On August 3rd of this year (2011) it had been dumping snow in the area surrounding Nevados de Chillan, a ski resort about 5 hours south of Santiago, Chile.
Because of all the snow the resort naturally had workers clearing the road in between the resort and the nearby town of Las Trancas. In the process of clearing the road one of the workers triggered an avalanche. That avalanche killed him. He was not wearing a beacon.
Nevados de Chillan, is a unique resort with a variety of terrain. The majority of its workers live in the pueblo of Los Llueques. A lot of them went to school together, have family working in different sections of the resort, or are neighbors. When an event like this happens it affects the whole community.
When we (the South American Beacon Project) approached the Nevados de Chillan Ski Resort and its patrol about the South American Beacon Project, the response was enthusiastic. Within several weeks we arrived in Chillan ready to start the course. When I arrived I was informed than instead of a class of 10 (our normal maximum) we had a class of 12 patrollers. Most had never taken an avalanche class before.
It was easy to see that this group was close. In between the slides and videos which they were excited to see, they joked with each other. In our exercises, students were quick to jump in and volunteer, wanting to learn the skills
hands on. Our first day of classes, I covered, terrain, weather, snowpack (basic) and their
effect on avalanches, as well as partner rescue. The class broke into two groups: more and less experiences rescuers and performed hands on beacon and probing exercises. On day two the group learnt to shovel using a V shaped conveyor belt method and learnt how to look at the snow below the surface. For all but one in the group, it was their first experience with strategic shoveling, snow pits, and stability tests.
After the accident this year, almost all patrollers were equipped with avalanche rescue gear; the project donated 5 beacons to workers. As well as some other gear. The machinistas (cat and plow drivers) like the machinista who died this year, do not all have beacons, let alone the knowledge of how to use one if a partner,
coworker, or overall friend was buried. This program is crucial for resorts such as Nevados de Chillan, who previously haven’t had a source for this information, and whose workers are quite often required to go into zones with hazard without the right protection. This year was the mark of what we hope to be a long standing relationship between Nevados de Chillan, its workers, and the South American Beacon Project. This community truly is unique in its spirit.