A friend of mine died in an avalanche while ski touring yesterday. I was supposed to go with that group but decided not to go since I haven’t skiied gnarly alpine terrain in about 4-5 years, I just wasn’t feeling it. No cell reception and a 20km skin hike from anywhere there’s life, I just wasn’t up to the task.
He was stuck in about 8 feet of snow + avy debris. All very experienced skiiers who know the terrain very well, all equipped with backcountry gear and they all knew how to use it. They dug snow pits before and took all pre-cautions possible... It didn’t matter, no one conquers Mother Nature.
Shit’s fucked up, follow your gut feeling, folks.