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WINTER SPORTS — Like other commentary's on Sunday's avalanche fatalities in the North Cascades, my column today is getting some people to think and learn.
Other readers are reacting emotionally and telling writers and the experts we quote that we have no business analyzing avalanche incidents.
The people involved in the Stevens Pass avalanche tragedy were carrying equipment and using safety techniques that were adopted after experts had investigated previous accidents.
Skiers who enjoy the backcountry will add what they learn from Sunday's incidents in the Cascades to make their next outing safer.
No one is saying they shouldn’t do it. Objective people are saying look, understand, learn.
News, field reports and insights on the Great Outdoors.
Rich Landers – hunter, animal lover, hiker, paddler, angler, naturalist and conservationist – has been covering the outdoors beat for more than three decades. His versatility and field research as a trails and waterways guidebook author help him connect issues to a wide range of interests.
Rich Landers writes, photographs and gathers information for a wide range of Outdoors coverage, with a special feature package in the Sunday Sports section. Landers' outdoors column runs Thursdays in the Sports section.
Recent work by Rich
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John4 on February 21 at 1:56 p.m.
Another avalanche fatality yesterday: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Wash-snowmobiler-killed-in-Montana-avalanche-139851453.html
RedCedar on February 22 at 7:57 a.m.
Word is that an ESPN crew was filming the skiers who got caught in the avalanche on Tunnel Creek. Strange that there’s been no mention of that in the news. Could the pressure of having an expensive film crew there have made them take a risk they ordinarily would not have taken? There is apparently footage of at least the start of the avalanche itself. I wasn’t there so of course I can’t say for sure, but when you read who a lot of these skiers were — real top pros, the Stevens Pass marketing director, a bunch of ESPN people — it does sort of make you think it was just a bunch of friends who happened to decide to go skiing that day. Why the hush-hush on the filming?