080203 Avalanche Tsugaike

Avalanche Incident 3 Feb 08

Info taken from websites and SDJ contributor SC (one of Japan's longest serving BC telemark skiers).

During the storm on Sunday Tsugaike ski resort in Hakuba closed one of their cat track runs due to avalanche risk from above on the south faces within resort grounds.  It was an inbound incident, not backcountry.  The group of 7 were lead by 2 ski instructors.  The incident occurred late in the day at 1600hrs when the most storm snow had accumulated, about 30-40cm, deeper in places. Nine people involved.  Two people completely buried and dug out but were unconscious.

Update: both girls died.

 

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Comments

Submitted by Unregistered Visitor on 5 February 2008 - 12:16pm.

Sorry that another lady in a coma was dead in hospital. The victims, two female students each age 20, are two. The avy happened "inbound" of Tsugaike Kogen ski resort. It is on RINKAN course, a biginners course with gentle slopes in woods. Yahoo! Map (guessing, around): http://map.yahoo.co.jp/pl?lat=36%2F45%2F21.625&lon=137%2F50%2F59.901&layer=4&ac=20486&mode=map&size=s&type=static&pointer=on&sc=4 The course is a jeep track road in summer from the base to the top of EVE gondora, crossing intermediate ski slopes in some places. The leader (male 61, a part-time lecturer) had six female students who were all beginner skires. They went up by EVE gondora, and skied down RINKAN course with no problem. Then, they went up again aftenoon, and found a red net with a sign Course Closed in the entrance of RINKAN course. The leader thought the cause was a minor reason, not an avalanche danger, and skied down the course. They tried to ski down an intermidate course (safe) once, but the slope was hard to the biginners, and they returned back to RINKAN course. The leader saw CLOSED sign again, seeing some debris, and made beginners ski straight rapidly down, then they were hit by the 30 meters wide avy on Feb 3rd around 4:00pm. Later two were buried. I know the name of the course, but have never skied cos too gentle. I am very surprised that the course has avalanche danger though it is only the beginner slope from EVE gondora. SC

Submitted by Damian on 5 February 2008 - 7:21pm.

The problem is:

1. anyone can act as a ski instructor (or a guide) in Japan.  In many countries, it would be against teh law unless you have a certificate.

2. Japanese ski resorts close many things, all the time, for no apparent reason.  So one day, when a run is closed for a very good reason - avalanche risk  most people dont obey the closure, because in the past, closed runs have been meaningless.  It is like 80kpoh speed limit on the highways.  It is law, but no one follows it, they all drive 110kph.  It is better to set rules when they make sense, in a way that makes sense.  That way everyone respects them and follows them.  "Grey" rules are dangerous.

3. The beginner run itself doesn't have an avalanche risk, but the terrain above it does.  This run should never have bene built in an exposed avalanche run.  It is poor resort planning.  Resort patrol were correct to close the run, but it shouldn't have been there anyway.  Why put guests and resort assets under avalanche paths?  Many other countries would never let it happen.

The avalancjhe didn't kill the girls, the "instructor" and resort designers and managers did.  I feel sorry for their family's.

Submitted by Unregistered Visitor on 6 February 2008 - 1:00am.

Some discussion exists here:

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/256965#Post256965

Submitted by SC on 7 February 2008 - 6:52am.

The problems Damian addressed are right.
> 1. anyone can act as a ski instructor (or a guide) in Japan.....
> 2. Japanese ski resorts close many things,...."Grey" rules are dangerous.
> 3. ....... It is poor resort planning. .................
I talked with an high-experienced Japanese BC skier who
told "GAIJIN-sans would be surprised if they heard the
accident story you talked." My report might have incorrect
info/understandings, but I remembered that 40 years ago
my friend told Tusugaike was KOWAI (be scared) cos no
escaping path existed. Also, the BC skier told the resort had
a big avalance inbound area in the past (10+ years ago??).
I accept a ski resort has to have dangerous risks, which
should be well managed and ENOUGH INFORMED especially
to beginners.
Jackson Hole, WY shows a large scale avalanche photo in
their web site for warning people who want to skiing outboud.
Silverton, CO is a very dangerous commercial ski area, which
refuses beignners and even intermediate skiers officially.

SC

Submitted by Damian on 7 February 2008 - 7:14pm.

Thanks again SC. It is interesting what your friend said.

And certainly about 10 years ago there was a very large avalanche in the Tsugaike BC, from Norikura dake, down past the university buildings in the nature area and almost to the base station of the summer tram.  The area of no trees is quite obvious still today.

Of course, that was 100% backcountry.

 

Submitted by Damian on 12 February 2008 - 5:08pm.

Unregistered Visitor wrote:
Some discussion exists here: http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/256965#Post256965

Did you know that if ANYONE posted a url from steepdeepjapan.com on the above linked forum, then that post would be deleted.  Did you know that if you posted an image hosted on the steepdeepjapan.com server, then that post will be deleted.  Did you know that even a mention of steepdeepjapan.com in a non-url format (eg, text, not a link) on the above forum will result in that post being deleted? 

Don't believe me?  Go on and give it a try. 

Not bad for a private blog.

SJ forums have single-handed polarized free and open discussion and community development amongst the wider spectrum of English speaking snow fans in and outside of Japan.  What amazes me most is that a huge percentage of commited skiers and snowboarders that I meet - people who actually live in the snow and ski because they love it - have nothing to do with the above linked forums at all.

Don't break the rules?  There are so many its hard not to. Who needs to live in China when you could be a controlled member of snow japan forums?  But don't question the rules in public, thats against the rules.  Wow, anti-sedition rules.

