So up to Saturday night I had planned on going up there with my son for a training run before we head to Switzerland, but I texted Marvin late and told him I couldn't go. To me there was too much rain to be fun, and even though my son was going to just stay up on the ridgeline, I didn't have an ave beacon for him.
Next thing is I get a call late Sunday afternoon wondering if I'd been up there on the mountain with Marvin. Couple hours later I find out he was caught up in a big avalanche, and had been missing for a while.
I talked to the snowboarder who was with him, and he said the slide looked like a "class 5 rapids" when it went by. He was lucky to get out and not swept off the cliff face at the bottom. When he activated his beacon, he got to within 5 feet of Marvin's signal and began probing. He'd get a solid hit, dig dig dig, and it's a tree. Move a little bit, probe again, get a soft hit followed by solid, dig dig dig, a branch with a tree. Did that 5 more times before he was exhausted and started cramping up. Because you get no cell service out here, it took him an hour to climb out, get to the snowmachine, and ride to coverage.
Marvin was a great friend and the guy I would go diving with in the summer; if I ever mentioned scallops and abalone, it was going with Marvin. Here's yesterday's story:
Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad teams concluded their recovery efforts Thursday for a Ketchikan man caught Sunday in an avalanche on Dude Mountain. Alaska State Trooper James Kimura confirmed Thursday evening that the body of 39-year-old Marvin Scott has been recovered.
Jerry Kiffer of KVRS said earlier on Thursday that team members took advantage of a break in the weather to get back on the mountain. They were helicoptered to a spot above the avalanche debris field, and started digging test holes to determine the snowpack’s stability. “The results from those pits were OK enough for us to proceed downhill toward the avalanche site,” he said.
On Thursday evening, Kiffer said the teams finished their work, hiked down the trail and were headed down Brown Mountain Road via snowmachine. Kiffer added that KVRS appreciates the community’s support in this, and other search efforts.
“The situation obviously is a tragedy,” he said. “A lot of our (team members) were friends and acquaintances with the victim. It hits everybody really hard. As our people are out working in the field to get the job done, we really appreciate the community’s support with the operation.”
At about noon on Sunday, 39-year-old Marvin Scott was snowboarding on Dude Mountain with a friend when the avalanche was triggered. Scott was buried in the snow. The friend tried to dig Scott out, using Scott’s avalanche beacon as a guide, but wasn’t able to find him. Without cell phone coverage, the friend had to hike out before he could call for help.
It was too late on Sunday to launch a recovery effort. Teams tried on Monday, but bad weather forced them back down the mountain and kept them off until Thursday.
Next thing is I get a call late Sunday afternoon wondering if I'd been up there on the mountain with Marvin. Couple hours later I find out he was caught up in a big avalanche, and had been missing for a while.
I talked to the snowboarder who was with him, and he said the slide looked like a "class 5 rapids" when it went by. He was lucky to get out and not swept off the cliff face at the bottom. When he activated his beacon, he got to within 5 feet of Marvin's signal and began probing. He'd get a solid hit, dig dig dig, and it's a tree. Move a little bit, probe again, get a soft hit followed by solid, dig dig dig, a branch with a tree. Did that 5 more times before he was exhausted and started cramping up. Because you get no cell service out here, it took him an hour to climb out, get to the snowmachine, and ride to coverage.
Marvin was a great friend and the guy I would go diving with in the summer; if I ever mentioned scallops and abalone, it was going with Marvin. Here's yesterday's story:
Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad teams concluded their recovery efforts Thursday for a Ketchikan man caught Sunday in an avalanche on Dude Mountain. Alaska State Trooper James Kimura confirmed Thursday evening that the body of 39-year-old Marvin Scott has been recovered.
Jerry Kiffer of KVRS said earlier on Thursday that team members took advantage of a break in the weather to get back on the mountain. They were helicoptered to a spot above the avalanche debris field, and started digging test holes to determine the snowpack’s stability. “The results from those pits were OK enough for us to proceed downhill toward the avalanche site,” he said.
On Thursday evening, Kiffer said the teams finished their work, hiked down the trail and were headed down Brown Mountain Road via snowmachine. Kiffer added that KVRS appreciates the community’s support in this, and other search efforts.
“The situation obviously is a tragedy,” he said. “A lot of our (team members) were friends and acquaintances with the victim. It hits everybody really hard. As our people are out working in the field to get the job done, we really appreciate the community’s support with the operation.”
At about noon on Sunday, 39-year-old Marvin Scott was snowboarding on Dude Mountain with a friend when the avalanche was triggered. Scott was buried in the snow. The friend tried to dig Scott out, using Scott’s avalanche beacon as a guide, but wasn’t able to find him. Without cell phone coverage, the friend had to hike out before he could call for help.
It was too late on Sunday to launch a recovery effort. Teams tried on Monday, but bad weather forced them back down the mountain and kept them off until Thursday.
