no high marking necessary...

   Saturday dawned blue and bright. A fresh skiff of snow on the ground meant that my husband and son could get their sleds up our road and into the high country for some fabulous snowmobiling. The avalanche danger was extreme but they planned a day travelling trails, not bowls, where slides usually occur.
   In Revelstoke, a nearby, big mountain town, two hundred people gathered on Boulder Mountain for a day of high risk sledding. It was the annual. "Big Iron Shootout", a non sanctioned, outlaw event for thrill seeking sledders. The competition was high marking, a practise of ascending steep slopes on high powered machines.  They were in a huge bowl and the spectators were grouped at the bottom. A co worker of my husband's, Aaron, sat on his sled watching an enthusiast try for top mark. He gets stuck in the snow and another sled heads up to help.  The mountain cracks  and everybody sees the avalanche coming. Aaron starts his sled and tries to outrun it. Six seconds later it hits and covers the entire area. It is totally quiet and then the screaming starts. The huge slab of snow is 150 yards across and 1.6 miles long and 30 feet deep. Arms. legs, heads, and sleds stick out of the snow everywhere. Most people are prepared with shovels and avalanche gear so the help is immediate. Families attended the event and hysterical parents search for their children.  The scene is one of our worst winter tragedies. Two are dead, many are critically injured, all are traumatized forever.  The danger of avalanche was extreme. With a trigger it was certain. Standing at the bottom of a bowl of unstable snow is a bad decision. Two hundred people learned that the hard way on Saturday.  My son and husband came home exhilerated and sunburnt from a day of riding the trails. No high marking necessary....