SURVIVING AN AVALANCHE
As we left Thredbo resort, Ryley looked back at me and said, ‘it’ll be fine’ as he held the rope up for me and local big mountain rider Ed to slip beneath.
I was uneasy about leaving the resort that day, a few adverse weather events followed big snow only a few days later gave me pause. In Colorado, where I grew up, those same weather conditions would make for precarious backcountry travel, and anything except for low angle aspects in the trees would be unskiable.
However, this is not Colorado and the snowpack in Australia is unique in its stability. Not being local I trusted my companions judgement as they knew the area well; they knew the snowpack, the terrain and the prevailing weather patterns.
Little did I know, I should have gone with my gut as only a few hours later I’d be fighting to keep my head above a
