Deliberately skiing controlled avalanches?

I

I_am_in_here.

New member
Will it ever be possible? If not, why not? If so, when? I know it sounds like a death-wish now, but at the rate our sport progresses (technology too), I'm beginning to believe that dismissing any batshit idea defies all logic.

Sidenote: I'm aware that some people--those who've lost friends,family, or heroes--might take offense to this admittedly harebrained idea. I'm neither requesting that someone try it, nor suggesting that it's possible now.

I relate it to human flight though: If you were to travel back through time to 1859 (for argument's sake) and began preaching that humans'd be flying through the sky while sitting in a chair someday, most people would say you belonged without shoelaces in a padded room somewhere. Now, to quote Louis C.K., "you watch an Adam Sandler movie, take a big runny dump, and you're there."

Have any other batshit ideas regarding what people might be doing on skis someday?
 
I'm sure it's possible, but why the fuck would you want to? What does it have that normal skiing doesn't?
 
It would be almost like surfing because you would be on a wave-thing. Not gonna lie I thought of this a few months ago and then I decided it was incredibly stupid after a few minutes.
 
Why trigger an avalanche and ruin a few foot of pow so you can ski an avalanche? I mean it has no real application.

Unlike flight which had lots of application.
 
did a whole essay on it check out the gazex canon

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
 
id imagine it would be the same as setting something off unintentionally. Plus, i also feel the crew that has to dig your dumb, daredevil-ass out of the sluff wont be too stoked either.
 
Let's say you're in the slackcountry and you purposefully trigger an avalanche. Not only are you unbelievably fucktarded if you were to do so, you would also be putting the lives of others at risk. For what reason? So you can upload that cool picture on to your insta? So you can feel better about yourself?

Not aimed at you OP just the fucking gaper idiots I see in increasing numbers every time I start skinning out of the resort.

But yeah starting avalanches for fun is a fucking stupid idea, it serves no purpose to justify the massive levels of risk and endangerment to others it carries with it /rant
 
13378537:Uglyboy said:
Why trigger an avalanche and ruin a few foot of pow so you can ski an avalanche? I mean it has no real application.

Unlike flight which had lots of application.
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Merely because it's human nature to upstage oneself (and everyone else), to do the craziest thing imaginable, and to gain recognition for it.

Perhaps flight by way of aircraft is a poor analogy though. How about Felix Baumgartner's dive from space. Not many saw that one coming, but afterwards, I for one felt that he achieved something bragworthy for the human race.
 
13378548:Powstagram said:
Let's say you're in the slackcountry and you purposefully trigger an avalanche. Not only are you unbelievably fucktarded if you were to do so, you would also be putting the lives of others at risk. For what reason? So you can upload that cool picture on to your insta? So you can feel better about yourself?

Not aimed at you OP just the fucking gaper idiots I see in increasing numbers every time I start skinning out of the resort.

But yeah starting avalanches for fun is a fucking stupid idea, it serves no purpose to justify the massive levels of risk and endangerment to others it carries with it /rant
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Point taken. I didn't mean random people at random spots in the backcountry though. I envisioned it more like a one-off, televised Pastrana stunt.
 
13378566:I_am_in_here. said:
Point taken. I didn't mean random people at random spots in the backcountry though. I envisioned it more like a one-off, televised Pastrana stunt.
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I guess that'd be kinda different. At least there it'd only be the skier putting their life at risk, willingly so. Then again there's the danger that someone could try and replicate it- but I doubt that anyone but the most uneducated of backcountry noobs would try and repeat it.

Also welcome to NS man!
 
13378548:Powstagram said:
Not only are you unbelievably fucktarded if you were to do so, you would also be putting the lives of others at risk. For what reason?
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large big mountian ski resorts induce avalanches in controlled areas after clearing the whole hill, triggered avalanches are essential for overall mountain safety.
 
gazex.jpg
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13378574:fresh_prince said:
large big mountian ski resorts induce avalanches in controlled areas after clearing the whole hill, triggered avalanches are essential for overall mountain safety.
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That is indeed true, but what I think we're talking about here is the lone skier them-self triggering an avalanche for the gnar gnar- controlled avalanches are important though, nice and reassuring on those days when the snowpack is sketchy
 
13378578:Powstagram said:
That is indeed true, but what I think we're talking about here is the lone skier them-self triggering an avalanche for the gnar gnar- controlled avalanches are important though, nice and reassuring on those days when the snowpack is sketchy
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tru, who the fuck would go out and c4 a hill tho, thats rachet shit, its actually illegal in some areas to induce an avalanche that puts others at risk
 
13378584:fresh_prince said:
tru, who the fuck would go out and c4 a hill tho, thats rachet shit, its actually illegal in some areas to induce an avalanche that puts others at risk
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Bombing the hill in the daytime would be a ghetto as shit thing to do, always kinda gripping when you see skiers outrunning avys in big mountain edits though- like i can't remember which rider it was but he backflipped whilst this huge slide was homing in on him it was decent
 
13378548:Powstagram said:
But yeah starting avalanches for fun is a fucking stupid idea, it serves no purpose to justify the massive levels of risk and endangerment to others it carries with it /rant
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While OP is drunk, you on the other hand need to go get a drink and chill out.

Cutting cornices and trying to get something to go is fun as hell. Try it some time, you might like it.

Also, a ski cut is a common practice when dropping into a line. We do it in the backcountry, ski patrol does it as part of their avalanche control in bounds.

You're probably the guy on the camping trip that gets all mad when people start playing with gas around the campfire.
 
13378591:Powstagram said:
Bombing the hill in the daytime would be a ghetto as shit thing to do, always kinda gripping when you see skiers outrunning avys in big mountain edits though- like i can't remember which rider it was but he backflipped whilst this huge slide was homing in on him it was decent
Click to expand...
https://youtu.be/EyiO2dFym0c

it was rad as fuck
 
Trauma is a huge reason why people get killed in avalanches, not just suffocation. No amount of technology can protect you from that when you are skiing.
 
the only time I've been in what you would call a real avalanche I instinctively tried to outrun it, but the snow caught up to me and bowled me over to the side in a split second. I think there is a tendency for people to think about avalanches in this way when they haven't had the shit scared out of them by the crazy amount of power speed and weight of moving snow.
 
ignoring the stupidity and danger of the idea...

avalanches move downhill, the same direction youre going, so your relative speed would be super low or 0

pow skiing is what it is because you have speed relative to the snow and you get on a plane to float. in this scenario you'd most likely get scooped up like a puppy and sent into shit below, or just buried immediately

i think youre imagining an avalanche behaving like a wave but it doesn't
 
I know a couple guys that do this and if done properly, it's not that fucking stupid. You need a steep slope that ends quickly to a pretty flat area. You go into it, cut it, wait a split second for it to go, then ride the last few feet (uphill) portion of the slide. If you get too deep, you are in trouble. Things to note:

1) Make damn sure you are no where near any other skiers below.

2) Make damn sure the slide runout path ends flat to prevent the slide from going far. Also, make sure the runout isn't going to send you into the trees. A lot of slides go much further than people realize.

3) Make damn sure you don't get too far into the sliding snow otherwise you risk trauma like hitting rocks and stumps and could get buried at the bottom.

Again, for the most part intentionally setting off slide and skiing them is a really bad idea for most skiers. However, if done properly by the right skier, it might not be that bad of an idea and incredibly fun. Line selection and knowledge of avalanche terrain is key.

Sidenote: I've never actually done this myself, but this comes from a couple older, extremely ripping skiers in Utah that spend most of their time in avalanche terrain in the backcountry. I'm no expert.
 
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