Skier Nearly Falls To Their Death In The Nevadan Backcountry
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Ian Greenwood
At this point in the year, unless you’re lucky enough to live near a summer skiing resort like Mammoth Mountain, California, you need to get creative if you want to get some turns in. And by “get creative,” I mean climbing and skiing gnarly no-fall zones, as late-season snow is often hidden in high-altitude alpine terrain.
Case in point: this puckering video from Jaret C which involves a summer skiing strike mission that almost goes terribly wrong. Buckle in; you might want to be seated for this one.
Here’s Jaret’s description of the fall which occurred on Wheeler Peak Ridge in Great Basin National Park, Nevada:
“I was perched on a 55 degree frozen slope, contemplating hiking back up (likely impossible), or dropping the line which fed into the remaining 2,500ft long couloir. After waiting around to collect myself, I straight lined down. I thought I could slow down quick enough, but shot out too quick, and clipped my uphill arm on a big bump, yanking me downhill headfirst in an uncontrolled slide within the blink of an eye. Instinctively, I somehow self arrested and came to a stop after a very quick 100 feet of sliding. Any more sliding, and I would’ve simply been going too fast to stop, headed toward a blender of jagged steep rocks.”
Good on Jaret for sharing this video; reminders that the mountains will punish you if you make a miscalculation are always welcome.
The more time you spend in the backcountry, the more likely it is that you eventually find yourself in a high-risk situation. That’s the way it is. The silver lining is that getting yourself into a pinch can be a valuable learning moment. Or, in this case, watching someone else get into a pinch and (thankfully!) make it out in one piece.
Above all, never enter the backcountry without proper training and planning. The mountains don’t play around.
Stay safe out there, folks!
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