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Fox neve avalanche 21-Nov-2006 At 11:09:53 PM vwills

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Yeah, strange how the 70-90 degree slopes are safe and easy. I thought I'd learnt that mountaineering is all about the art of retreat from a previous escapade and I guess this reinforces that lesson. (Before anyone asks- no, I dont have epics often).

Jono, I think my guardian angel has retired on stress leave. You could try Ants talisman. He was the one that fell 20m and landed on his feet with only a shortlived sore ankle to show for it. He wears a pounamu club around his neck. Meant to protect you in battle.

Experience is an interesting issue. When we set out conditions were probably similar to those that caused the Tasman accident in 2003. We werent planning on going up Tasman though, so thought the risk manageable- a fairly flat approach to a steep climb. Thought we'd be back by lunch. But the day didnt unfold as the forecast predicted. We looked at the weather map after we got out. What came through on the sched the night before sounded quite benign and we still can't find undertones in the report of the front that hit us midmorning, though it clearly is shown on the weather map for Nov 8.

I'm not blaming the forecasters. We decided to go out and should have reacted more appropriately when things started to change. But the retrospectoscope is a wonderful thing and things are never so clear at the time.

I just put this out there so that collective experience might improve. Pattern recognition is a good learning tool.