We were a group of 4 skiers taking a freeride route in Davos Parsenn (from Weissfluhjoch), this route is prepared and inspected by the resort for off-piste riders. When going through one of the steeper faces, a slab avalanche broke and took one of the skiers down. See full video and analysis of what happened and what we did. Feel free to comment on what was we did wrong or right.
As you mentioned, a few mistakes were made: - it was apparent that much snow had been deposited near the ridge (just the day prior, you wrote). You could have easily walked along the ridge and tried to set off a slab to test the face, but took a more risky approach by dropping in directly with no clear island of safety ahead. - skier number 1 stopped smack in the middle of a run out zone. The risk could have been mitigated by stopping either to the left or to the right, in a more elevated position farther from the fall line. - skier number 3 seemed to be following you a little too closely. Had you considered more objectively the risk involved with this run, you would have likely proceeded one by one from island of safety to island of safety. - digging work was a bit sloppy. True, this was a lucky scenario with no hurry, but you should always dig into the slope and towards the person rather than straight down: it is a lot more efficient and you don't risk standing on them inadvertently (it happens). Shovels out and gloves on, you don't wanna waste time and you don't wanna get wet. Other than this, props to you for being humble and posting so others can learn. Did you receive any feedback from SAR? I hope your next days out will be calmer, cheers.
Thanks for detailed analysis, spot on! Fully agree, all skier are living in Alps here in Swiss Alps and ski these lines many times each season, which overtime makes you think that more is possible with less precaution (when we are talking about level 3 of course). No, no one contacted us so far. Davos ski school wanted to get a video, but I don’t know how to reach out to them...
@@GoToAlps I know, it's very easy to become complacent when you have skied the run dozens of times and you know the place. Luckily everything went well and you were also very well equipped.
hanno Fatto tutti gli sbagli che si possono Fare hanno avuto solo tanta Fortuna io ho fatto solo un po piu di 1000 Ski Alpinistiche 25 anni Freeride con lo Snowboard e scalato 700 Cascate die Ghiaccio se faccevo come Questi ero Morto gia dopo il Primo Inverno
Luca is spot on, definitely easy get complacent out there when the psych is high. Not a good place to get tired and stuck in the backseat but these things happen. Good video for keeping people on their toes.
Cutting too - all 4 skiers taking a long cross line. Thanks for posting, a lot learned from just watching, and a reminder about complacency of familiar lines.
KZhead: You like avalanches now. Yes you do.
I mean I don't hate avalanches but...
Hahahahaha
SOS send rescue
I'm hooked now
True
damnit I'm in the skiing accident algorithm now 🤦♂️
Same
Me too lol
same me , i need help
same I like it too much ):
SAME
the thickness of avalanche snow is terrifying
As someone who knows nothing about backcountry skiing, it looked so light and fluffy until they started digging her out.
@@coleslaw3422 yea it kinda looked like water
@@coleslaw3422 i thoguth skiier 2 was fine but she literally couldnt move im like damn
@@coleslaw3422 When it stops moving it kinda all freezes back together and is essentially cement.
Seriously, I live in a country with no snow, but even seeing that you can see how heavy and dense that snow was. Looked like essentially a huge mound of soft sandstone.
Thank you for putting this video out to the world as a great educational tool. Impressive to see how the other skier became immobilized with a seemingly low amount of snow on top.
the ABS airbag was a LIFE SAVER!!
@@Viso2K Without the ABS you get buried and when it stops its like concrete. you cannot move an inch. you dont know which way is up or down. If your buddies loose sight of you or get stuck too you will die a horrible panicked slow death. The one I had was only $380 and also had a radio location beacon that would beep and send out a signal that could be tracked. In the realm of ski equipment this is rather inexpensive. I dont ski the back country anymore.. When I lived in Logan Utah we would get rides up on snow machines and then walk to the back side of a peak.
@@scottcol23 personally, i would pay more money to have a better chance at living another day
@@typicalkhaios2475 yeah I will stick with the groomers
The best money she ever paid, was for that airbag. Life-saver....
Yes, but in this case her friend would had probably still found her because he had seen where she was going and he could hear her voice.