 

Submitted by Ocean11 on 13 February 2008 - 1:50pm.

I refrained from commenting on this until I saw Damian's post.

I clicked on the link posted here and found that it didn't work. Then I had a look for the relevant thread and boy was I flabbergasted to read the 'content'.

I got all the relevant info from watching the lunchtime NHK news - patrol had fenced off the forest road (not actually designed as a piste at all) without posting reasons. The teacher/guide assumed it was for a trivial reason, and lead his team down it anyway. They clearly got hit by an avalanche coming down perpendicularly from above the forest road. So the resort was at fault for withholding necessary info, given what they already know about the independent-minded behaviour of their patrons, even those in responsible positions. Of course the teacher should have been more cautious too, given what he also must have known, but my sympathies are with him.

But the 'discussion' on that other site was all by people who hadn't got any information at all, who apparently can't read or understand the thread concept, and who are interested only in content-free handbag fights. Where was the moderation on this now heavily moderated site? It was amusing to see some of the participants contrasting the excellent quality of discussion there with other sites populated by 16-year olds. Hello-o-oh? I can scarcely bear to look now as my tendency to mentally list and correct all the errors therein leaves me exhausted.

Congratulations on your site, and on your marriage. Good stuff!

 

 

Submitted by fattwins on 13 February 2008 - 3:57pm.

I have always loved those south faces of tsugaike, I don't think I will ever ski them again though. I have done some stupid things up there like, cutting the slope and etc to check stability for myself(selfish). I did so without even thinking about that cat track. That Track should have been built yes,,, but only used in the summer.  It is an access road for the buses and trucks in spring and summer.

Better signage may have prevented the accident but, there are many factors that weren't discussed in the media. For example: known people skiing the lower cat track area. These people were leaving multiple tracks leading into the closed area. If a resort is that afraid of the danger then posting a rotating guard isn't a bad option. Last, lifties need to inform guests that the easiest course down the mountain is closed, and for what reason. If the danger was that high, then every lift hut should have known and been telling riders to beware! and not go up if they could not get down a more advanced run.

Submitted by Damian on 13 February 2008 - 7:43pm.

Thanks for the discussion (after my quite off-topic diversion).  I think SJ forums are best left to 'content' incorrectly labelled as 'trip reports' containing photos of groomed ski runs in Yuzawa-Gunma and, who would have guessed it, Mount Yotei family portraits.  Wider, informed and unrestricted discussion and content on natural alpine life in Japan is out of it's scope and always will be.

On the day that these girls were caught in the avalanche I saw my brother almost cleaned up by a small slide that in all probability started when a large lump of accumulated storm snow fell from a tree.  We saw a few other small slides happen by that exact trigger.  Thats how sensitive the snow was to any rapid application of energy or load that day.   We were riding safe low angled terrain, however for short periods there was steeper gullies above us that the terrain naturally funnelled us underneath.  We had to move quickly and individually to avoid the risk, or minimise it at best.  This was our decision and a result of natural circumstances in an uncontrolled backcountry environment.

The discussion has put some focus on resort management and information distribution to lifties and the placement of resort workers/patrol at logical points in the resort to communicate the message.  Also instrumental in the incident was the fact that man-made resort terrain (access roads and ski trails) funnelled patrons below slopes of  avalanche gradient.  Correct communication of beginner run closure and manned control of those runs and the access road would  have most likely stopped this incident from happening.  Indeed such actions on behalf of the resort would would have been part of instinctive management-worker culture anyway if only Japanese resorts would pro-actively address the real but perfectly natural hazard of unstable snow in the very places they attempt to run their businesses:  snow covered mountains.

Submitted by Stew on 13 February 2008 - 8:44pm.

Somehow I don't think we've heard the last of this incident.

It sounds like the part-time lecturers leading the group had already been down that run earlier the same day. In They reckoned the group couldn't have made it down the other runs that were open and that they had surmised the rinkan course was closed because it hadn't been groomed.

On Snow Japan now, whenever anyone asks for recommendations about accommodation, the next post is invariably a link to the Snow Japan payola page. Its a bit of a joke.

Submitted by fattwins on 13 February 2008 - 9:19pm.

Tsugaike needs a serious gate and warnings there. an extra 50000 yen in signage wouldve helped too!

Submitted by Unregistered Visitor on 14 February 2008 - 10:03am.

I'm not going to risk my reputation with the moderators on that forum, so I wont be testing out what you say is true. But really, it seems a bit far fetched to me.

Damian wrote:

Did you know that if ANYONE posted a url from steepdeepjapan.com on the above linked forum, then that post would be deleted.  Did you know that if you posted an image hosted on the steepdeepjapan.com server, then that post will be deleted.  Did you know that even a mention of steepdeepjapan.com in a non-url format (eg, text, not a link) on the above forum will result in that post being deleted? 

Submitted by Damian on 14 February 2008 - 10:14am.

Well, if you do not believe that it is true, then it wouldn't be a risk to your reputation would it?  And if you are scared of risking your reputation then what does that say about fear and freedom? Yes, it I really is true. Even things like pictures of avalanches (with no watermark or mention of SDJ).  I assume that they have an automated script that detects any reference to this domain and instantly deletes it.  In fact, in their (extensive) list of moderators, there is one called SJbot.  Its a 'bot' that most likely patrols their little cyberspace community and snubs out anything it is programmed to. Most people will never care because there is a constant flow of food stamps from the dictators to the plebs in the shape of free lift tickets.  Thats all it takes.

They recently updated their amazingly comprehensive list of rules to include a new subsection in the second section of rules relating to linking.  Here it is: "Links Policy", Section 2 "Links that are not OK", subsection 6. 

It is aimed squarely at this website: