Major Avalanche video

Google avalanche, ski lift, and France for videos of a large avalanche
taking out a ski lift with people riding chairs. Some video is shot from
chairs as avalanche builds. Wild ride - apparently no dead. Good.

On 03/04/2012 07:24 PM, lal_truckee wrote:

Google avalanche, ski lift, and France for videos of a large avalanche
taking out a ski lift with people riding chairs. Some video is shot from
chairs as avalanche builds. Wild ride - apparently no dead. Good.

There's also a video of one of the rescuers hanging from a helicopter
releasing one of the passengers.

I wonder if they gave everybody a replacement ticket.


--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$
If you have one lawyer in town, he goes hungry.
If you have two lawyers in town, they both get rich.

On Monday, March 5, 2012 7:56:01 AM UTC-8, The Real Bev wrote:
On 03/04/2012 07:24 PM, lal_truckee wrote:

Google avalanche, ski lift, and France for videos of a large avalanche
taking out a ski lift with people riding chairs. Some video is shot from
chairs as avalanche builds. Wild ride - apparently no dead. Good.

There's also a video of one of the rescuers hanging from a helicopter
releasing one of the passengers.

I wonder if they gave everybody a replacement ticket.


--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$
If you have one lawyer in town, he goes hungry.
If you have two lawyers in town, they both get rich.

I had to go down on a rope once when stuck on a lift at Stowe. Two ski patrolmen threw a rope over the cable. There was an inverted-t-shaped metal device at one end. We were instructed to throw down our poles, put our feet (and skis) on the crossbar, and hang on at shoulder level.

I still wonder at times, especially when a lift stops on my way up, how I would get down from the high points of the cable. The old Chair 1 at Bear Mountain has one really high stretch near its top.

On 03/05/2012 08:41 AM, Richard Henry wrote:

On Monday, March 5, 2012 7:56:01 AM UTC-8, The Real Bev wrote:
On 03/04/2012 07:24 PM, lal_truckee wrote:

Google avalanche, ski lift, and France for videos of a large
avalanche taking out a ski lift with people riding chairs. Some
video is shot from chairs as avalanche builds. Wild ride -
apparently no dead. Good.

There's also a video of one of the rescuers hanging from a
helicopter releasing one of the passengers.

I wonder if they gave everybody a replacement ticket.

I had to go down on a rope once when stuck on a lift at Stowe. Two
ski patrolmen threw a rope over the cable. There was an
inverted-t-shaped metal device at one end. We were instructed to
throw down our poles, put our feet (and skis) on the crossbar, and
hang on at shoulder level.

I still wonder at times, especially when a lift stops on my way up,
how I would get down from the high points of the cable. The old
Chair 1 at Bear Mountain has one really high stretch near its top.

I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at Kratka
got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the chair behind me
dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going for help, but I KNOW
it was because his companion was afraid of heights (!) and kept
screaming about it. A guy's jacket had somehow got caught in the works
and it took them a while to free it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


--
Cheers,
Bev
================================================== =
"I love deadlines... especially the whooshing sound
they make as they go by." -Douglas Adams

On Monday, March 5, 2012 9:17:08 AM UTC-8, The Real Bev wrote:
On 03/05/2012 08:41 AM, Richard Henry wrote:

On Monday, March 5, 2012 7:56:01 AM UTC-8, The Real Bev wrote:
On 03/04/2012 07:24 PM, lal_truckee wrote:

Google avalanche, ski lift, and France for videos of a large
avalanche taking out a ski lift with people riding chairs. Some
video is shot from chairs as avalanche builds. Wild ride -
apparently no dead. Good.

There's also a video of one of the rescuers hanging from a
helicopter releasing one of the passengers.

I wonder if they gave everybody a replacement ticket.

I had to go down on a rope once when stuck on a lift at Stowe. Two
ski patrolmen threw a rope over the cable. There was an
inverted-t-shaped metal device at one end. We were instructed to
throw down our poles, put our feet (and skis) on the crossbar, and
hang on at shoulder level.

I still wonder at times, especially when a lift stops on my way up,
how I would get down from the high points of the cable. The old
Chair 1 at Bear Mountain has one really high stretch near its top.

I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at Kratka
got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the chair behind me
dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going for help, but I KNOW
it was because his companion was afraid of heights (!) and kept
screaming about it. A guy's jacket had somehow got caught in the works
and it took them a while to free it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Richard Henry wrote:
I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at
Kratka got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the
chair behind me dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going
for help, but I KNOW it was because his companion was afraid of
heights (!) and kept screaming about it. A guy's jacket had somehow
got caught in the works and it took them a while to free it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Why 20 feet?

On Monday, March 5, 2012 11:26:04 AM UTC-8, Bob F wrote:
Richard Henry wrote:
I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at
Kratka got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the
chair behind me dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going
for help, but I KNOW it was because his companion was afraid of
heights (!) and kept screaming about it. A guy's jacket had somehow
got caught in the works and it took them a while to free it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Why 20 feet?

That's about how high up I was when I made my rope trip. Part of the rescue process was that the ski patrolmen on the ground counterbalanced my weight on the rope to control the rate of descent. I don't know if that is still the current method. What would they do for a really heavy rescuee?

The helicopter looked safer (holding my breath). How long does it take to get a helicopter to get there? What if the weather is nasty?

On 03/05/2012 11:35 AM, Richard Henry wrote:

On Monday, March 5, 2012 11:26:04 AM UTC-8, Bob F wrote:
Richard Henry wrote:
I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair
at Kratka got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in
the chair behind me dropped his skis and jumped. He said he
was going for help, but I KNOW it was because his companion was
afraid of heights (!) and kept screaming about it. A guy's
jacket had somehow got caught in the works and it took them a
while to free it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...

As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Why 20 feet?

That's about how high up I was when I made my rope trip. Part of the
rescue process was that the ski patrolmen on the ground
counterbalanced my weight on the rope to control the rate of descent.
I don't know if that is still the current method. What would they do
for a really heavy rescuee?

Add rescuers. Gotta be cheaper and faster than a helicopter.

The helicopter looked safer (holding my breath). How long does it
take to get a helicopter to get there? What if the weather is
nasty?


--
Cheers, Bev
============================================
Buckle Up. It makes it harder for the aliens
to suck you out of your car.

Richard Henry wrote:
On Monday, March 5, 2012 11:26:04 AM UTC-8, Bob F wrote:
Richard Henry wrote:
I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at
Kratka got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the
chair behind me dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going
for help, but I KNOW it was because his companion was afraid of
heights (!) and kept screaming about it. A guy's jacket had
somehow got caught in the works and it took them a while to free
it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Why 20 feet?

That's about how high up I was when I made my rope trip. Part of the
rescue process was that the ski patrolmen on the ground
counterbalanced my weight on the rope to control the rate of descent.
I don't know if that is still the current method. What would they do
for a really heavy rescuee?

The helicopter looked safer (holding my breath). How long does it
take to get a helicopter to get there? What if the weather is nasty?

I'm sure the rope is way safer than the heli. Imagine the wind problem added to
the rescue. Plus, heli's have serious problems in mountain weather at times. And
I seriously doubt that the rope is limited to 20 feet. The rescuers can
certainly come up with enough people to counterbalance a heavy skier. Or, they
could use a suitable anchor in the snow.

Richard Henry wrote:
On Monday, March 5, 2012 11:26:04 AM UTC-8, Bob F wrote:
Richard Henry wrote:
I figure they know what to do if that happens. When the chair at
Kratka got stuck (feet maybe 6' off the ground), the guy in the
chair behind me dropped his skis and jumped. He said he was going
for help, but I KNOW it was because his companion was afraid of
heights (!) and kept screaming about it. A guy's jacket had
somehow got caught in the works and it took them a while to free
it.

The rope thing sounds perfectly doable...


As long as you are 20 feet or less above the ground.

Why 20 feet?

That's about how high up I was when I made my rope trip. Part of the
rescue process was that the ski patrolmen on the ground
counterbalanced my weight on the rope to control the rate of descent.
I don't know if that is still the current method. What would they do
for a really heavy rescuee?

Not sure about the mthod you described. Varies from one area and even
sometimes lift to another. We used a J-bar over the line and a T-Bar with a
belt to sit on. Handling the rope correctly imparts a cetain amount of
mechanical advantage. In practice once we had a 110lb girl lower a 240 lb
guy. All were nervous but it worked.





The helicopter looked safer (holding my breath). How long does it
take to get a helicopter to get there? What if the weather is nasty?


No, a helicopter near a lift would not be a good idea. Still has all the
risks of standard lift evac plus the possibility of damaging an expensive
aircraft, and realy, very few advantages, other than impressing the
tourists.