Anyways what that airbag actually do? It hold her on the top of the snow so didnt let her dive too deep?
@@UnderTheGamer the bag is what kept her over the snow, if she didnt have that bag maybe she would have ben overrun
@@UnderTheGamer no because she would probably went under the snow
@@broducer4476 this is called reverse segregation. ABS balloons increase your volume so you float to the top or swim closer to the top. A simple experiment: pour sand into the jar with the balls and shake everything up. Balls will float on top.
This is probably the best edited break down of an avalanche I have ever seen. Very well done; I really appreciated your thought processes through the incident. Well done!
Yes 100% wonderful editing and pacing I definitely would've just uploaded the POV
This happened in my country
Well sry no Not at all,. Little to no information has been givin about errors and all. Wanna learn? Go watch real workshops or sth.
As a ski patroller I appreciate how you kept a cool head, had appropriate equipment for the risk you guys took and above all didn't lock up from adrenaline. Good on you!
Wouldn't you appreciate more if those guys would have used their brains and had not taken that unnecessary risk?
@@alexv1982true but you can’t learn without making mistakes
Luckily u had those backpack thingys it’s so scary how such a small avalanche can do so much damage imaging doing that alone and with no backpack
That would be nothing else than stupid.
This is a a really excellent analysis. A simple rule to remember is that if you're skiing across an open slope when the snow is hard and sounds hollow then stop and dig a snow pit. The sound and hard-packed nature of the snow alone can be a strong warning sign. It's OK to ski on hard snow but not if the pit reveals that it is sitting on very soft or icy layer...
lol i had to laugh so hard when he used the golden shovel, like in the other video the guy uses the diamond one... these minecraft guys...
Minecraft guys LOL
Good video, appreciate the play-by-play explanations along with the mistakes that were made. Amazing how, without that ABS pack and one ski sticking out of the snow, she might have died, even in a relatively small avalanche. Very educational.
There are plenty of positives, number one being you were all okay. Really impressed at how you conducted yourselves; presence of mind regards whether to pull abs, taking a slightly curving line out of the moving snow, keeping a watch of where your group were, swift decision making in the immediate aftermath. Yes there are learning points of which you seem very aware. I personally might have considered the gradient of the slope, amount and type of snow (sounded quite heavy and you mentioned wind leaded), the level 3 risk and skied a different line. The end result could have been the same. Great educational video for us off piste skiers/boarders. Any day one finishes knowing there is tomorrow is a good day.
Impressive how calm you stayed and were able to make good decisions. I am glad you and your friends got out safely!
I'm born and raised in this canton (area) and never had done this kind of skiing. I wouldn't suggested it to people. You guys were well prepared with the abs and had such luck with this. Stay safe and greetings from switzerland.
The major issue here is that skier 3 and 4 were not waiting until skier 2 stopped at a safe place. Several skiers putting pressure at the same time triggered the avalanche. I bet the temperatures had been slightly higher that day.
Thanks for posting, the more high quality videos we get the better people understand the risks
You where lucky, but seems like you learnd from it. That is good! I also wanted to say that i respect you for putting this out there for others to learn. The way of thinking you describe in the video is most likely something everyone has done at some point, unfortanatly. Everybody makes mistakes, and therefor it is important that we learn from it. So creds to you for posting the video! We need more open talk about avalance safety and mistakes we make in the mountains.
This is a really great video! All the labeling and pauses make it very easy to see step-by-step what happened (although I am embarrassed to admit I didn't realize that Skier 2 was COMPLETELY buried). 😨 You guys were well-prepared & didn't panic (like I would have.) 😱
I have absolutely zero experience in skiing. But I got to say that was pretty impressive the way he stayed calm and cool. The way you were assessing things as they were happening. I never seen an avalanche, and I don't know if that's typical. I'd imagine sometimes they're worse and sometimes they're not. I wouldn't even have known what happened until it was over. Props for keeping track of the other skiers and going straight towards the one in trouble. He always skiing I've ever done was on the Intellivision back in the 80s. Cheers.
