equipment out there. If
weBRwouldn't have taken the last segment of the trail, at the end of the
day IBRwould have considered my equipment selection to be
OK.BRBR>> A shovel on the other hand might be wise for reasons
other thanBR>> avalanches.BR>> BR>> Maybe using it
to knock some sense into yourself? ;- )BRBRha
ha...BRBRBR>> Sorry to be so hard on you-- consider it tough
love.BR> BR> Hah! Imagine the welcome this would get on
rec.skiing.backcountry,BR> talking about using skate skis and a
light shell on a FebruaryBR> backcountry day excursion in Canada.
Well said, Chris. -- GGBR> BR> BRBRFirst of all, this
wasn't true back country. This was ski touring as in aBRski set trail.
True back country skiing is about skins, trecking offBRtrails,
etc.BRBRSecondly, have you ever skied in Canada in February ? It was
a very warmBRday the day we were out. Above freezing. The reason it was
cold in theBRvalley was due to a cold air pocket caused by: shadows
from the mountains,BRit was beneath a glacier and no wind. Later in the
day I was warm andBRothers were overheating. Was it really such a
stupid decision ? ComparedBRto the people in sweat pants I was in
excellent shape, clothing wise. TheyBRwere wet, I was
dry.BRBRPeople c! an sit
back and criticize me and my story as much as they want. IBRrelayed the
events of the day and emphasized mistakes we'd made for theBRpurpose of
learning, both for me and for others. I made them look blackBRand
white, but during the day they weren't so obvious.BRBRThe BIG mistake
of the day was routefinding and not paying enoughBRattention to it. The
other mistakes were more tradeoffs than mistakes andBRthat is kind of
the point of the story: there is a fine line betweenBRtradeoffs and
mistakes when skiing in the wilderness AND the conditionsBRcan change
VERY quickly, making what was once a trade off, a BIG mistake.
BRBRBRBRBR/BLOCKQUOTE phr SIZE=1
Do you Yahoo!?br
a
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailtag_us/*http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools?tool=1"Yahoo!
Mail SpamGuard/a - Read only the mail you want./a
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  #17  
Old February 25th 04, 05:58 PM
Gene Goldenfeld
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Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

Oops, that should read 44 mm!

Gene Goldenfeld wrote:

I misread. I don't find that model listed anywhere, but presumably that
44 is 44cm, which seems way too narrow for the terrain and distance you
were planning to take and, even more important, the level of ability you
convey in your story.

  #18  
Old February 25th 04, 06:16 PM
Gene Goldenfeld
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

My point is that when you start making decisions based on inadequate
clothing here, inadequate equipment there, route conditions somewhere
else, lack of a map in the next spot and so forth, it all adds up,
leading to being in a position later in the day they probably wouldn't
have been with appropriate preparation. Certainly the best preparation
can't cover all possibilities, yet I do know that simply focusing on the
parts allows one to deny or minimize their interconnectedness, and avoid
seeing the overall picture.

Gene

wrote:
All in all, it's pretty hard to say that having insufficient clothing
or light equipment was why he ended up in the creek. He was just in
the wrong place and the wrong time.

Brian

  #19  
Old February 25th 04, 07:25 PM
Chris Cline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

--0-761300004-1077736529=:75559
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii



Gene Goldenfeld wrote:
Chris Cline wrote:

--0-698804422-1077686971=:61134
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra crust cruising maniac)!

thanks for the compliment!
C


I was thinking of Mark as I wrote that Even if they weren't skate
skis, it wasn't April or May, with lots of days above and nights below
freezing that creates the wonderful crust that Mark taunts us with,
while we slog on our bikes against a stiff head wind and wet snow.
Isn't the sign of an experienced skier someone who knows the difference
between those conditions and a couple of days above freezing several
degrees lattitude farther north in February?

GG



I won't raise to the bait on that one. I've skiied crappy snow on over-matched skis plenty of times myself (and as Brian pointed out, that wasn't the fundamental problem).

C



---------------------------------
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--0-761300004-1077736529=:75559
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DIVBRBRBIGene Goldenfeld >/I/B wrote:
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"
PChris Cline wrote:BR> BR> --0-698804422-1077686971=:61134BR> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-asciiBR> BR> Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra crust cruising maniac)!BR> BR> thanks for the compliment!BR> CBRBRI was thinking of Mark as I wrote that Even if they weren't skateBRskis, it wasn't April or May, with lots of days above and nights belowBRfreezing that creates the wonderful crust that Mark taunts us with,BRwhile we slog on our bikes against a stiff head wind and wet snow. BRIsn't the sign of an experienced skier someone who knows the differenceBRbetween those conditions and a couple of days above freezing severalBRdegrees lattitude farther north in February? BRBRGGBRBRBRBRI won't raise to the bait on that one.  I've skiied crappy snow on over-matched skis plenty of times myself (and!
as Brian
pointed out, that wasn't the fundamental problem)./P
PC/P/BLOCKQUOTE/DIVphr SIZE=1
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  #20  
Old February 25th 04, 11:53 PM
Mark
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Near fatal ski incident

Yo,
Since my name's been bandied about (I wonder what it really feels like
to be bandied?), I guess I'll just say that I'm honored and humbled to
be put in "maniacal" terms. Thank you. What we do out here is
definitely risk-taking, but it is calculated and planned and
thought-out. That said, we are always just an accident or injury away
from serious trouble on some of our backcountry skate expeditions, and
we accept those risks, just like a climber is always one bad placement
or rotten piece of rock away from a serious fall, or a cyclist one
crazy squirrel, dog, or auto away from serious accident. A person's
level of risk management is always, I believe, a personal decision,
unless it involves other people who didn't "buy into" the original
risk (family, search and rescue personnel, etc.). I try not to judge.
Laugh at quietly, yes -- judge, no.

Mark (looking outside at the new Sierra snow measured in feet, and
realizing that spring corn isn't coming very soon).

(Chris Cline) wrote in message
Gene Goldenfeld wrote:

Chris Cline wrote:
Yeah, but what those rec.bc folks don't know is that skate skis are JUST the tool on thos spring crust days. Just ask Mark Nadell (the Sierra crust cruising maniac)!

thanks for the compliment!
C


I was thinking of Mark as I wrote that Even if they weren't skate
skis, it wasn't April or May, with lots of days above and nights below
freezing that creates the wonderful crust that Mark taunts us with,
while we slog on our bikes against a stiff head wind and wet snow.
Isn't the sign of an experienced skier someone who knows the difference
between those conditions and a couple of days above freezing several
degrees lattitude farther north in February?

GG

 




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