Overpeinzing van een extreme skiër
Het PGHM haalt Magnus op bij de bergschrund van Les Courtes
Het Y-couloir op de Aiguille Verte met ongevalsplek
Chamonix- De skiër die vorige week een 500 meter val van de berg Les Courtes overleefde, was Magnus Kastengren uit Chamonix, een skivriend en kennis van de redacteuren van bergredding.nl. De skiër die in het Y-couloir op de Aiguille Verte viel was Andreas Fransson, ook een bekende…
Colin Haley was er beide keren bij en beschrijft op pakkende wijze de beklimmingen die ze maakten en de ongevallen op zijn weblog. Ook bespreekt hij openlijk welke lessen hij geleerd heeft uit het ernstige ongeval op de Aiguille Verte:
“I have of course been playing though my head possible scenarios of how we could have avoided the accident. I don’t think we made any “wrong” choices, as of course everything is more clear and obvious after the fact, but these are some things I have thought of simply to learn from the experience:
-Our first potential way to avoid the accident was of course to not ski the Y Couloir in the first place. We knew it was southwest-facing and would therefore receive strong afternoon sun, but we didn’t anticipate quite such warm temperatures that day.
-After my close call with the first avalanche, we could have waited on the rib between the two gullies until the face began to re-freeze. This could have taken several hours, and would have almost certainly meant descending to the valley by dark, but would have avoided the accident.
-From our safe stance at the rappel anchor, Andreas would have been OK if he had made a traversing rappel on the buttress to skier’s left (as I did after the accident). However, he would have had to switch from skis to crampons to make such a traversing rappel, and from our stance we expected just a quick rappel through the gully and then more skiing below.
-Andreas might have avoided the fall if there were knots in the end of the rappel ropes. However, it might have been even worse for him to be stuck on the rappel ropes in the full force of the avalanche than to be ripped off the rappel ropes with the avalanche. Additionally, if there were knots in the ends of the rappel ropes the rappel anchor (two knifeblade pitons) might have been pulled out, and then we would have both taken the 200m fall (as I was clipped to the rappel anchor), and perhaps no one would have been able to call for a rescue.
Needless to say, the whole experience was very traumatic, and the accident has serious consequences for Andreas. I’m not sure if I will be interested any more in such serious extreme skiing. I am, however, extremely happy that Andreas is alive, and hoping for a good recovery.
