| Author |
Topic |
17 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 10:06 PM
|
I am new to these forums but have been lurking around for sometime.
Anywho, Some friends of mine went to meager creek with the intention of scrambling up Mount Overseer. Just got a call about 30 minutes ago (approximately 9:40 pm) that there was a huge mud/landslide and they were apparently lucky to escape with their lives. They had to abandon their pathfinder or 4runner for good they were saying, because there was mud up to (as he said it) 50 ft. high in places. There was search and rescue looking for them, but a local happened to be in the area, saw their fire and guided them out. Crazy! Not sure if the hot springs access is affected or not but the ranger station was abandoned they said (surprise! heh). |
|
Pitt Meadows, BC
Canada
168 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 10:11 PM
|
| Can you provide more details where exactly did it happen? |
Edited by - Irkutianin on 09/20/2009 10:11 PM |
|
|
17 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 10:23 PM
|
| No I can't unfortunately. All I could gather was that it was (perhaps) past the hot springs. He was pretty shaken up, I could hear helicopters in the background when he was talking to me. Funny thing is we were talking about mudslides in the area (around the ranger station) before they left, as they seem to be pretty frequent. Hopefully someone else will have more details, and I should have more tomorrow. I will try to encourage him to post info himself. All I know is they had to abandon their vehicle on one of the forest roads leading to the trail head. |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
243 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 10:51 PM
|
Wow, that's amazing. I'm very interested in hearing more details!
matt |
|
|
 Night owl posting,Subie driving, backpacking Dad who is perpetually trying to catch up to his kids on the trail.
Vancouver, BC
Canada
2812 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 12:15 AM
|
| Wow. Scary stuff: waiting more details on specific location and long-term impact on access! |
|
|
 | Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
|
Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 05:09 AM
|
There's a reason that the access to Meager area has been severely limited over the years and it is exactly this: landslides. At any time of year, in any weather.
|
|
|
|
Simpson quoting tree hunter and canyon rapping rockhound who longs for the return of his trapped Toyota
Somewhere deep and narrow, BC
Canada
2213 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 09:29 AM
|
| Yikes. I almost went into 100 Lakes yesterday (like, last minute decision to go somewhere else). One vehicle abandoned to slides is enough, I figure. |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
1040 Posts |
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
997 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 12:40 PM
|
| From the pictures it looks like you just need a bulldozer. |
|
|
Burnaby, BC
Canada
20 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 12:45 PM
|
I was plannning a trip to Meager hot springs this weekend. I just called Squamish forest service and they described it as a mudslide, in contrast to the last major rock/debris avalanche that occurred sometime in the mid 90's(?).
They have a geotechnical engineer going up there today to check things out. We might have an answer in the next couple of days for an estimated repair/re-opening date. Until then, Meager is closed. FYI they also confirmed that the Lillooet FSR and campsite are still open, Pebble Creek hot springs is still accessible. Just the Meager branch is closed. |
|
|
| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
|
Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 12:57 PM
|
Capricorn is nasty because the glacier tongue up there is right at the volcanic/granite contact and there are piles of steep unconsolidated glacial sediment as well as massive bedrock instability. The average return period for surprisingly large debris flows is one to two events per decade. Devastator Creek might be more well-known but even Capricorn has the possibility to block Meager and send a floodwave down the Lillooet when the dam breaks...
When I was working up there we would gun it to the fastest possible speed when driving across the Capricorn fan, even on rainless days. |
|
|
Burnaby, BC
Canada
20 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 2:23 PM
|
| swebster, where did you find pics of this mudslide? |
|
|
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
315 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 4:16 PM
|
| I just got a video of the event. I don't think I can upload it here due to bandwidth, but it's pretty wild. |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
997 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 4:27 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by digicult
swebster, where did you find pics of this mudslide?
VOC message board. Here is one of them:
 |
|
|
| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
|
Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 4:53 PM
|
| Give that a couple weeks of rain and it will start to look a lot more bouldery |
|
|
17 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 5:02 PM
|
quote:
From the pictures it looks like you just need a bulldozer.
I dunno, my buddy said that creek has been re-routed because of the mud and cut through the logging road.
He also said one of the logging companies said they might be able to lift his buddies pathfinder out with a heli.... for a price i'm sure  .
Here are a few more pics:
      |
Edited by - Occasu on 09/21/2009 5:04 PM |
|
|
Van, BC
Canada
1540 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 5:58 PM
|
Crazy. Can you youtube or flickr the video?
-Ryan |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 6:08 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Occasu
quote:
From the pictures it looks like you just need a bulldozer.
I dunno, my buddy said that creek has been re-routed because of the mud and cut through the logging road.
He also said one of the logging companies said they might be able to lift his buddies pathfinder out with a heli.... for a price i'm sure .
Here are a few more pics:
That would take a twin rotor Vertol or Skycrane at the very least. Probably $5000/hr or so. Unless there happens to be one of these big machines parked nearby, the ferry charge for the heli could very well be more than the value of the vehicle. |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
730 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 6:29 PM
|
wouldnt you just pay your 300$ deductible....its not really any different than rolling it off the road...its either worth the loot to retrieve or its written off.
Unless there was a sign..I sort of thought there was some discussion from Frank Baumann on Bivouac that talks about the high possibilty of losing your car in there..hopefully there isnt a travel at your own risk sign..
quite the adventure! |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
997 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 6:47 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by J Mace
wouldnt you just pay your 300$ deductible....its not really any different than rolling it off the road...its either worth the loot to retrieve or its written off.
Unless there was a sign..I sort of thought there was some discussion from Frank Baumann on Bivouac that talks about the high possibilty of losing your car in there..hopefully there isnt a travel at your own risk sign..
quite the adventure!
Does insurance really cover your car becoming inaccessible? Seems unlikely to me...
And Scott, do you really need such a big helicopter? I don't really know much about it, but apparently a skycrane can lift 20000 lbs. Isn't a truck like this only about 4000? Perhaps a more mid-sized helicopter? |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
997 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 6:52 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Occasu
quote:
From the pictures it looks like you just need a bulldozer.
I dunno, my buddy said that creek has been re-routed because of the mud and cut through the logging road.
Well, yeah, they'd need to put in a new bridge/culverts, but the old one wasn't exactly very elaborate, presumably because they expect it will be washed out every few years and there's no point in building something fancy here.
But I guess we'll need to wait for some more clarification... some of the information the VOC's been getting has been contradictory, some mention of 2 km of logging road washed away, Meager creek being diverted and causing risk of further washouts etc... We'll see.
|
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Meager Creek Access
