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Man hiking Tuckerman's Ravine falls into 100 foot deep crevasse

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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,335
http://www.skitheeast.net/posts/id/1272506260/tuckerman-ravine-crevasse-tragedy-unfolding

Shit, vibes to his family, and his son too who saw it happen :( Hopefully there will be a miracle rescue, but it's unlikely due to weather
Apr 4 2012 11:18AM
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Lucas
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 1,575
Vibes
Apr 4 2012 11:27AM
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s_a_m
Posts: 916 - Karma: 58

vibes.  thats scary, my dad skied tuckermans last year together.

Apr 4 2012 11:28AM
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Capurnicus
Posts: 9947 - Karma: 1,886
Ahhh that's so scary!!
Apr 4 2012 11:31AM
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hey-dude-its-me
Posts: 4238 - Karma: 412
damn
Apr 4 2012 11:33AM
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Velocirooster
Posts: 336 - Karma: 38
dam, vibes to the family hopefully they get him out
Apr 4 2012 11:37AM
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corona
Posts: 12805 - Karma: 32,827
oh man that sucks a lot. hope they do manage to get him out and he's alright.

100 foot deep crevasse sounds very implausible for a seasonal snowpack though
Apr 4 2012 11:41AM
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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,335
well tuckermans is really steep without snow, and the snow fills in like this:
Click for larger image
(ignore the poor diagram...)
so the red is the rocks/ground, black is the snow, and the yellow-ish represents how a cravasse could form. Its very possible to be 100'+ deep.
Apr 4 2012 12:17PM
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Flying~Squirrel
Posts: 6494 - Karma: 192
ive stumble across some crevasses in august that i would guess are 30 ft deep, so yeah its definitely possible even with the small snow pack.
Apr 4 2012 12:21PM
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easiestEC
Posts: 2471 - Karma: 489
vibes man! and to think i was going to go up there in late april. not any more.
Apr 4 2012 12:32PM
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wiglaf
Posts: 4877 - Karma: 141
Click for larger image

Apr 4 2012 12:35PM
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BROSEIDON
Posts: 3702 - Karma: 1,495
vibes i hope they can rescue him
Apr 4 2012 12:38PM
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Amadeus.
Posts: 3050 - Karma: 382
Damn that sucks. +K for diagram. Hope everything turns out well.
Apr 4 2012 12:39PM
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*SNO*
Posts: 2575 - Karma: 925
Damn.
Vibes to the family. I'd never of thought of a 100 ft crevasse after the season the east coast has had.
Hopefully the guy ends up being rescued.
Apr 4 2012 12:40PM
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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,335
thank you, much better than mine
Apr 4 2012 12:56PM
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kvan
Posts: 3085 - Karma: 1,225
Holy shit thats crazy. This is the time of year where Tucks gets sketchy and its important to be in the know of where it is safe and where it isnt.
Apr 4 2012 1:00PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Worse than usual. The insane warmth a few weeks back opened up those deep crevasses and exposed a bunch of dangers. The snow that fell recently masked things some and have made the dangers hidden a little bit.
Apr 4 2012 1:32PM
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forrest-cole
Posts: 1145 - Karma: 495
Man just thinking about him still being stuck in there is super sad, hope everythings works out.. mad vibes
Apr 4 2012 1:36PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Rescue has been pretty much written off. It'll be a recovery when conditions allow.

I hope he went quickly.
Apr 4 2012 1:41PM
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ChocolateMilk.
Posts: 1129 - Karma: 220
Damn that's awful vibes.
Apr 4 2012 2:07PM
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*spike*
Posts: 538 - Karma: 65
damn.. that would be so scary vibes! hopefully he is rescued!
Apr 4 2012 2:21PM
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skodeo7
Posts: 14949 - Karma: 9,234
Damn thats so sad. I have many fond memories of Tucks but the danger was always around. I can't imagine how sketchy it's been this spring with the lack of snow/insanely warm temps/falling ice. Be careful NS'ers, especially if you're headed up that way.
Apr 4 2012 3:33PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Also, just so more can be read about this to better understand the situation and the risks Tucks currently has:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120404/NEWS07/704049967
Apr 4 2012 5:28PM
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dirty.
Posts: 736 - Karma: 69
the article said it was somewhere between the lunch rocks the the lip, so somewhere around here. i skied the lip a few weeks ago and saw so many people boot packing up random routes right around where this happened, pretty crazy stuff. be careful up there, especially with the melting and flowing water beneath the snow pack

Click for larger image
Apr 4 2012 6:56PM
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saskskierftw
Posts: 898 - Karma: 62

crazy situation. awful that his son was there to witness it occur.

vibes!

Apr 4 2012 7:14PM
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MBskier95
Posts: 128 - Karma: 25
crap that sucks best wishes to the family
Apr 4 2012 9:16PM
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Tent
Posts: 1082 - Karma: 682
Fuck that sucks so much.. Feel bad for the son. Vibes
Apr 4 2012 9:38PM
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SKIU4EA
Posts: 2387 - Karma: 2,072

" Jeff Lane, a snow ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, described Tuesday what he saw when fellow rangers lowered him into the ice-walled crevasse about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Forty to 50 feet down, he felt like he was in a driving winter rainstorm.