Wow! As a non-skier, this was a most EXCELLENT video of several thoughts: 1) what serious skiing ⛷ is like, and it’s actual view from the skiers perspective 2) the “mathematics”, if you will, of determining your path, and safety, options or methods 3) the absolute necessity of knowing what to do in case of a avalanche, safety equipment, & options for yourself and others 4) how to help a buried fellow skier 5) the pristine, and magnificent, views that explain your love of this amazing, yet possibly dangerous, sport Thank you kindly! I enjoyed, and learned, so much.........from the safety of my couch...........I know, I’m such a wuss.
As someone who has been caught in avalanches myself one thing I learned long ago is never cut hard across the fall line like what was done. Even if you think its solid you really increase the chances of breaking off a slab. So glad you all made it out alive and thank you for posting this so others can learn from this experience.
in avalancheS ? Why so many, do you work in that field?
This video has probably had the biggest impact really because that avalanche looked so small and unterrifying. Yet that skier who was caught in it was absolutely wedged in and immobile once it stopped, even with the airbag. Thank you for posting this.
people have died from smaller ones
Wow never seen one of these before, thank you for posting! I've never heard of this backpack either. When I first saw her go down I thought it was only a little snow and she looks fine, was surprised to see her so immobile and buried! That's crazy avalanches are scarier than u thought. I'm glad you are all safe, you taught me something today thank you for posting
without the Backpack she would have been buried and unable to move. its crazy
Had a family friend die in an avalanche. He was so young, a member of the US ski team. So crazy seeing these things.
You’re doing the community a great service putting this video out! It’d be hard to have your decision making and mistakes be put up for frame by frame analysis by internet critics but it’s awesome and important you did. and all the comments I’ve seen so far have been positive. The different camera angles of the same avalanche are unique and very valuable. Might be good to put up all the different angles stitched together sequentially. That might make it easier for people understand different perspectives on the same event and instructors to show and pause the video easier. Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing your insights - and I really mean insights. It's rare to get such a detailed visual impression on what and how avalanche accidents happen. Also kudos for adding the additional info like danger level and wind situation the days before. Also it's great you share your thought process, cause that's how one can learn about these situations. It is clear that non of the indicators listed at 0:18 can be used as a thorough decision bases for stop or go. As other comments noted, not only the decision to stop or go is relevant, also a clear plan on how to "go", meaning keeping more distance and looking for safe to reach first before the next drops in. But once you were confronted with the situation you reacted calmly and collected and took many right decisions. Btw. the Austrian Alpine Association (Österreichischer Alpenverein) did it's yearly avalanche update just recently. It's a very good presentation - however in German obviously. ... kzhead.info/sun/lLyvhKefgKtqhaM/bejne.html
Incredible footage. It's worth a million words about wind replaced snow areas safety distances. Placing in the area and for most gear. Thank you for posting this even tough you are probably not proud of it :-) I will use it for teaching id you give me the permission
Thank you for sharing this video with the world as an excellent educational resource. It's remarkable to observe how the other skier got trapped under what seemed like a small amount of snow
So how do you do this safely? 1) strong winds day before? Consider waiting one Day. Unsure about how check snow stability? Go with a guide. 2 Always go in a group. Best skier go first. Best searcher go last. 3) go one by one when you are unsure about snow stability. Use radio for coms. 4)Go from safe spot to safe spot. Never stop in the middle. 5) Check how much snow there is above the culoir for potential hazard. In this case you focused on your line only. You never checked to the right at the entry of the couloir. From down below you can see clear ly that there is alot of snow above the couloir. 6) Always go in a straight line in the couloir. Never ever traverse steep snowfields like you do. 7) enjoy the pow!
Point 6 above -" Never traverse steep snowfields" also know as cutting the slope is probably the most important rule when skiing slope with an avalanche danger that seems to be mostly ignored. In this case the first two skiers cut the slope and the avalanche started at the cuts. The danger was further increased when both skiers didn't ski straight down the fall line. If you don't have the ability to ski the fall line you shouldn't be on the slope. Although it's hard to tell for sure, it appears that no one took off their ski pole straps. NEVER ski a possible avalanche slope with ski pole straps on. In an avalanche the ski poles prevent you from getting your hands to your face and then pin your arms when the slide stops and compresses. If you have your hands at your face when the avalanche stops you have a chance making an air pocket that will allow you to breathe a lot longer.
