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Montblanclive Avalanche video

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Sobering!
http://youtube.com/v/D6dEBgrQp0Q&t=
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Mike S, thanks, that’s reset my riskometer.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Bad prank IMO..... Confused
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Really don't see who that was a prank. That helmetcam footage of the second wave looked authentic to me
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Nice film... not quite sure they got the messaging right though. Ha ha it was all a dream Shocked
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scary, very scary, it didn't seem to be a massive avalanche but it buried him easily and he was falling asleep under the snow

Why were his mates calling on everyone else to find him, instead of trying to find him themselves? Couldn't they use their transceivers?

I did notice that a lot of the film is cut as he was under for 15 minutes and the film is only 7 minutes, I wonder if that is due to his mates just standing there doing nothing and waiting for others to help out?
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...








From, Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain.
Alive includes people with brain damage!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Todally confused. Can someone explain what the prank is/was?


thanks
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Thought I understood it, then I don't.
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TheGeneralist wrote:
Todally confused. Can someone explain what the prank is/was?



Why they thought a wind loaded 35-40 degree slope wouldn't slide just coz they'd skied it before I don't know. Especially when they are cliff hucking into it. As for the rescue, reminds me of my son and his mates who you have to remote control the whole time to get them to do anything. Lucky the pisteurs arrived to get them organized Happy

Creux Noire at Courchevel. Here is the slope map. I think there have been more than 1 death here in the past. Offpisteskiing might know.



Yes ok no straps, if the guy didn't understand why he maybe should stick to secured slopes. Multiple skiers on the slope (3) - if two had been buried the outcome could well have been much more serious.

As for the prank, watch to the end. It is extremely lame. (see spin doctor's comment above)
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Scary poo-poo and a very lucky guy....
Just shows that skiing prowess doesn't = safe...
Not totally obvious how much intervention the pisteurs provided, but his friends did seem a little disorganised, very easy to criticise from the armchair however!
As Davidof says, multiple skiers is not a great idea, but can't say I've never been guilty, however in the 2 avalanches I was involved in last season both times the skier was doing the right thing, ie one at a time......
re straps, it's a no-brainer not to wear them off-piste, I actually have no straps on my poles, they're only useful for hanging the poles up and the victim in the video MAY have been able to deploy his airbag in time to avoid burial, also it would be nice to have your hands free to create an air space in front of your mouth.
Again, lucky, lucky guy Very Happy
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
KenX wrote:
very easy to criticise from the armchair however!


Nice to have a bit of time to criticize from my armchair mind.

Looking at the video I would say the slope is triggered when he hits the snow. It is possible if they'd skied one at a time they would never have triggered the slab. There are tracks over to the left so similar slopes had been skied that day already.

All's well that ends well, they got their friend out, which is the main thing. Nice filming, all they need is a selfie drone now Happy
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@davidof, hopefully the Serre Che drone will never capture that kind of footage because it means I'll be the one being filmed Laughing
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
can someone answer the Be Nice please! question. what was the prank?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@TheGeneralist,
I ain't got a clue either
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
TheGeneralist wrote:
can someone answer the question. what was the prank?


At the end they tell the victim

"oh it was just a prank, we made the avalanche with polystyrene, ho ho, we really fooled you there"

No it wasn't funny.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@davidof,
not at all funny.
that video really is a good example of folks that ski back country/off piste regular, whom you would expect to have more knowlage.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Only you guys who are experienced off pisters could explain to me if its worth it. It looks amazing skiing down a virgin slope but I've watched loads of vids on youtube with people having near misses while off piste skiing, from avalanches to dropping into unseen holes. Maybe I'm becoming risk adverse in my old age but I think I'll stick to trying to carve on hard pack and getting to the end of the day for a couple of beers. My ambition to try to get on to the soft stuff now seems to be evaporating.
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FrequentFaller wrote:
but I think I'll stick to trying to carve on hard pack and getting to the end of the day for a couple of beers.


absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Avalanches are pretty rare, obviously with Go Pros, Selfie Drones etc you are seeing more and more footage but your chances of getting killed by one are pretty remote. That's why these guys could hoon around without a care in the world and not get caught, until now. They don't really explain in the video what route choices they made or whether they'd looked a the avalanche bulletin. They didn't seem very efficient once the accident happened so, without any other evidence, they seemed to be good skiers and film makers but not very backcountry aware.

Also having ABS seems to have made them overconfident without necessarily having thought about how they would use one in anger - people I know who have them take the velcro protection off when skiing avalanche prone slopes and one guy I know has attached a loop to the handle to make it much easier to actuate.

Remember at least 3 dead in France so far this season with airbags. Having an airbag and then doing really stupid stuff is not decreasing your risk of dying, quite the opposite.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Think it shows the influence of the technology on the risk. Really they're just jamming into the slope together to get a good video. Doubt in the old days they'd have done that.
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Great skiing skills but crap avi awareness and unless the video is showing them in a worse light than reality there seems to be an appalling lack of post incident drills.

For a group of people who clearly do this stuff all the time what to do after an incident should be second nature. Maybe if they get away with this cavalier behaviour all the time they believe it won't happen to them
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
dsoutar wrote:
Great skiing skills but crap avi awareness and unless the video is showing them in a worse light than reality there seems to be an appalling lack of post incident drills.