“There was hanging ice and running water. It was like standing under a waterfall and the only noise was the rushing water,” Lane said.

One lamp was strapped to a leg, another to his head. About 30 feet below his dangling boots, the crevasse narrowed into a 4-foot dark hole.

Snowmelt was rushing into the tunnel, and he could not see the bottom or Priebatsch.

He said conditions inside were unstable and extremely dangerous. He made the decision to exit the crevasse.

He said officials now see their efforts as the recovery of a body, rather than the rescue of a person.

“Conditions in the crevasse are slow to change. It may be days, maybe weeks,” Lane said.  "

I can't even imagine...  vibes



Apr 4 2012 9:42PM
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inactive
Posts: 4772 - Karma: 97
and THIS is why i never leave the park
Apr 4 2012 10:49PM
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edai
Posts: 4990 - Karma: 4,677
Jesus. From an EC skiers perspective it looks like just another mountain, but I guess that shows the lack of knowledge and experience I have.
Apr 4 2012 11:02PM
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roddy116
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 7,511
oohh so thats how he fell in that fucking sucks

vibes to the family
Apr 4 2012 11:09PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9300 - Karma: 7,702
i agree with this. there's a living man down there you'd think they could figure something out. Such an awful way to go, prayers go out for him and his family
Apr 4 2012 11:20PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
I thought this at first too, but what else can they do? If it really did narrow down to a pitch black, 4 foot wide hole, then it sounds too risky. That guy already fell down the crevasse, not worth having another person fall down there too.
Apr 4 2012 11:29PM
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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,335
not to mention the snowpack is unstable and being undermined by water constantly.
Apr 4 2012 11:43PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
yep.

to the EC skiers, what exactly is the huge appeal of tuckerman's? i understand that it's a tradition, but it seems like a lot of risk and effort for some mediocre spring skiing.
Apr 4 2012 11:46PM
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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,335
pretty much the most challenging terrain on the east, and its usually skied after most resorts close. But mostly the tradition behind it being a fun event that you gather some buddies to go hike and ski it.
Apr 4 2012 11:59PM
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currentwestman
Posts: 3292 - Karma: 330
tucks is the shit. people go there because it holds snow late into the summer even. skiers on the east are just as hardcore as anywhere, so we're gonna chase snow no matter what. on a nice day you can take some runs and have lunch up there.

its NOT dangerous if you go during the right times and are careful. if you go mid spring like april/may conditions are pretty mellow. just avoid crevasses, they are definitely not everywhere. theres plenty of safe skiing to be done. anyone saying that this accident changes their own plans to visit tucks needs to do some research. this was a freak thing. tucks is a must ski for anyone in the east, classic spot.

sounds like this guy died from trauma on the way down or just drowned. what a horrible way to go. good luck to the family and rescuers.
Apr 5 2012 1:47AM
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heFF
Posts: 5786 - Karma: 4,456
damn that's nuts
Apr 5 2012 3:13AM
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mikem
Posts: 933 - Karma: 9,007
Is there a rescue attempt or is he already dead
Apr 5 2012 1:54PM
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OhioDreams
Posts: 444 - Karma: 918
Wow, this is really sad to hear. Thoughts and prayers to him. his family and friends. It's been an awfully tough season for the ski community this year.
Apr 5 2012 2:12PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
this sucks. I was planning on tucks this weekend, damn. I hope they can save him somehow.
Apr 5 2012 3:57PM
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edai
Posts: 4990 - Karma: 4,677
This makes me cringe. Obviously it's too dangerous to rescue him, or even try, but thinking about how he must have gone is awful.
Apr 5 2012 4:01PM
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yourthemannowdog
Posts: 4541 - Karma: 313
Crevasses are scary as shit. It might be a freak accident, but people need to wake up in the back country. I was in bounds yesterday at Wolf Creek and almost fell down a crevasse. Luckily I cleared it, but I nearly shit my pants
Apr 5 2012 6:28PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
I will answer your question with a question. What exactly is the huge appeal of any big mountain skiing in the west? Tuckerman's Ravine is the closest thing I have to skiing big mountain in the east.
Apr 5 2012 6:53PM
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smuggs
Posts: 6561 - Karma: 1,375
i will answer your question with a picture

Click for larger image
Apr 5 2012 7:25PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
Sorta confused.
Apr 5 2012 8:03PM
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J_BISCHOF
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 1,449
it was a rhetorical question. He was merely pointing out the reason for skiing tucks is the same reason for utahns to ski the backcountry. Or anyone for that matter.
Apr 5 2012 8:09PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
This.
Apr 5 2012 8:28PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
I get that. Most of what I've heard about it has been negative; it's mostly been about stuff like this, so I just got the impression that it was pretty damn risky and unpredictable. But it sounds like it isn't too bad if you use some caution, so it's more understandable.
Apr 5 2012 8:39PM
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crab_pretzel
Posts: 3919 - Karma: 622
vibes. thats so said, especially thinking what its like for him
Apr 5 2012 8:52PM
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