On point 6) for the basic skier, though I do some winter backcountry travel via snowshoe. So, the problem was taking a wide path across the couloir rather than managing speed via much tighter carving, say less than 25% of the couloir width? As I understand it, a skier is tempting fate by cutting a slice across the entire width of the couloir, hence getting a chunk as wide as the snowfield started and hence avalanche?
Thank you. Greatly educational, a reminder of the risks and of the importance of having the right equipment. Some very informative comments too.
Thank you for this quality illustrated story.
@GoToAlps This slope is directed east "Osthang". What was the wind direction the day before? How much new snow was falling the day before? At what time of the day did the accident happen? Has this particular run been skied by other skiers before on the same day, i.e. in the morning?
thanks a lot for sharing your experience so others and me can learn from it!
First of all they should learn not to leave the official slopes.
Apparently someone got caught in an avalanche yesterday in klosters and lost their life, he was a dad with a kid and wife. Be grateful for what you’ve got and make sure you treat your family well and with love because you never know what’s gonna happen. Ski safe with an airbag and a beeper whenever you go off piste.
Yes, I’ve seen it on the news. It’s extremely sad. Conditions were very dangerous (level 4 out of 5). It was different face (so called off piste valley run to Klosters). It’s a face with very high consequences and terrain traps and should be avoided at level 4.
a friend of mine died three days ago near verbier. tragically sad and i cant comprehend.
@@headfullofmusic422 xD every minute a child in africa die too
@@paugasolina5048 i don't know that child, that's why less people actually care
@@paugasolina5048 Someone dies every minute of the day somewhere in the world. That doesn't make any death less tragic.
Respect for displaying this so others can learn. A slab test at top before first rider could have possibly shown danger. Luckily it was not deep. May others learn from this. Kudos again for letting them see and annotating it to show where things worked and where things could have been done better. Being prepared was a smart decision and all others need to know this could have turned out very ugly for rider #3 if not prepped with avi-floats (local dialect in Canada)
wow, i have been skiing down this line at Weissfluhjoch so many times, and this has never happened, luckily.
What did you mean by "I started to struggle with the snow"? A little sun/wind crusty?
I heard about these backpacks becoming a thing a long time ago, and now to see them actually work is kind of awesome.
Never ever ski of Piste without a backpack airbag and beacon!!! Life safer
as an alpine rescuer, you did a pretty good job. You were well equipped for freeride, good thing you had a perfect weather.
Pretty good? So what did he do wrong to only be pretty good rather than good? Just curious.
the situation was avoidable in the first place. Thats the fault .@@pauldavis5665
Thank you for the video. Important for who loves skiing.
They wrote Weissfluhjoch in the beginning, but what they showed is the summit, Weissflugipfel. The Joch is the middle station, where the little train ends. Anyways, the good thing on the northern side of the Weissfluhgipfel where they skied is that a black piste is directly next to it on one side and a cable car is directly next to it on the other side, there is another smaller escalator and piste at the bottom and the off-piste section where they skied is very short until it meets the piste again, there are no trees, just lots of rocks, so people will at least spot you immediately if you fall or anything happens, it is not hidden or remote territory. But it is a bit steep in places and I'm glad she was ok. A friend of mine ruined his new board in the first run down the backside of this exact peak once, because sometimes the rocks are barely covered in snow. The "normal" piste starting on the backside of the Weissfluhgipfel and going all the way down to Klosters is the longest run (12 km) of the entire area btw, and it is very nice!
Awesome educational video! Thanks for putting it out there!
Awesome video! Well edited. I give it three thumbs up.
Those airbags are amazing. The inventor deserves a Nobel peace prize 👌🏻
I know that area well, I used to work in Davos, you really captured the avalanche like a river of molten lava that then sets hard like rock!
