Avi claims 4 lives in Gifu

[SirJibAlot 0]

Saw this on the new last night. When is this country going to get serious about avi control?

 

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/424142

[OkemoLoon 0]

So tragic, thoughts and prayers to families and friends of these climbers.

 

[Thunderpants 0]

Very tragic indeed,

I don't want to sound insensitive but:

What are people doing camping out on a mountain in a predicted snowstorm . something is not right with these people. i read somewhere that 70 people were camping out up there ??

[SerreChe 2]

Sucks for them, RIP.

SJA, it's true that Japan is behind in terms of Av control.

In this case it is a bit different as it is pure backcountry.

Even if they were up to speed on Av control, it is actually difficult to bomb every mountain in Japan that may be hiked by powder hounds, and you usually bomb after the storm and not in the middle of a massive accumulation.

It is also true that hiking Yari when a massive storm is on the way is not the best idea to say the least. I guess a lot post-mortem analysis will take place on that one. 70 peeps !... There must have been some experienced people in among them, it is surprising that they did not turn back. Besides the storm, the snow pack was not the most stable, to say the least, once again some should have known better.

Was worried of all that new snow on top of a rain crust before the storm even showed-up ahead of the new year's holidays. It could have been worse if that rain crust had frozen solid for a couple of days before the large dump, but it snowed right away on top of it which was 'relatively' better in terms of stability (Mr. Wiggles/Samurai & other Av gurus, pls correct me if wrong).

We rode mostly low angled stuff with my friends over the new year vaca which was kind of tricky as on the other hand it was easy to get bogged down in so much powder. Rather get bogged down than the other alternative though.

[quattro 1]

It's not a case of bombing every slope. In the states and elsewhere generally the only slopes outside of ski areas that may get bombed are slopes that pose a potential risk to towns or roads.

 

That said there is really no central spot to go to for avalanche reports. In places like Colorado you can always go to to places like the Colorado Avalanche Information Center http://avalanche.state.co.us/.

There you can find maps and other info.

 

The second thin is a lack of schooling. It's hard to find an avalanche course in Japanese let alone one in English. There are places that offer them but there few and far between. Groups like the Friends of Berthod Pass offer low cost high quality training throughout the winter. Just don't exist over here. http://www.berthoudpass.org/index.php?s=20. Expect to pay top dollar which probably shuns a lot of punters away.