Be Prepared for Anything in the Backcountry

Posted on 11 December 2009

Steve

Here’s a guest blog from Don Carpenter, one of the owners, guides and instructors of the American Avalanche Institute. He recently presented at the Yostmark Avalanche night in Driggs, Idaho, on December 1. I asked him to please share his experience for our blog. More info on Don and AAI at the end of the post, here’s Don:

The day was unfolding like so many before. A foot of fresh snow in the last 24 hours made for excellent skiing. It was snowing hard with moderate visibility. We had skied two runs and a third sounded good.

The shot in mind was similar to the last two. But what looked like a well-filled-in slope was actually new snow over an old slide that had run to the ground. As I made a ski cut across the upper slope the bare rock stopped me dead. I was launched headfirst and landed hard upon more rocks downslope. After an initial assessment from my partner, we determined that my back was OK. The pain in my leg was below boot level and I was able to ski out on my own. We covered a mile and descended 1800′. The broken fibula now has a plate and 6 screws holding it together. I will heal up and be just fine.

Here are the lessons I learned from this accident.
1. Things change quickly out there.
It is amazing how things can go from an ordinary day to “we have a problem” in the blink of an eye. I am lucky that my injury was relatively minor. My back was OK and I did not break my tibia. If I was unable to ski out on my own, things would have gotten serious in a hurry. Storm conditions and less than two hours of daylight might have meant a forced winter bivy.

2. Choose your partners wisely.
My injury was caused by a ski wreck, but trauma is also common in avalanche burials. The bottom line: when things go bad, you need to trust your partners. If you are ever buried in an avalanche, your fate is in your partner’s hands.

When I broke my leg, I yelled to my partner, John Fitzgerald, that I was hurt, but I did not know how badly.
Once John determined the scene was safe he said, “stay put, I want to come down and assess your injuries before you move.”
That is what you want to hear from your partner in a bad situation.
Get avalanche training. Get first aid training. Know how to apply that training.

3. What will you carry in your pack to deal with trauma in a winter environment?
The likelihood of a traumatic injury on a backcountry ski day is low. But the consequences of a winter bivy with a patient going into shock are quite high. In dealing with trauma in this setting a 1st aid kit may help, but emergency gear to prevent hypothermia will make the difference.

I have always carried a repair kit, bivy sack, 1st aid kit, fire starter, cell phone, thermos, and warm clothes in my pack.
I don’t know what is “enough” in terms of rescue gear for a winter tour. For me it is unreasonable to carry a stove, shelter, and sleeping bag on every trip. Light and fast is nice until you have some sort of accident. So, I think it is important for us to ponder the question, “What will I do when my injured partner is going into shock, and a cold winter night is approaching?”

It’s a question I’m thinking about as this winter get going.

About Don Carpenter:
DON CARPENTER has eleven years of experience guiding and teaching in the outdoors. Don works for Alpine Ascents on Denali, Mt. Rainier, and in the Cascades. He is also a Senior Instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School with 170 field weeks in the mountaineering and winter programs. Don has worked 20 NOLS winter ski expeditions in the mountains of Wyoming and Idaho. His expeditions have taken him to Alaska, the Washington Cascades, Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, and India. Skiing and avalanche forecasting are a passion for Don. He is a co-owner of the American Avalanche Institute in Jackson, WY. His winters are busy teaching avalanche courses for the Institute and skiing. He loves skiing in his local mountains with numerous ski descents and tours in the Tetons.

Check out AAI at this link: http://www.americanavalancheinstitute.com/aai/Home.html