Drew Hardesty
Forecaster
An Open Letter to the Avalanche Community
So there's this guy who stumbles out of a bar and wanders over to the streetlight. It's late at night. He bobs and weaves, squinting down at the ground beneath the lamppost. He steps a little to the left, and trips a little to the right, all the while staring at the ground.
After awhile, a cop pulls up and asks the man what he's up to.
The man says, "I'm looking for my car keys. I dropped them when I got out of my car."
The cop replies, "Where'd you park your car?"
The man says, "Down the street, but this is the only place that I can see."
Since 1980, we at the Utah Avalanche Center have grown in so many ways in order to spread the gospel of avalanche safety and while it's true that avalanche fatalities have flatlined (or slightly diminished) while backcountry use has skyrocketed, we still have work to do. The avalanche fatality in Dutch Draw on Friday January 8th was particularly troubling. A 31 year old male leaves the 9990' lift at the Canyons resort and center-punches the run Conehead without avalanche gear or realization that avalanche accidents are more than an abstration. He is dead within 30 minutes. He is the third avalanche victim in Dutch Draw since 2012.
The question I have is this -
How will we ever find the keys to the car if we're only looking where we can see? What are other solutions that we haven't considered?
We, and the family and friends of avalanche accidents prevented in the future, thank you.
Drew