I would have pulled as soon as the snow began to move around me. You never know if you won't get taken down by surprise and no longer have the chance.
What a great video! Thank you so much for uploading! Considering how often people get caught in avalanches, it is surprising, how little I/we see of it on KZhead. Even without any editing skills or software, you can see from Lucas commentary for example, other people are willing to teach and share teir knowledge. Thanks for not hesitating to upload this and help me and other people not to make these mistakes.
Glad you are all ok and thank god for the ABS, I’m trying to buy one now for backcountry.
Scary. So glad everyone was OK. Was it off the Joch or the Gipfel? I've skied that area for about 20 years but haven't seen that route, could you describe where it is? Where does it come out please?
this is so crazy! but thanks for sharing, I get an idea of how it could be! so happy for all of you that you are safe!!!
Just watched while doing my AST 1 Course in Canada, the snow moved so quick here!
Lesson learned is always ski one at a time. The guy above always triggers it and focks it up for the dudes below.
Wow!! I’ve never heard of the ABS backpack but what a life saver!
Great video Thanks for posting
Hammer Doku! Ich gehe auch gern zum Variantenfahren und Skitouren und kenne den Spot. So, wie der Schnee ist, hätte ich mir wahrscheinlich auch nichts gedacht. Wenns Powder hat, ists halt häufig auch etwas risky. Man sieht, wie sinnvoll der ABS ist, den ich auch immer dabei habe. Bemerkenswert, dass man trotzdem offensichtlich alleine kaum raus kommt. Eindrucksvoll auch, dass die vorhandenen Spuren eine Sicherheit vorgaukeln, die nicht vorhanden ist. Bei diesem Spot hätte ich argumentiert, man kann eine Gefahrenstufe von der Lawinenstufe abziehen, da der Hang regelmäßig und viel eingefahren wird. Somit ein Zweier und damit verhältnismäßig safe. Wegbrechende Schollen sieht man auch keine, also offensichtlich kein Warnsignal (ich bin mal bei einem Einser in ein kleineres Schneebrett gekommen, da gab es aber Warnzeichen, die ich ignoriert hatte wegen Einser). Einzig der Wind am Vortag als Warnsignal. Viel Spaß weiterhin!
Man. Even with the backpack, it's still pretty sketchy. Thanks for posting. This was helpful.
great video, thanks for sharing your experience.
How is this bag working? Also providing oxygen/air?
Good breakdown video! Almost gotcha. Not too big but certainly would have been surprising for the 3rd one who triggered it.
i'm pretty sure it was skier 4 that triggered the avalanche. look carefully!
Really learnt a lot from this. Do you think the avalanche bag helped a lot for the skier caught in the slide?
Question about those "airbags" that she deployed. Do you think in that particular case - if she wouldn't have deployed that system what would have happened? Did it really help in that situation? Theoretical question for me. I don't ski in that conditions. Just curious. Thanks.
I’ve heard it’s hard pack after but wow. Deaths grip
That one comment on titok brought you here.
Just imagine dying in an avalanche and the last video of you is filmed vertically. Stuff of nightmares right there. Ihr sind würklich nid die helste chöpfli ^^
As a former instructor. You've touched on most points, the fact you kept a cool head. Had all the right equipment definitely helped you all in this instance. What I would say looking at yourself and the skier in front. Your pole placements are way too far back which is what caused you to keep sitting back, your buddy (no.1) was rotating their upper body to initiate their turn which just cuts off all your momentum and doesnt use the ski or the body well enough. Try and make your turns bigger, skiing on variable snow you can always try and ski it like you would carve but with a slightly closer ski stance. Then try to place your pole further forward and further down the mountain, that will help distribute your weight better and keep you forward more.
what I think is most interesting to learn here is that the slope is not really steep and the ground seems so solid. Also the snow is so packet when you free her in the end without a good shovel you are lost
The snow actually looks extremely wind affected, which is a prime avalanche danger sign. Agree about not being steep though.
Appreciate the honest self-assessment. It's very much like a pilot would do.
Thanks for sharing.
It's sad today 1 Person died in a avalanche accident in Davos Klosters
Crazy, I've done this slope countless in my life (it's called Steinbock), every winter a 4-5x, also when it was hazard level 3 (but it was never closed). Never thought that on this slope could occur such terrifying avalanches...
How long did the total dig out take? From arrival at the site to skier shaking it off?
Thanks for sharing! Glad everyone was OK and I am loving all the toxic comments here, lol! :)
Best ABS ad i've ever seen
A classic run you should make a video about Gotchna Wang and Drossduble would be sick to watch.
So knowing it’s windy and still go up there?
Thanks for sharing!!!!
How many degrees was that slope?
30-35° depends on the part of the face
Incredible video!
This scares me a bit. Last year, I went down there alone (!), using the same trail, Steinbock (yellow route), and without any safety gear. I thought it was quite safe to do so, considering that the mountain company stated it's open (and safe, I thought). I do believe the snow was less heavy and I remember it to be quite cold as well. Feeling a little bit irresponsible now...
Hey! Is there any way I could possibly contact you (like through email)? I would like to discuss getting permission to use this video in a video production if this is possible. Thanks!
Damn thanks for sharing
I'm not a skier so please explain. What does a ABS backpack actually do? Is it there like our Motorbike airbag-jackets solely to protect you and make sure you are seen, or do they have extra features I've not heard about? I can see why in that snow though it definitely helped you see her straight away.
avalanche snow is like a liquid. with enough air you can float on top of it.
Those rapidly inflating things are pretty damn effective. Cool video op.
Wow…could’ve been so much worse. I’m curious…do the ABS packs not reset in some way? Are they single-use, or were you just being conservative with the pull?
1 rule in backcountry. Steep Hills = ski like deamon
Skier one and two cut the snowpack at the top by cutting across is instead of just going down right next to where people had already gone. Then skier three overloaded the pack by approaching while skier two was still on it also making the cut across deeper. We have so many open bowls to ski here in Verbier and it works ok if every skier just rides down next to the previous skier's line. This way the pack is being gradually compressed from one side to the other. Then there are those who think nothing of it and cut way across the untouched snow and cut the whole pack loose. Respecting the conditions and executing a proper approach are key to safe skiing.
damn that snow set up immediately! like quick drying cement. you don't want that on top of you, those balloon backpacks are a miracle.
And this is how my recommended slowly started to turn into avalanches
Hey, I am often in Davos, part of the family is living there and we have a house there. Usually for biking (your vid on Jacobshorn ridge is riggen quite well :) ) but in Winter from time to time for skiing. WHat I don‘t understand is your „thought process“. I mean, in each and every avalanche training they tell you that other skiers tracks don’t tell you anything. You need to evaluate the conditions, the face steepness, snow conditions (in this case the snow seems to be quite compressed) and the face location etc. This was a relatively small avalanche but boy, there are so many rocks around that I would be actually more scared to hit than anything else… But good reaction though! ;)
Very happy to see you guys came prepared!
Im curious, is snow not as packed making more oxygen easier to breath? cause i think if i was caught in something like this i wouldnt be able to hold my breath for maybe 30 seconds.
I learned about those inflatable backpacks last year, ingenious. Glad so many people are wearing them.
Hello everyone When looking at and studying the steepest part of the slope, i.e. in this case the slope entrance, you should never, ever drive into this slope. You can see that the snow has been transported by the wind and is bound. With avalanche level 3, such steep entrances should not be driven on in these conditions. With alpine greetings Raphael Wellig
Why do that ”cut” of the entire face that they did on the top? Keep to your line. Same thing when right before he enters the avalanche area. So easy to make mistakes. Great video. LOT to Learn from this.
The cameraman never die
This route starts at Weissfluhgipfel (not Joch) and is called Steinbock
Excellent that you share this video! Very helpful.
I would have pulled my ABS before I started!!!
in the car in the parking lot.
Wow, them ABS bags do a good job. like a life jacket for the snow.
wow i wouldve never thought that this hard packed snow would go off liek that
Its wind packed. Wind is very bad for the snow. That was a prime example.
It’s because it was soft underneath. That’s why his skis were breaking through and he was leaning back.