For a group of people who clearly do this stuff all the time what to do after an incident should be second nature. Maybe if they get away with this cavalier behaviour all the time they believe it won't happen to them

Huh?
The woman was clearly a long way below and must have ran back up arriving pretty calm having done so.
The third member was obviously digging himself out from a partial burial.
They called others to establish whether or not they could see the buried skier.
Judging by the depth of burial I would guess the victim was found using the transceiver
They found him alive.
I would not call that appalling from any armchair. Sure they could have been more collected, coordinated and concise but given the circumstances were pretty much on it post avi.
Decisions made prior to the rip were wrong, over familiarity and pow fever hazing all others.
As for 8611 comment about the old days Puzzled
people might have waited a few days after a storm but then there weren’t the numbers getting on it as now.
Only a very very very few would have the skill or mindset to air anything.
Clearly he has never skied a favourite run with friends on a blue bird
The sport of skiing has evolved.
Given the numbers getting off piste I’m always astonished at how few life’s are lost
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
there's a part of me that thinks some of this is contrived in some way. Is this some sort of clickbait ? The closing line "subscribe guys" makes me question what we actually get to see in the edit. Yes the avalanche certainly appears to be real, but was it perhaps triggerred intentionally ? Was there a larger crew in reserve (including Pisteurs) for the rescue ?

The skier caught in the avi is Mikael Bimboes, 3rd place overall in this years FWT, not just some rando powder hound. Yes, experts get caught out by heuristics and yes there seemed to be a lot of heuristic traps in play, but I'm not convinced that all is as it appears.

IMO this edit (and Bimboes brand cachet) would be better used to highlight the risks for aspiring off piste skiers rather than being cast as a "prank".
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@ZombieSi, I think you over-estimate the resources these guys have. Freeriding is a tiny sport with little money in it. Last summer Bimboes was pretty desperately looking for sponsors (besides Down) to fund this season on the FWT - it's only in the last few weeks that he's really started to build his 'name,' at least outside of his local area.

By all accounts he's a great guy, and basically just a bit of a geek who loves to ski. Absolutely 0 chance that avalanche was deliberately triggered or staged. I think it was last winter btw too, or perhaps early this season. Not the last few weeks anyway.
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clarky999 wrote:
@ZombieSi, I think you over-estimate the resources these guys have. Freeriding is a tiny sport with little money in it. Last summer Bimboes was pretty desperately looking for sponsors (besides Down) to fund this season on the FWT - it's only in the last few weeks that he's really started to build his 'name,' at least outside of his local area.

By all accounts he's a great guy, and basically just a bit of a geek who loves to ski. Absolutely 0 chance that avalanche was deliberately triggered or staged. I think it was last winter btw too, or perhaps early this season. Not the last few weeks anyway.


I'm still sceptical about this, but hey that's just me. I do agree with you about the available financial resources for some of these incredible free riders. I've seen a few Bimboes interviews and yes he certainly comes across as a great guy. I think this post (copied from TGR) from the founder of Down sums up Bimboes humility -

" The backstory I will save for later on how I met Micka....but Bimboes rides a stock pair that I gave him from my house after a beer. I asked him if he wanted an extra pair and he told me “no I am good, if I break it you can send me another pair but I can only ski one pair so I don’t need them” The Peak 18s he is riding I bought from Spyderjon on close out and gave to him last year. “They are really good....I ride them at 12” His poles are his dads from decades ago. “Me: You need a pole sponsor. Micka: You don’t like them?”

So without a cliche or some BS I am just excited for Micka and our little ski company called DOWN. " Source - https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/317562-Freeride-World-Tour-2018?p=5310593#post5310593

On a different note - it's nice to see that certain snowheads (spyderjon and bobinch) also had a role in this years FWT Cool
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Super Steezy wrote:
dsoutar wrote:
Great skiing skills but crap avi awareness and unless the video is showing them in a worse light than reality there seems to be an appalling lack of post incident drills.

For a group of people who clearly do this stuff all the time what to do after an incident should be second nature. Maybe if they get away with this cavalier behaviour all the time they believe it won't happen to them


As for 8611 comment about the old days Puzzled
people might have waited a few days after a storm but then there weren’t the numbers getting on it as now.
Only a very very very few would have the skill or mindset to air anything.
Clearly he has never skied a favourite run with friends on a blue bird
The sport of skiing has evolved.
Given the numbers getting off piste I’m always astonished at how few life’s are lost


I meant that I thought they were skiing so close together so as to get a good video. In a pre go pro era you would expect people to be more likely to indulge the safety proposition of skiing down in single file. But that doesn't make for good footage.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
If it wasn't fake in some way, why do they claim it's fake? Why were his parents there at the end Puzzled

Weird video...
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Surface2Air wrote:
If it wasn't fake in some way, why do they claim it's fake? Why were his parents there at the end Puzzled

Weird video...


because Prank videos are popular on youtube, they thought they'd ride the fashion wave in some way.

It is an odd video, would someone on the FWT really not know about straps? Or were they trying to make an educational video interesting?
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