Comments on: thoughts on the Headwall avalanche, public perception and the unvarnished truth

By: john doe

john doe — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:15:21 +0000

first of all jerry blanns only interest is putting money in the resorts pockets not the safety of skiers, i happen to know that the day of the headwall avalanche he was at the gondie despite the warnings from patrollers not to load, and ordered the gondie to be loaded, after the FIRST slide hit and the general public was sent down while the employees remained to work, along with a number of patrollers. The second slide hit without warning to anyone, again despite the jhnews article in which blann was quoted saying “employees were told to go to the center of the building.” which is a complete lie, we had no idea there was any danger. after the second avalanche hit and the 3 patrollers were buried, the was building staff digging out the patrollers within seconds, BLANN was no where to be seen, minutes later other patrollers showed up along with the heralded hero blann to dig out the victims who dug with about 20 other people. so the answer is YES THEY ARE TRYING to cover up these incidents, however blann fails to recognize the effort of patrol and other mountain employees BLANN is full of crap and are all the statements they made to the public

By: Charlie

Charlie — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:26:55 +0000

Interesting photos-Of course the corp is trying to control the flow of info. That’s reasonable from a business standpoint. Nobody wants to admit a mistake. But even in Europe, where they have watched slopes for decades- they build something only to have it wiped away. So it’s easy to second guess things. It’s a great mtn, but the mountains can be unforgiving. And the conditions this year are definitely complex and risky. The rain layer will impact the avvy conditions all winter long… so get used to it.

By: TK

TK — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:43:03 +0000

Good to see some insightful reporting. Having been on pro patrols and having been involved in wildland fire management for many years, the issue of “pressure” from management, in my view, is of course there is. But if it is done in a respectful manner is crucial. Ultimately, it becomes a managers decision and the specialists (either avalanche or fire) should be expected to provide professional assessments. But the responsibility and liability needs to be well defined.

By: Lynne Wolfe

Lynne Wolfe — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:26:19 +0000

Thanks for good info and for hosting a forum for reasonable and informed commenters. The http://www.jhsnowobs.org/ website is up and running again this winter, after last year when it was “buggy”. I encourage the backcountry users around Jackson and Teton Valley to start posting their obs there, please. Make it a useful resource for us all.

By: Scott Fitz

Scott Fitz — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:10:40 +0000

Jim, Thanks for providing this great venue for discussion of these recent events. I can’t imagine how frustrated we would all feel if this happened before the days of blogging. Keep up the good work!

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:31:14 +0000

Uh…That doesn’t look safe.

By: js

js — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:26:37 +0000

no injuries — slide came down on the cat track as it was being groomed.
photos here:

http://iyh4qw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pABHSreNwwiaIcsfRIqrsAcmVvxSWFUlvUwv1hJ5Quuj2Abg3MuEZYSPyzqBwsd5QaVRUm4sBlYA/DSC00974.JPG?download

http://iyh4qw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pUjL3wML3ywoPwPwOyqKuIbIbi8FxlJ7DzTfePVXIbPmCJLSDaOcq3Nw10-1NAqkuMXi2N2a5kLo/DSC00975.JPG?download

http://iyh4qw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pIAuW-4QfSHoCQcBuPFaHdThXkyFxfR8uzbeWiUlD2C8zTI5DdVUZpaXQD1rFzB8PskRHtjcX05k/DSC00976.JPG?download

http://iyh4qw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p8KjGl3RdPwRnDLAKa6VIyxF_11RobSg8ZvEKi4-QzJju23dGo6z5YRFOTUstgZhHkYzCnKdrX1w/DSC00977.JPG?download

By: Dustin Sunshine

Dustin Sunshine — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Breaking: Word from a reliable Village connection says somebody “just got slid near Laramie Bowl.”

No word yet on injuries.

By: js

js — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:32:17 +0000

@tellybelly and others, re: naive

It’s not hard to get people to complain about their job, particularly their bosses. Especially if you work for the biggest corporation in the valley.
That said, I asked several friends point-blank whether there was any pressure from upper management to open the mountain. They told me no, unequivocally.

I guided rafting trips on the Snake River last summer through three weeks of high water. I know what it’s like to have other people’s lives in your hands, particularly tourists who may have no idea of the risks. My boss cut the passenger load in each boat by 33 percent in the interest of safety. That was a huge chunk of the profit he was making. As guides, we never felt any pressure to do anything that we didn’t think was safe, and we were encouraged to speak up if we didn’t feel comfortable.

I think if you own a business like this involving recreation and risk, you have to take a long-term view and always err on the side of caution.

If the patrol had not opened the upper mountain, they would have gotten a lot of pressure — from skiers. And they are skiers, too, and naturally want to open the best skiing on the mountain.

*good photos of all the slides triggered by bombing (Tensleep, Laramie, Expert Chutes, etc.) are posted here:
http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145375&page=12

**also, lo and behold, today Angus Thuermer of the N&G gets the full narrative of the Headwall slide, even with Larry Dietrich’s joke upon being dug out and seeing Jerry Blann’s face that he thought he had gone to hell:

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=4085

By: Emily Eisele Lewis

Emily Eisele Lewis — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:04:46 +0000

Thanks, Jim Stanford, good reporting. My husband and I are coming out there in a few weeks, so we have been paying close attention to this story. We had even made a reservation for dinner at Couloir. Scary stuff, hope you’re doing well, good to see you’re still living and working in JH after all these years.