Carn Brae Sketch
posted by Mr. Yezbick at
8:20 PM
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A Day in the Life of a Bombjacker
"Thirty seconds!"
The shout came from three hundred feet above me as three Alyeska ski patrollers observed their detonation man hastily moving away from the charge placed above a known avalanche slide path. At fifteen seconds, a patroller leans over to me and informs me to make sure I am breathing out before the blast wave strikes.
Wait a second...blast wave?
The top of the bamboo rod lights up in with a pop as the four pound charge ignites, and then the wave hits. A little invisible push generated from the mountainside, followed by a deafening boom. Luckily, I was informed to cover my ears as well. The snow from the night before propagated out as planned, and a generous slide made its way down to cover the groomed track of the Silvertip run, considered to be intermediate terrain.
The morning started at a respectable 9 AM for me, one of the lucky winners of the Alyeska Ski Patroller Auction, a charitable event to raise money for the Avalanche Dog program at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. The prize was an hour and a half of skiing before the mountain was opened to the general public with ski patroller Shane Patrick, whom I had successfully bid on a few weeks prior. Included in the prize is lunch for two at the 4 star Seven Glaciers Restaurant, which we have put off until a later date. A wise decision since there was around 18 inches of fresh powder snow that had fallen in the previous 24 hour period. Lunch must wait on a powder day.
The shout came from three hundred feet above me as three Alyeska ski patrollers observed their detonation man hastily moving away from the charge placed above a known avalanche slide path. At fifteen seconds, a patroller leans over to me and informs me to make sure I am breathing out before the blast wave strikes.
Wait a second...blast wave?
The top of the bamboo rod lights up in with a pop as the four pound charge ignites, and then the wave hits. A little invisible push generated from the mountainside, followed by a deafening boom. Luckily, I was informed to cover my ears as well. The snow from the night before propagated out as planned, and a generous slide made its way down to cover the groomed track of the Silvertip run, considered to be intermediate terrain.
The morning started at a respectable 9 AM for me, one of the lucky winners of the Alyeska Ski Patroller Auction, a charitable event to raise money for the Avalanche Dog program at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. The prize was an hour and a half of skiing before the mountain was opened to the general public with ski patroller Shane Patrick, whom I had successfully bid on a few weeks prior. Included in the prize is lunch for two at the 4 star Seven Glaciers Restaurant, which we have put off until a later date. A wise decision since there was around 18 inches of fresh powder snow that had fallen in the previous 24 hour period. Lunch must wait on a powder day.
posted by Mr. Yezbick at
6:53 PM
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6:48 PM
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