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Mammoth Avalanche - Official Press Report and LOTs of pics

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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
The avalance happened a little less than an hour after the gondola opened. The only way to know it was going to happend would have been a 7+ foot pit dug on the slope, which is unreasonable. The latest storm only dropped about a foot.

The crown, as you can see in the pics, is 6 feet tall. A very large avalanche can occur with only a 1-2 foot crown. (the crown is the depth that the snow started sliding at.)

Look at the people in the pics and how tall they are compared to the crown.

Last I heard, there were 3 people injured, none of which went to the hospital. No bodies were found when the avi was probed, and noone was reported missing.

THis is the official press release:

April 17, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

POST-CONTROL SLIDE ON MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA - At approximately 2pm on Monday, April 17, 2006, a post-control slide occurred at the top of Mammoth Mountain in the area of the expert run named Climax. As of 9pm, there have been no injuries or doctor visits related to this incident and there are currently no missing persons reported. Mammoth Mountain is cautiously optimistic that no one was caught in the slide and the search has been suspended for the night.

A storm dropped 11-12 inches of new snow on Mammoth Mountain overnight. Ski Patrol performed avalanche control in the area Monday morning as the storm cleared. They used explosives, including dynamite hand-charges, followed by a manual technique called ski cutting. The area was open for approximately 1 hour before the incident occurred.

Mammoth Mountain shut down the entire mountain so that all trained Ski Area personnel could respond. Nearly 300 volunteers, rescue personnel, and Mammoth Mountain staff were mobilized to perform a precautionary probe of the area. Mono County Sheriff’s Department, Mono County Search and Rescue, Mono County Paramedics, Mammoth Lakes Police Department, and Mammoth Lakes Fire Department also assisted on the scene. Witness reports vary, but three individuals were partially buried and quickly rescued with no injuries or doctor visits related to the incident reported.

The slide is described as a “soft slab slide” that extended 400-ft across and 650-ft long. Initial reports indicate the crown averaged 3 feet in height.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area will resume operations Tuesday.






and the pics:

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Apr 18 2006 1:24AM
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ry.will
Posts: 3225 - Karma: 47
wow.
Apr 18 2006 1:30AM
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iladelph
Posts: 17 - Karma: 10
damn
Apr 18 2006 1:38AM
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lenzner
Posts: 1590 - Karma: 80
Thats intense. Glad to hear no one is hurt.
Apr 18 2006 1:40AM
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BK
Posts: 2353 - Karma: 1,122
mammoth is so gnarly.
Apr 18 2006 1:42AM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
ya that shit is gnarly fuck that shit
Apr 18 2006 2:06AM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 149
woah that shit is psycho...looks like they handled the whole situation very well though..
Apr 18 2006 2:13AM
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japie99
Posts: 2128 - Karma: 19
Holy cow thats insane!! Very good reaction of the ski patrol!!
Apr 18 2006 4:15AM
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fredsters_s
Posts: 1659 - Karma: 16
not really
Apr 18 2006 4:36AM
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Ahmets_Brother
Posts: 20283 - Karma: 5,931
i guess its the price a mountain pays to have 670 inches of snow and a base of 20 feet in late april.....
Apr 18 2006 8:55AM
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R.Fahey
Posts: 8602 - Karma: 539
Are you kidding me? have you seen how much snow they have? That mountain has so much gnar. Just because all you really see from it is park, doesn't mean it's not gnarley. And the weather there is intense. The mountain itself is a freaking volcano.
Apr 18 2006 9:08AM
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sconnyFC
Posts: 2197 - Karma: 76
i have to agree, not that gnarly of a mtn. everything is like an intermediate run (with a very few exceptions) not much to that place, 'cept a killer park.
Apr 18 2006 1:24PM
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Static
Posts: 8484 - Karma: 4,033
i wonder if they gave people their money back.
Apr 18 2006 1:27PM
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lowtech
Posts: 1135 - Karma: 10
people only lost like an hour and a half of skiing, so all the bitches are asking for a refund now
Apr 18 2006 1:29PM
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*DrewT*
Posts: 7768 - Karma: 480
that slide looked huge! Right under the gondola to. That's crazy
Apr 18 2006 1:32PM
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Static
Posts: 8484 - Karma: 4,033
ahhhh, I read it happened anhour after the gondola opened which I assumed to be in the morning, then I read closer and it was at like 2 in the afternoon. If you call papa johns and get delevery and say you have a buy one get one free coupon you can score a free pizza because drivers don't have to collect coupons.
Apr 18 2006 1:37PM
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MarkieR
Posts: 5337 - Karma: 98
that's crazy. they've received so much snow out there it's disgusting.
Apr 18 2006 1:43PM
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Greenish
Posts: 2047 - Karma: 367
thats sick as fuck yo
Apr 18 2006 1:48PM
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lowtech
Posts: 1135 - Karma: 10
that end part's a little random
Apr 18 2006 1:54PM
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ski_cartel
Posts: 6598 - Karma: 18
yea man coodos to the patrol for handeling everything so smoothhly
Apr 18 2006 2:28PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
You are skiing in the wrong places then.
Apr 18 2006 7:27PM
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iskindiana
Posts: 1149 - Karma: 19
yeah it was intense... we skied to the lift and it was shut down and lifties were running and screaming.
Apr 18 2006 7:29PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
^^who ever claims Mammoth lacks big terrain is flipping clueless or just plain sucks at skiing.

