Outdoor Safety, Weather and The Lie Line

Outdoor Safety

Living in the shadow of the mountains, I try to take full advantage of the amazing opportunities the backcountry offers. Trail running is up there at the top of the list.  I also love alpine activities such as snowshoe running, snowboarding, backcountry and downhill skiing. 

It seems a lot more people like me have been getting in trouble in the backcountry over the past few years.  The media is reporting record deaths from avalanches.  Friends who volunteer for SAR (Search and Rescue) tell me they are being stretched to the limit rescuing an increasing number of lost hikers, snowboarders and skiers.  I've certainly been in some awkward spots.  Luckily, none too awkward that I needed to be rescued, but awkward enough that I can point to the scars. My experience has shown that winging it in the mountains is not a good idea.

There's a trail only 3 houses away from my home that takes me to the boonies.  My running routine is really simple:  have an idea of how long I want to run, more-or-less where I plan to run and tell someone, pack a bit more food and water than I need, dress appropriately and hit the trail... ideally with a pal or 2.  If it's too nasty with rain, mud, blowdown, snow or I'm just not having a great run, I try to use common sense and take an alternative trail or head back home.

Alpine and backcountry activities take a bit more commitment and planning.  Dressing for the weather and bringing the right gear are the 2 biggest concerns.  Unlike preparing for a trail run where I can step outside and see and feel the weather, I depend on weather reports when preping for an alpine outing. 

Weather Reports

Weather is so hard to plan for because it's so hard to predict.  Weather reports come in two (2) basic flavors: Government and Private.

Government

• provided by government sources, such as Environment Canada or the United States NOAA Weather Service 
• reports are created by meteorologists who work for the government. They are general in nature and focused on a town or region.  
• I assume this report is what you hear on the radio, television and get from various weather websites that cite the government source

Private

• those from a private resort, such as Whistler Blackcomb or Grouse Mountain. 
• reports are created by the resort.  They are specific to the resort and, I assume, come from a combination of government reports and specific information from weather monitoring devices and employees at the resort. 
• There's usually a resort-specific website and often a call-in number with a recording of current weather conditions

Which brings me to...

The Lie Line

The "Lie Line" is what my ski buddies and I call the the call-in lines and, more recently, the resort websites.  This because they do not provide reliable, objective information about the weather. 

We don't rely on it, we joke about it.  Discussing the lie-line reports are a good way to break the ice on an early-morning road trip and something to review on the way home.  Here are some examples of what the lie line reports and an interpretation:

• precipitation overnight.  Read, "it pissed rain all night"
• 20cm of fresh snow in the past 24 hours with additional precipitation expected throughout the day.  Read, "it has rained on the pow and you can expect elephant snot and possibilty of a spiral fracture today"
• freezing level 5,000m.  Read, "Since you should know that the highest point on the mountain is 1,100m, you should know that we mean it is pissing rain, so bring a garbage bag so you can stay dry"
• limited visibility.  Read, "Fog so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face.  Bring gravol to help with the vertigo"

Members of the Bad Boys Ski Club (you know who you are!) and others, please share your favorite ski area euphemisms with a comment below.  I'll add more as I think of them.

I make light of the lie line to make a point about safety.  People depend on the information they are given by the resort to prepare for the conditions. Should the resort be responsible if someone comes to grief because they didn't accurately report the weather?

Here's a recent example.  Grouse Mountain reported 20+cm of show overnight with a current alpine temperature of -3 when I checked at 8:00 this morning.  With visions of face shots and perfect figure 8s in the glorious pow dancing in our heads, my friend Paul and I opted to be a bit late for work this morning.  We were greeted in the alpine with fog, driving rain and ice-covered everything.  Major disappointment.  Soaked to the skin, Paul and I went back to work after 2 runs.  Thankfully, neither of us got hurt.  I feel very bad for the people who took the day off work and drove for several hours to get to the resort and paid $50 for the soaking... or worse.

Are all resorts less-than-honest about conditions?

I hope not!  My sample only includes Grouse, Seymour, Cypress and Whistler mountains because I've not been elsewhere else in the past few years.  Whistler now offers several clues about the true weather including a government report and a webcam.  My favorite alpine resort, and the one I use the most for snowshoeing and skiing, is Grouse Mountain.  Sorry to single you out, Grouse, but my examples come from your website!

Why are resorts not honest about conditions? 

Good question.  I suppose it's economic.  The resort's financial success depends on seeing the maximum number of people use their facilities, so spin the best story on the lie line and get lots of people buying tickets.  The problem is that if expectations are set too high, there will be disappointment (e.g. I tell you about getting rained on when I expected powder.) Trust is lost and with it, the prospects of future business.  This is not good marketing. The consequences are far worse, though, if someone gets hurt. 

What to do about the lie line?

Tough question.  Write the resort manager.  Share your experiences online... resort owners will react if there are financial consequences.  Tell a liftie and hope tehy tell their boss.  Ignore the resort-specific info and look elsewhere for more objective weather sources. If it's not happened already, I'm sure someone will eventually come to grief and sue the resort for poor interpretation of the facts.  This is sad, unless you're a lawyer.  It means higher costs all around.

Whether you know it or not, most resorts make you agree to the Alpine Responsibility Code when you buy a ticket.  It nets out to "you're responsible if you hit a tree."  They also say they aren't responsible for the weather.  Fair enough.  However, I think the resort should agree to be responsible for setting realistic expectations regarding the conditions a customer should expect.

Back to outdoor safety...

We can't do much about the weather, but we can learn how to better prepare for it and the general outdoor experience. Club Fat Ass is hosting a free speaker event called Survive Outside on the topic of outdoor safety at the end of February.  Hope to see you there...