6 caught in avy on Torreys (6/6)

[Jorts]

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/06/06/ ... de-rescue/

Stay safe coolie climbers. Heavy rain and/or a weak freeze overnight can lead to hazardous snow conditions.

[Carl_Healy]

Didn't see in there if there was mention of it being Standard Route or one of the couloirs?

[d_baker]

Didn't see in there if there was mention of it being Standard Route or one of the couloirs?

It also contradicted between serious injuries and then all ok. Developing story, just put all of the above in and get the news out! I am glad not to be in that industry!

Screenshot_20210606-112844_Chrome.jpg

[Aphelion]

We passed the victims/participants on the way down. They were climbing Dead Dog and got hit by rockfall, one guy was struck hard enough to crack his helmet. But despite calling for rescue, AFAIK they were all walking out under their own power. FFL landed and powered down for a while, but didn't appear to have taken anyone onboard when it took off again.

[kushrocks]

We passed the victims/participants on the way down. They were climbing Dead Dog and got hit by rockfall, one guy was struck hard enough to crack his helmet. But despite calling for rescue, AFAIK they were all walking out under their own power. FFL landed and powered down for a while, but didn't appear to have taken anyone onboard when it took off again.

Wow and only one week after I saw someone get pelted by a rock in dead dog that also escaped with minor injuries around 7am. Any idea what time you saw this happen?

Temps were way warmer this weekend though which is why we bailed on any couloir climbs.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Temps were way warmer this weekend though which is why we bailed on any couloir climbers.

Yup. I was going to climb/ski the North couloir on Kelso Mtn this morning but the overnight temps above 13k we forecasted to only get down to about 35 degrees.

Without the freeze, the morning snow warming basically starts where it left off the previous afternoon, increasing the possibility of wet slides.

A weak freeze can make the surface firm but often does not penetrate deep enough to provide reasonably stable climbing conditions.

[Aphelion]

We passed the victims/participants on the way down. They were climbing Dead Dog and got hit by rockfall, one guy was struck hard enough to crack his helmet. But despite calling for rescue, AFAIK they were all walking out under their own power. FFL landed and powered down for a while, but didn't appear to have taken anyone onboard when it took off again.

Wow and only one week after I saw someone get pelted by a rock in dead dog that also escaped with minor injuries around 7am. Any idea what time you saw this happen?

Temps were way warmer this weekend though which is why we bailed on any couloir climbs.

I didn't see the actual incident, but from the top of Grays I saw people (I assume the victims) down-climbing the Dead Dog apron around ~9. FFL started circling around 930-ish. We passed them walking the trail out around 11.

[Thamilton1233]

We passed the victims/participants on the way down. They were climbing Dead Dog and got hit by rockfall, one guy was struck hard enough to crack his helmet. But despite calling for rescue, AFAIK they were all walking out under their own power. FFL landed and powered down for a while, but didn't appear to have taken anyone onboard when it took off again.

Wow and only one week after I saw someone get pelted by a rock in dead dog that also escaped with minor injuries around 7am. Any idea what time you saw this happen?

Temps were way warmer this weekend though which is why we bailed on any couloir climbs.

I didn't see the actual incident, but from the top of Grays I saw people (I assume the victims) down-climbing the Dead Dog apron around ~9. FFL started circling around 930-ish. We passed them walking the trail out around 11.

Did you hike the standard route to Grays? I’ll be hiking that and then on to Torrey’s next weekend (6/11-6/14). Wondering if the standard route is ok with these warmer temps.

[Monster5]

While I have no idea the validity of the reported times, I'd recommend being at the base of any couloir, especially east facing, by first light (i.e. 6AM) and topping the thing out by 9AM at the latest.
High overnight temps and a poor freeze leading to rock/snow slides are pretty much standard in Colorado snow climbing.
While I again don't know if this was a factor, I see climbers heading up couloirs far too late, especially Dead Dog.

[justiner]

Cloudy last night too

[cottonmountaineering]

i skied torreys on 6/5, SAR was also out that day in grizzly gulch

dead dog was riddled with avy debris and rocks and gets immediate sun, not surprising there was an accident there with zero freeze

[codyli34]

Did you hike the standard route to Grays? I’ll be hiking that and then on to Torrey’s next weekend (6/11-6/14). Wondering if the standard route is ok with these warmer temps.

I hiked it on Friday and the section below the saddle was kinda sketchy around ~11am. Definitely became soft earlier but I hung out at the summits for a bit. It was covered in snow and a slide was definitely possible in some sections. Pretty likely that a lot of the snow will be gone by next weekend but can’t say for sure how much. I attached a photo that previews the route from a bit away.