March 4, 1996 East Vail Chutes, Colorado 2 out-of-bounds skiers caught, 1 partly buried, 1 buried and killed submitted by: Dale Atkins, Colorado Avalanche Information Center On Monday afternoon March 4, two Vail men left the ski area boundary to venture into a backcountry area called East Vail Chutes. The men traversed above the Chutes to Two Elk Pass where they ventured out onto a large cornice. The cornice failed beneath the two skiers and dumped them into the the King Tut avalanche path. The resulting soft-slab avalanche fell about 1500 vertical feet down the easterly facing gully. The survivor was carried 1000 vertical feet and buried to his neck. He was able to free himself and tried to search with his avalanche rescue beacon, however, it appears that he did not know how to use the beacon. After his failed search effort he started down on foot--all of his gear was lost in the slide. He later met 4 other O.B. skiers and was able to borrow one ski to aid his descent to Interstate 70. Back in Vail he notified authorities about he slide, but at that time he wasn't even sure if his friend had been caught. His friend failed to report to work and when his ski gear had not been returned the Vail Ski Patrol organized a search. Patrollers at the slide quickly picked up the buried man's beacon signal and as they were zeroing in they spotted his cap. The time was about 1800 hours. The man was buried face down and had appearently died from traumatic injuries suffered in the avalanche. The 22-year-old-man had moved from Minnesota to Vail to spend the winter skiing. This was his first and last trip in the East Vail Chutes. The avalanche was classified as SS-AC-3-O. The cornice was 15' thick where it failed and the resulting soft-slab avalanche was about 3'. The East Vail Chutes area is a popular spot with out-of-bounds skiers; it is also a very dangerous place when the snow is unstable. It seems that most winters there are at least a couple of reported incidents where skiers are partly buried or injured. Since 1990 this was the 4th death in the East Vail Chutes. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27. Prepared By (print or type): Dave Ozawa A 22 year old male, backcountry skier. The East Vail Chutes are outside the Vail Ski Area Boundary but they are accessed by a 20 minute hike from the top of lift 22 (Mongolia Bowl surface lift). Interviewing the Vail Ski Patrol, they said this area is getting skied more and more frequently by less experienced skiers/snowboarders. As many as 50 people per day. I would see this type of out-of-bounds skiing as becoming more and more popular at all areas. Beaver Creek Patrollers also report more out-of-bounds skiing at several areas around their existing permit boundary. [ Part 2: "Included Message" ] FS-6700-8 (8/86) USDA Forest Service Report of Incident To Other Than Employees 1. Unit (1-2) : Region 2 2. Sub-Unit (3-4) : White River NF 3.District, JCC : Holy Cross RD 4. Case Number : (7-9) 5. Classification of Injured or Property Owner: Visitor 6. Date (mo., day and year) : March 4, 1996 7. Time : 2:15-2:45 pm 8. Day of Week : Monday 02 9. Exact location of incident : East Vail Chutes, King Tut Chute 10. Name of Injured : Burke, Kevin P. 11. Sex : Male 12. Age DOB: 22, 4/21/73| 13. Permanent Address : Vail, CO 14. Extent of Injuries: Death 15. Hospital : Vail Valley Medical Center, Vail, CO 16. Description of Injury - Avalanche victim, autopsy pending but assume death by asphyxiation 21. Describe Fully : Kevin and John skied out to the East Vail Chutes from the top of Chair 22. They were standing on top of a cornice overlooking King Tut Chute when the cornice broke. See attached sheet. 23. Type of Incident : Accident 25. Agency of Accident : Snow 26. Activity : Snow Skiing 27. Prepared By (print or type): Dave Ozawa ------------------------------------------------------------------- Avalanche center warns backcountry travelers By Allison Anderson Daily Staff Writer Kevin Burke of Vail became Colorado's seventh avalanche-related fatality of the season Monday when a 1,500-foot slide buried him in East Vail. Avalanche danger was rated moderate or high above treeline Monday and moderate at or below treeline, according to Dale Atkins, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. He said danger would likely rise to high with the snowfall and winds forecast through today. Burke and John Andrle were standing on a cornice above Old Man's Line in the East Vail backcountry when the cornice gave way at about 2 p.m. Both men were buried, but Andrle was able to dig himself out. "They might have been able to ski the slope safely but the cornice collapse was like a bomb going off on that slope and triggered the avalanche," Atkins said. Atkins advised all backcountry travelers to educate themselves and be properly equipped with avalanche beacons and shovels, which Andrle and Burke were carrying. Andrle was unable, however, to pick up a signal from Burke's transceiver. He said they had twice practiced by burying the beacons and finding them earlier that day. "Carry the equipment, but don't rely on it," Atkins said. "Once you're in an avalanche, survival is luck, not skill. "People heading into the backcountry need to be prepared for possibly dangerous avalanche conditions, especially on steep slopes and gullies," Atkins said. "Carry and know how to use avalanche rescue equipment but travel as if you don't have it." Both men were reportedly experienced backcountry skiers, but it was Burke's first time to ski that particular area. Brian McCartney, manager of mountain operations in Vail, also warned skiers that proper equipment is not the only tool needed to safely explore the backcountry. "As this case shows, route selection and backcountry knowledge are the real key," he said. "Unfortunately, both failed in this case." Burke was pronounced dead by Eagle County Coroner Ken Wilson at about 8:30 p.m. An autopsy is pending. Others who have died in Colorado this season were also backcountry skiers, snowboarders or climbers, with the exception of Alice Cartwright. The East Vail woman died Feb. 21 when snow slid off her roof and buried her. "That was a classic slab avalanche," Atkins said. "It doesn't matter if the slab is off your roof or off a mountain." The Colorado Avalanche Information Center offers recorded information about backcountry conditions. The number in Eagle County is 827-5687. The Summit County number is 668-0600.