Near fatal ski incident

I think the commentary on this thread has gotten a little blown out of
proportion.

I have hiked the Paradise Valley trail in the summer, but not the winter. I
was going to look it up in my guide book, but I loaned it to my daughter
when she was working at Lake Louise last year. It does not seem to have
come back, so I will have to ask her about it when she gets back from South
America in April.

I believe the trail starts out along the Moraine Lake road. In summer this
is a road and in winter it is groomed and track set for xc skiing. Skiing
that part of the trail would be no different from going out to your local
ski area. You might want to take some extra grip wax and a water bottle.

The trail to Paradise Valley starts with a steep climb through the trees for
about a kilometre. After that it flattens out into rolling, gently uphill
terrain until it breaks out of the trees into a large alpine meadow with
beautiful 360 degree views. There are a few places where avalanche chutes
come down close to the trail, but the risk in stable winter conditions is
probably not much different from the risk of driving the road from Calgary,
to Lake Louise (maybe less considering all the Alberta drivers on the road -
I am from BC). This is a popular route and tracks would have been broken by
many people skiing ahead. Other than the initial climb, Kim's racing skis
would have been adequate. When I was there in the summer I remember
thinking that most of the trail would have made a great xc ski trail. As
long as you didn't mind taking your time getting down the steep part near
the trail-head, light equipment would have done just fine.

There are several trails that cross or join the main trail. There is a
separate mountain bike trail that joins the trail, runs along it for a
while, then heads off somewhere, maybe to Moraine Lake. There is also a
trail that goes directly down to Lake Louise. It is possible that the
mountain bike trail goes down to the Moraine Lake road with less sharp
downhills, I don't know. I can understand Kim wanting to find an easier way
down than the original climb near the trail head, and if he met someone on
the trail who said another route was easier, that would have been a
reasonable choice.

Kim said he did not put on a warmer jacket, but I don't know what he had in
his pack. With the snow depth it would have been impossible to walk out if
he broke a ski or binding on the upper part of the trail. Sudden storms and
whiteout conditions are always possible in the area, so I think he would
have been wise to have had clothing that would have allowed him to survive a
few hours, or even overnight if he had to wait for assistance. Other people
could probably have helped him, but I would prefer to be in a position to
help rather than be helped.

He did not take the trail up to Annette Lake (or whatever it is called, I
can't remember). That trail is steep and would not have been suitable for
either climbing or descending with the equipment he was using. He could
have continued on past the lake and followed the trail that comes out at the
far end of the valley, but that would have meant exposure to some serious
avalanche slopes. He was not equipped for that either, so he made a good
decision not to ski up to the lake.

He did not have proper maps, but the trail is self evident and following
prior tracks would have been more than adequate. In the summer I had a map,
but hardly used it. There are few places to go wrong. I also carried a GPS
and only used it to check distance back to the trail head so that I would
not spend too long enjoying the meadows and have to walk out in the dark.
Using an alternate route that is not on the map is often quite reasonable in
the winter. Often trails are built around marshy areas that make easy
skiing in the winter. A route that followed the creek closely might not be
suitable for a trail in the summer, but could be good for winter travel.
Remember that the man who assisted him works for Parks Canada and probably
has a fair amount of experience in the area. He also chose the same route.
Informally joining the other couple gave a loose group of four that should
have been adequate for most situations, one to stay with an accident victim
and two to go for help.

Falling in the hole was probably one of those unfortunate accidents that
happen, like hitting a patch of black ice on the highway, having a moose
step out in front of you at night or having another driver run a stop sign.
Kim was lucky to survive the accident and have someone there to assist him
out of the hole, just like some drivers are lucky to survive a highway
accident and have someone stop and give first aid.

Kim may have not been fully prepared if he got stranded in the back country,
but that was risk he assumed. Most of the rest that happened was just plain
misfortune, followed by some good luck.

Incidentally, a week after I made my solo trip to Paradise Valley last year
they closed the area to groups of less than six because of grizzly problems.
I carried bear spray, but would never carry the bear bells that Kim
mentioned for summer travel. Some studies have shown they are more likely
to attract a bears attention than frighten it away. In Waterton Lakes
National Park they were advising people not to carry bear bells.

Scott Elliot
http://www3.telus.net/selliot/

Scott Elliot wrote:

I think the commentary on this thread has gotten a little blown out of
proportion.

Thanks for providing us your knowledge about the area and reported trip,
Scott. My emphasis has been on the planning rather than the misfortune
because Kim sent us in that direction with the way he recounted the
trip, and how he then tried to redirect our attention when we pointed it
out. It could have been told, "We went out on a beautiful day trip and
on the return this harrowing experience happened." We all take
chances. Since we're still here talking they must have turned out ok,
or well enough. Do people who plan better tend to have better luck and
fewer misfortunes? I don't know, but in everyday life that's commonly
thought to be true. In Kim's recounting, it's the way he thinks through
his trips that leaves me unimpressed. The possibity of rapid changes
for the worse in weather struck me, too; it's one of those things one
always makes a decision about in advance, depending on a number of
factors. The absence of that thought in his long detailed story struck
me as a sign of big trouble waiting to happen. Those and some of the
other risks he took left the sense of someone who makes a habit of
knocking on misfortune's door.

Gene

You may be interested/amused to hear that I fell in a creek while
snow-shoeing yesterday. I was quite aware that the creek was there
(i.e., we went there specifically to hike in the creek bed); somewhat
surprised how much water was flowing in the creek (i.e., there were
some open patches); and not entirely surprised when I ended up
knee-deep in water (I should have stuck to the beaten path). We
continued on and had a very nice walk.

Cheers,
Brian

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Near Fatal Ski Incident