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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, March 29-31, 2017 B-7 The Park Record Slide puts spotlight on backcountry risks ERIN ALBERTY The Salt Lake Tribune SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jake Thelen had inched his snowboard down a ridge to follow his friend into the powder of the Birthday Chutes in Little Cottonwood Canyon when the snow around him started to move. Thelen yelled to Sam Kapacinskas as the surface cracked and opened at his feet. He clung to a small shrub on a ridge west of Red Top Mountain as the slope morphed into a river of snow, twice as wide as a 12-lane freeway, rushing into the area Kapacinskas had just entered. The cliffy slope was scraped bare to the ground, some rock, ice and dead grass the only leftovers of an avalanche that ripped down two chutes and over the ridgeline between them. Thelen called 911 to report that Kapacinskas was buried in a slide he could not imagine anyone surviving. He was wrong. More than 1,000 feet below, the torrent of ice and snow that had consumed Kapacinskas churned him out again. Utah’s snow experts have described the Dec. 19 avalanche as one of the most astonishing they’ve ever seen — first, because no one was killed or even injured. But its path and structure also provide a grim example of the scariest kind of avalanche out there: the kind that happens even when conditions seem safe. Known as a deep-slab avalanche, the slide lets a sturdy, thick layer of snow accumulate over a single weak layer, possibly for weeks or months, and waits for someone in the backcountry to happen upon the perfect spot on the slope to collapse it. “It’s probably a one-in-10,000 event that he found that spot to trigger the avalanche,” Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Drew Hardesty said. ‘It’ll be beautiful’ For Thelen and Kapacinskas, the trap was set in November. The earliest snows of the season highlight the topography of the Wasatch, melting into the ground south of the ridgelines, but lingering high on the shaded north faces. There, Hardesty said, it can change from “the snowflakes we all know and love” to something more sinister. When a thin sheet of snow rests between the warm ground and the cold night air, the water vapor moves quickly through the snowflakes, “turning them into something like rock salt, and it has all the cohesion and strength of a house of cards,” Hardesty said. A layer of those crystals formed over the Birthday Chutes in mid-November, creating in that spot a fragile foundation before a series of storms covered the mountains with a seemingly ideal snowpack that invited recreationists up to play. On Dec. 19, Thelen and Kapacinskas took their split boards into the backcountry near Snowbird, where both of them work. The sky was blue and the snow fresh. The avalanche rating for the higher elevations was “moderate.” Kapacinskas recalled thinking: “Even if we don’t ski a lot today, we’ll go out, poke around, get above 11,000 feet, take some pictures — it’ll be beautiful.” The two men, both 29, reached the top of Birthday Chutes about 5 p.m., “behind schedule and ... kind of tired,” Thelen said. Throughout the day they had been speaking by radio and planning every stage of the journey. But at the chutes, they found themselves running out of daylight. They didn’t check their radios, and they didn’t discuss their route in detail — a norm in the wintry backcountry, where you never want more than one person at a time in a potential avalanche path. “We cut corners a little bit,” Thelen acknowledged. As Kapacinskas dropped in the chute, Thelen promised: “I’ll follow you.” Kapacinskas thought, “These are some of the best turns of my life.” He began to turn again when suddenly everything went black. Submerged in snow, he could feel himself moving, but he was too disoriented to try to swim to the top. “I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I was like, ‘Jake’s got five or 10 minutes to find me, (or) I’m going to suffocate. I’m probably going to die.”’ boarders gathered in Black Diamond’s Holladay showroom. Not many people die in predictable avalanches; if slides are tumbling down all over the mountains, as they do in heavy storms, staying off avalanche terrain is an easy choice. But the weather improves. The snowpack settles. Danger gradually subsides. Disaster is always possible, but at some point the scales tip in favor of adventure. The Birthday Chutes avalanche has become well known among Wasatch backcountry skiers, both as a reminder of the bargain they make with nature and as a template for discussions about risk. Hardesty said deep-slab avalanches have accounted for twothirds of the avalanche fatalities in Utah since 1940, mostly because they are so difficult to anticipate once the crumbly, crystalline layer is well-buried. “You can have these layers not be reactive to explosives, snowmobiles, or many skiers on the slope at one time,” Hardesty said, “and it’s only through certain conditions these dragons reawaken through a significant trigger.” Mark Staples, avalanche center director and lead investigator in the Birthday Chutes slide, suspected wind made the snow cover uneven and Kapacinskas turned on an unusually thin spot over the already-stressed bottom layer, causing it to buckle. Unlike avalanches that fall predictably downhill, deep-slab avalanches can propagate in all directions as the cracks spider across the slope — even jumping over a ridge in Birthday Chutes. Before the avalanche began, Thelen watched Kapacinskas veer left toward the seemingly protected ridge and positioned himself at the top of the chute, 600 feet above. As he inched forward, the slab pulled away from the top, as if in slow motion. Thelen leapt toward a shrub poking a foot or two out of the snow and held on while the slab below rocketed 1,100 feet down the mountain, about 80 miles per hour, on top of his friend. Hidden ‘dragons’ At an avalanche-safety workshop in January, Hardesty focused on the major peril of backcountry decision making: “High-consequence, low-probability events.” “We like things to fit into a nice predictable box, and I’m here to tell you: Snow is unpredictable,” he told about 100 skiers and snow- ‘I’m alive’ Kapacinskas lifted his face off the snow. For the first moment since the avalanche had sucked him into a torrent of frozen debris, he knew which way was up. He saw Columbine Bowl stretched out in front of him as he waited to be sucked back under the surface. When the powder cloud dissipated, Columbine Bowl reappeared. Kapacinskas realized the avalanche had stopped, placing him on top. His snowboard was still on his feet. His only losses were his goggles and his torn backpack. “I’m — I’m alive! Oh, my God ...” Kapacinskas said. “My next thought was, ‘Well, where’s Jake?’” His radio calls to Thelen went unanswered. Kapacinskas couldn’t see him on the ridge. He screamed Thelen’s name and searched desperately for a signal on his avalanche beacon. “It’s getting close to the time where if I don’t find him, he’s probably dead,” Kapacinskas said. He called 911. Over the next hour of calls with Salt Lake County emergency responders, Kapacinskas kept searching. He also was perplexed as to why they repeatedly called him “Jake.” No, no, he told them. Jake is the victim. About 1,000 feet above him, Thelen had grabbed his radio but found the battery frozen. Thelen phoned 911. Dispatchers told him not to leave the crown, and help would come soon. He agreed to wait. Below, in the debris pile, Kapacinskas had been scanning the slope for about an hour, when he received a cautious call from an officer. “Tell me again what your name is, and tell me again, who got caught?” Kapacinskas remembered the officer asking. A moment later, the officer called back and confirmed: Thelen was alive. “I remember sitting down on my pack and just being like, ‘Whooooooo!”’ Kapacinskas waited happily for his helicopter ride back to the valley. Thelen, however, remained alone on the ridge. No patrols had arrived. He called back and forth to dispatchers until his phone froze and the sun set. He was certain any chance to rescue Kapacinskas was gone. He rode west to Tri Chutes and then made his way to the road in White Pine Canyon. Rescue vehicles had swarmed the trailhead. Thelen asked if they had found his friend’s body. When the officer replied that Kapacinskas was alive and being picked up, Thelen asked again in disbelief. Relax Easy Buying or Selling a Home is Joel Fine • 435-901-2171 joel@FineProperty.com (www.justcalljoel.com) BERRETT MoRTgagE FULL SERVICE MoRTagE BRoKER SINCE 1986 A branch office of Welcomes Potter Clark to our teAm! 435-649-3497 XcelFinancialUtah.com 1670 Bonanza Drive #205 SOME OF THE PETS AT NUZZLES & CO. LOOKING FOR LOVE These animals are available to be seen at the Nuzzles & Co. Adoption Center and Rescue Ranch. Our Adoption Center is open Monday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is located in the Tanger Outlets in Kimball Junction. Our Rescue Ranch is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Sunday. The Rescue Ranch is located at 6466 N. 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This handsome gray tabby loves to roll around with toys and climb on the cat tree. He gets along well with other cats and could possibly share a home with a dog. Puck is just a big, fun-loving guy. WANTED: VOLUNTEERS These not-for-profit organizations are looking for volunteers. If you would like to include your group in this section, please email information to copyeditor@parkrecord.com. Please limit your entry to no more than 75 words. The Utah 1033 Foundation The Utah 1033 Foundation is a statewide nonprofit that provides immediate financial assistance to families of fallen Utah police officers. It also offers educational assistance for the dependents of active officers. The foundation is looking for dedicated volunteers interested in staffing various events throughout the year and/or working with its fundraising team. Interested? Send an email to info@utah1033.org. Youth Enrichment Services YES, Youth Enrichment Services, is a nonprofit of professionals who specialize in local small-business enrichment programs and services for children in the Park City community. The mission of YES is to provide parents with free information and resources, while supporting local businesses. Check out Yespc.org. YES needs volunteers to help with a variety of projects. YES is flexible and would appreciate any time volunteers can offer. The group is also looking for a high school/college intern to help with upcoming growth plans and events. Please contact Rebecca Tibbits at 718916-7136 or rebecca@yespc.org. For a full list of volunteer opportunities, visit parkrecord.com/volunteers. Confidence to close! 435.659.4407 dmichellehuggins@hotmail.com Stay Informed! Get local news every Wednesday & Saturday. Call 435.649.9014 to subscribe today! |