EAST VAIL — Dave Watts understands as well as anyone that there are two types of luck in the world. He has seen them both.
Watts, a 36-year-old backcountry skier from Avon, experienced them almost simultaneously just more than a year ago when he dropped into a steep slope in the popular East Vail Chutes outside the ski area boundary in late December 2006.
Skiing with three other men — all properly equipped and familiar with the wild snow of the East Vail backcountry — Watts triggered an avalanche powerful enough to sweep him off his feet and over a 15-foot cliff band before partially burying him on a line known variously to Vail locals as “Charlie’s,” “CDC” or, more formally, “Charlie’s Death Chute.”
Given the slope’s history, Watts was keenly aware of his good fortune once the tide of snow receded enough to allow him to ski another day.
“Charlie’s is sketchy. It took (my friend’s) spleen, broke my ribs, gave me a concussion and almost killed me,” Watts said. “The fact that nature created this monster avalanche that was potentially fatal, that I know people who have been caught in avalanches there, I’d have to be stupid to go back and not take that as a lesson to be super safe every time I go to East Vail. You have to take that in and say, ‘I got lucky.’ ”
Others have been less fortunate. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, fatal slides occurred in the same area in 1992 and 1996. And another took place just last Friday, claiming the life of Vail snowboarder Jesse Brigham, 27.
According to White River National Forest District snow ranger Don Dressler, who responded to the accident with Vail Mountain Ski Patrol, Brigham triggered a large, hard-slab slide that ran roughly 1,100 feet down the nearly 40-degree slope, burying him in 6 feet of snow for 10-20 minutes before his two companions were able to dig him out. An autopsy showed he died of asphyxiation.
Accident reports indicate that the three men carried appropriate equipment — including avalanche beacons, probe poles and shovels — and the avalanche threat for the area that morning was “moderate,” but “complex and potentially tender in some areas.” According to Dressler, the complex conditions were changing before his very eyes, a sharp temperature increase combined with strong winds altering the snow throughout the day.
Such complexities serve to emphasize the unforeseen risks associated with backcountry skiing, Dressler said.
“I’m hoping that an accident like this will serve as a wake-up call that people need to be prepared for any circumstances. I would hope what would come out of an accident like this is that it raises the awareness of everyone who goes out there,” Dressler said.
Dressler estimates a season-long average of 150 skiers and snowboarders a day passing through the ski area boundary to the East Vail Chutes. And while the knowledge spectrum is wide, it’s safe to assume not all will be as lucky as Watts was.
“On any given day I can talk to very prepared, knowledgeable, skilled skiers who understand the risks and make decisions based on what they see,” Dressler said. “Then I’ll see a group that’s not properly equipped, who says ‘It can’t happen to me,’ and doesn’t bother educating themselves. Unfortunately, they’re the ones who are putting themselves and others at risk.”
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
