Monday, December 29, 2008

Teton AT pulls photos under pressure from Jackson Hole Resort after Headwall Avalanche

UPDATE: Man, I wish I'd grabbed that whole article and posted it to my blog like I was thinking of doing, the photos were incredible. Apparently at some point today, Teton AT came under some legal pressure and was forced to remove the rest of the photos they had put up of snow in the restaurants, snow up against the building, the site where the patrolers were pinned, and the windows bowing in under the pressure of the snow.

The article, which
was really well written, honest and important, to show just how dangerous and unpredictable the snowpack can really be, has also been re-written and truncated.

As a blogger who has been censored myself in the past, I just want to say to the guys at Teton AT: I think your photos were important and good for the general public to look at, and that your article was accurate and an equally important reminder of what can happen, no matter how much avalanche control you think you can do.

Here is RandoSteve's reply to the huge outcry that he had to remove those photos from his blog:

Thank you for your comments.

I, like you, am not happy about the currently situation, but unfortunately since I was wearing my TCSAR hat while I was there, and we were called to help by JHMR, I feel the need to respect their wishes. It is a very small town and I try to do what’s right. I know the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t like it when I post TCSAR related photographs, but I felt the need to get these images out so strong, I couldn’t NOT post them…even risking my membership to the TCSAR organization in the process. Skier’s, both backcountry and resort, HAVE to see the power of avalanches and the resulting devastation…especially when it is currently under our feet when we go into the mountains. Unfortunately, I began to get some heat from some of the ski patrollers and JHMR itself, never mind the SO, so I pulled the pictures. It’s hard to please everyone in life and a small town makes it even harder. If I have offended anyone in the process, I am sorry. -Steve

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