Porbably the dumbest post ever, but this is not the thread to argue that on.

The slide there is HUGE and that face was hit with the big gun the day before...I cannot believe how much snow they have right now...where are the rocks??? there used to be a big rock band to the lookers left


On a positive note...that avy debris will be there through august...
Apr 18 2006 7:31PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
Rock band is gone, and buried. The closed cliff band is small too, part of it is buried, which is the problem. It allowed the wind to blow 3 to 6 feet of snow into cornice.

I don't know how well you know the mountain, but MJB's is completely gone, like an extension of cornice. Hangman's isn't a chute, but a bowl, and there is another chute that magically opened up next to it on the rock side. You don't want to fall in it though.. it's hairy shit.

It opened up all sorts of new cliffs and stuff... usualy everything is too big, unexcessable or too flat, but so much is droppable right now.

since the face has become so less rugged, and smoothed with snow, the wind dumps snow into cornice.
Apr 18 2006 7:39PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
Wow, that's incredible. Good thing the slope wasn't anything steeper or else that could have been very bad.
Apr 18 2006 7:40PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
^^I know Mammoth pretty good...spend about 20-days a year there (I live in Tahoe)

but usually in the spring/summer -

I have pics from hangmans last July 4th - my GOD i cant believe how filled in it is...

That frxture line is gonna wreck havock on anyone comming through heuovos (or any of those fun little pokes)
Apr 18 2006 7:44PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
all pics but the top one were taken from the gondi, so it makes it look flatter than it is. that slope is at least 40 degrees.
Apr 18 2006 7:44PM
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nickmcnutt
Posts: 4396 - Karma: 2,965
i see.... avalance relation scale: 0.2 out of 10
Apr 18 2006 7:48PM
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ragadytrees
Posts: 551 - Karma: 27
thats nuts to have a avlanch at this time of year that far south good that no one was hurt thoiugh
Apr 18 2006 7:49PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
Plus anything steeper rarely slides that big ...
Apr 18 2006 7:49PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
Seriously... I will try to get a pic of the chute next to it if I remember. I am pretty excited that I will be able to ski all summer.

What do you ski on, when is the next time you are coming up?
Apr 18 2006 7:50PM
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Bloom.
Posts: 3533 - Karma: 13,167
wow thats crazy, where is that on the mountain
Apr 18 2006 8:03PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
I will be there every weekend from May 20th on -

I will be doing a lot of rando/mountaneering thus spring - hoping to get down to whitney once everything settles down...
Apr 18 2006 8:04PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
from the lookers right, far side of climax over to Huevos.


Huevos is probably filled in so much that there isn't any way to air into it anymore if you wanted to.
Apr 18 2006 8:19PM
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scratchskier170
Posts: 443 - Karma: 10
one girl i know was rite over ther like 10 minutes before that. i was gonna go up to mammoth today but didnt want to drive so i decided to stay at my friends hose in south lake. im glad i didnt go to mammoth now.
Apr 18 2006 8:32PM
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triebby
Posts: 8670 - Karma: 2,189
holy crap, now there is a wake up call. thing looks like it was a beast, its good no one was killed.
Apr 18 2006 9:20PM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
where do you live?
Apr 19 2006 12:24AM
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SammyBK
Posts: 270 - Karma: 10
Definitely no way to air into huevos now. Unless you get a bunch of speed and air off the crown of this avy. I haven't been out in a couple weeks (school, etc) and even then, there were no rocks at the enterance to huevos. I am hoping not much has melted by this weekend because I want to hit up some of the rare lines down from TOTW. Baby hangmans looks completely doable from the top too. I am excited.
Apr 19 2006 1:53AM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,385
yea no kidding. It is crazy how full baby hangmans is. I wouldn't want to fall in it though.
Apr 19 2006 1:57AM
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