Avalanche

One of my close friends was caught today. He didn't lose his life, but just as easily could have, and he did lose his gear.

He had a beacon and shovel, and was in a group, three of whom took a long ride. He has an avalung, but couldn't get it in, and he stopped with enough snow packed into his mouth that he was wretching and has a sore throat.

If you look closely you can see where they were traversing when it slid.

They recognized the danger, but didn't act on it -- ignored the data. The bad thing is we all do it sometimes. Usually we get away with it, but occasionally not.