The recent accident involving a former Olympic Snowboarding champion shows the frailty of those bonded together and moving together on steep ground. The skills required to hold a fall in alpine situations needs to be constantly practiced and refined as much as possible.
Of course, there is a “critical point” of steepness where the result of a fall could be disastrous. Up to that point the fall will be more and more difficult to arrest. After that almost imposible, and therefore additional safeguards and belays should be taken.
Also you have to have confidence in those on the rope with you. Will they do their job? Have they sufficient training? Can you rely on them?
As part of our own winter skills and mountaineering courses we get to practice and train for these eventualities most weeks in the winter. For those of you not fortunate to live with the mountains of the Sierra Nevada as your back garden then it may be more difficult.
Former Olympic Snowboarding champion Karine Ruby was tragically killed in a climbing accident Friday. Ruby, a 31 year-old French citizen, was climbing on Europe’s famed Mont Blanc as part of her training to become a mountain guide. As is common in dangerous high-alpine environments, Ruby and the other members of her group were roped together for safety (the thought being that if one climber slips and falls, the others will be able to stop the slide); unfortunately, the fatal slide was unable to be stopped, resulting in Ruby and several others falling into a deep crevasse, or crack, in the glacier.
A 38 year-old man from Paris was also killed in the accident, while a 27 year-old climber was seriously injured, requiring a helicopter to transport him off the mountain for medical attention.
Karine Ruby won the gold medal in giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and also took home a silver medal in parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Source: About.com
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