Contributed by Debra McGhan
Eric Stevens, avalanche forecaster and director of the Haines Avalanche Information Center, heading back from checking mountain snow conditions. Photo by Jeff Moskowitz, Haines Avalanche Center.
Spring sunshine flooded across the mountains as a group of backcountry travelers set out to film and capture stories in the wilderness of Alaska.
“The week had been absolutely stellar,” said Christian Mason, a sales representative for an outdoor safety company specializing in avalanche gear. He got to travel along on the journey to take photos.
“The experience was amazing. We’d captured all the images we needed, and everyone was having a blast and feeling pumped. It was the end of the day when I made a split-second decision to tie up to a snow machine to get some turns in on my skis. That proved to be the dumbest decision I have probably ever made.”
In the blink of an eye, Mason’s life changed forever.
“Looking back, I realize there were some red flags I ignored,” he admitted. “The driver had never actually pulled a skier before. And we didn’t really have the right equipment for the task. We were improvising.”
Mason gave his driver a few quick instructions. “I told him to keep his speed steady and look back now and then to check on me.”
As they set out, the driver hit the throttle and failed to notice the slack rope. When he reached full speed, he still didn’t look back to see the rope go taunt and wrap around Mason’s ski, twisting his leg and jerking him off his feet.
A group of backcountry adventurers practice using their avalanche rescue gear. Photo by Jeff Moskowitz, Haines Avalanche Center.
“It all happened in the blink of an eye,” said Mason. “I saw the rope drop between my skis and then I felt my leg snap as I was being drug behind this fast-moving snowgo. It was horrible.”
When the driver finally realized the situation and stopped, the damage had been done. Mason suffered a life-threatening femur fracture.
“Looking back, I know I was fortunate because we had some super skilled people with us that were able to help.” Otherwise, Mason said, he was sure he would have died. It happens far too often.
It took more than seven hours to shuttle him to a hospital where he underwent surgery to pin and screw his leg back together. A year later, he was still undergoing intense physical therapy and struggling with constant pain.
“It’s those last-minute decisions we make when we’re feeling really good and not thinking about the potential consequences that often get us in the most trouble,” said Mason.
This pandemic has given all of us more than enough reasons to get outdoors away from everyone else and the stress of life. Just make sure your adventure is a round trip by being prepared and thinking ahead.
Stop when you make decisions and consider the potential consequences of trying something risky, whether you’ve done it before or not. So many tragedies in life are moments you’ll wish you could rewind and do over. You can’t.
A snow machine rider searches for his buddy with an avalanche transceiver. Photo by Jeff Moskowitz, Haines Avalanche Center.
Ask any educator who teaches backcountry safety awareness, “What is the most important thing people need to know when traveling in mountain terrain in the winter?” They will likely say, “Get the training, get the gear, get the forecast, get the picture and get out of harm’s way.”
They also might say something like, “The most important tool in the backcountry is your brain. Educate it and use it.”
So, what do you do if you’re out there having a great time and suddenly snowballs hit the fan, tumble down the mountain and everything goes wrong despite your very best efforts?
You better have the gear. That means at the very least an avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel, food, water and first aid.
Alaska can be a harsh and unforgiving environment. On foot, skis, or snowshoes, you can be swallowed by the wilderness in no time. Climb into a car or aboard a snow machine, fat bike, ATV, boat, aircraft or helicopter and you can be in the most rugged of places within minutes. If something goes wrong, you could instantly find yourself in a life-or-death situation.
I’ve never met anyone who survived a tragedy say they were sorry they over prepared. I’ve talked to plenty who had stories where being prepared was the only thing that saved their lives. Or it made them understand the critical importance and swear not to make the same mistakes in the future.
Get the latest weather forecast for the area you plan to travel at the National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov.
Get mountain and snow conditions at https://alaskasnow.org where you can link to avalanche centers, training and a wealth of information from across the state, the nation and the globe.