Backcountry ski deaths mount

Associated Press

   ASPEN- Skier fatalities in the backcountry now exceed deaths within the bounds of ski resorts, according to a new state health study.

   Nine deaths during the 1999-2000 winter has brought Colorado's avalanche death toll to 92 over the past 15 years as technology has opened the backcountry to more people.

   In comparison, six people died of head injuries at ski resorts last year, down by 12 from the year before. Two people have died at ski resorts so far this year.

   The winter's first backcountry death came on Friday when a 40-year-old snowboarder who had snowshoed to the top of a peak was hit by an avalanche as he prepared to descend.

   Frequent, weak snowstorms and persistent cold have been creating unstable backcountry snowpacks this winter. State avalanche monitors rate the conditions as the most dangerous in four years.

   Over the past 15 years, Colorado's mountains have drawn more and more people, mostly from cities, who do not have a lot of backcountry experience. About 20,000 people used the 10th Mountain Division huts near Aspen last year and some 30,000 registered snowmobiles across the state.

   Many of these newcomers rely on sport utility vehicles and snowmobiles to reach remote areas and use gadgets they believe will help keep them safe.

   Packs designed to help buried skiers survive longer by exhaling carbon dioxide away through a filter have been developed along with digital beacons that send out signals to help searchers more quickly find buried people.

   Some backcountry skiers tuck cellular telephones into their backpacks in case of an emergency.

   Scott Messina, a caretaker of the 10th Mountain Division huts, used by the Army's ski unit for training during World War II, thinks people's reliance on gadgets has given them a false sense of security.

   "They think this stuff is going to save their life," said Messina, who has retrieved the bodies of eight avalanche victims as a member of the Aspen Search and Rescue team.

   He believes a beacon is mostly a tool for finding dead bodies and said helicopters that might be dispatched in emergencies usually require at least 45 minutes to reach the scene of an avalanche.

   Messina favors a low-tech approach, carrying only a 25-pound pack of essentials such as a stove, bivy sack and thermos of hot tea.

   Without regret, Messina said there will never be absolute safety in the backcountry. According to him, people can only rely on their own judgment.   

 

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