Claudio Andrade
07/27/2020 - 14:40
- Clarín.com
- Society
The patrol chief of the Catedral hill, Mario Ruiz, who died this Monday as a result of an avalanche, did not imagine his life but on a snow-covered mountain. He had been born in Alto de Bariloche, on Brown Avenue, where the humble neighborhoods of the tourist city converge.
Ruiz was known for being one of the greatest experts in avalanches and high mountain security in Patagonia . But his beginnings, in his adolescence, had been as a drainer of one of the platforms of the hill.
Skiing is an expensive sport. An activity of middle and upper middle class. In Bariloche there are thousands of people who have never stepped on a track in the surrounding mountains . For some young people the Cathedral, the Otto, among other hills, are hardly distant visions. Onerous. The work related to skiing is sometimes the only chance they have of getting to walk a mountain.
Ruiz followed this particular path full of risks. He climbed successive positions in the field until he became a patrolman. 9 years ago he became Chief of the Cathedral Patrol. One of the biggest responsibilities in the business. If not the greatest since it involves the care of the lives of athletes.
In the field it is known that patrolling is the most dangerous activity that can be carried out on a snowy mountain. After climbing, of course. Although the patrollers exercise their trade more than 100 days a year. It is no coincidence that the patrols are made up of young people and adults who grew up in Alto, the city's experts tell Clarín. "It is your opportunity," they point out.
The skier died in Bariloche from an avalanche.
In Bariloche, Ruiz was known as the leader of "the guardians of the mountain . " A wise man. An absolute reference. In March he had participated in an exchange with ski centers in the United States where he deepened his knowledge.
Friends remember him as "a friendly guy", friendly and active. "He was one of the people who knew the most about avalanches here and someone with a lot of training and experience," says a guide who knew him. "He was a great benchmark and teacher in terms of security for all who are part of Catedral Alta Patagonia," the concession company of the hill defined it in a statement.
"(The mountain and the snow) It is part of my life, I do not see myself in another place or doing anything else and the day I no longer work here it will be very hard, I think I am leaving Bariloche," he said in a opportunity to Río Negro. "The day always starts the same but you don't know how it will end," he said.
The place where the avalanche occurred.
Another of the activities of the team that Ruiz was leading was “sweeping” the mountain on the last shift of the day to prevent any skier from being left behind or caught by an accident.
The sector where he was fatally hit had accumulated around 4 meters of snow at the time of the slide. An enormous white plate was dragged along approximately 300 meters, taking Ruiz and his accompanying operator, who suffered minor injuries, in his path. The site of the accident is about 1670 meters high and presents wide and clean spaces barely nuanced by groves.
After receiving CPR maneuvers at elevation 1200, the expert was transferred to the San Carlos Sanatorium with severe trauma to the skull and pneumothorax.
At the time of the fall, both specialists were evaluating the fragility of the area after two consecutive days of heavy rainfall in the Cordillera. These always risky on-site analyzes help decide later where to execute the preventive explosions within the framework of the Avalanche Trigger Intervention Plan (PIDA).
The rescue of Mario Ruiz's body.
This specific point is known as "The Avalanche Corridor" precisely because of its propensity for the phenomenon. It is an off-piste passageway, not very steep and mostly attended by experienced skiers . Seasoned people take advantage of their virtual isolation to escape in July and August from the high “population” density made up of tourists.
In high season the Cathedral receives about 15 thousand skiers daily. But the coronavirus pandemic forced to suspend mountain activities and the hill remained closed until last Thursday for residents who had purchased the pass in advance. Its opening was partial and under a strict sanitary protocol. In fact, during the weekend it was not operating due to rainfall and strong winds in the region. In the two days it was running, between 5,000 and 7,000 local skiers visited it.
The death of the chief of patrol immediately sparked a strong controversy among ski experts in the Bariloche area. Specialists point out that total inactivity on the hill is one of the elements that are part of the accident equation.
The official statement from the Cerro Catedral concession company.
In the skiers' vision, the mountain is very little “trodden” or “traveled”, so there are complete areas that remain virgin this season blocked by the pandemic. "The area is not trodden by the absence of skiers, to this is added the snowfall that was not there long ago, it is to consider this. I'm not sure these things would have happened if there was a season and the snow would have been more compact than that, ”says a leading ski instructor.
"The low pressure system of these days has influenced rainfall and cold. A lot of snow has also accumulated and the accident sector is recurring. From Catedral they are doing a good control with the detonations, but here there was a combination of factors, the weather, the sector and also bad luck, "said Clarín, Lucas Jacobson, guide and secretary of the Mountain Association.
Avalanches are caused by the sliding of one or more layers of snow accumulated in successive snowfalls. The sun and the environmental conditions cause the hardening of these "skins" at different temperatures, until they end up sliding. Sometimes it is enough for a person or animal to cross a fragile area for the collapse of tons of snow.
Cerro Catedral will be closed due to a duel for two days. "After the technical recommendations of experts from the Andean Bariloche Club Assistance Commission, the total closure of the skiable areas and trails of the López and Otto hills, as well as all the mountain trails, has been determined. This is in addition to the complete closure of the Cerro Catedral concession area, ”indicates a statement from the municipality.
"Some relationship had that there was no activity, but the truth is that it snowed a lot and this influenced an area where there are always avalanches," explains a mountain guide.
In the municipality they explain that the case is under investigation. “We cannot say anything now, it is being investigated. It's been 25 years since it snowed like this. The other day a mechanical shovel found a vehicle at the base of the hill completely covered with snow, "says Marcos Barberis, chief of the Cabinet of the local municipality and president of the Cerro Catedral Municipal Autonomous Entity (EAMCEC). "We were already warning about the dangers of avalanches and warning about skiers who were climbing without authorization," he adds.
In the last month, two preventive detonations had to be suspended in the Cathedral in the presence of athletes on the mountain. Clandestine skiing has become a trend in the area. More than 300 people per day skip the sanitary protocol and climb the hills to do classic or mountain skiing.
GS