Interesting story of a bear encounter in Haines (Metlakatla, Susitna: organic, living)

[Arktikos]

Outside mag. A lengthy piece, worth the effort.

https://www.outsideonline.com/advent...oUtHYGXaGnrA6g

"..Haines isn’t the sort of place for people who prefer wide safety margins or cheap burgers. There’s a palpable rawness to living here and an implicit humility necessary to survive..."

Quite so.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

Outside mag. A lengthy piece, worth the effort.

https://www.outsideonline.com/advent...oUtHYGXaGnrA6g

"..Haines isn’t the sort of place for people who prefer wide safety margins or cheap burgers. There’s a palpable rawness to living here and an implicit humility necessary to survive..."

Quite so.

Two words: situational awareness. Why would anybody go into the back country without bear spray, and not even be looking out for bears? At least they had a Garmin inReach with them, so they could get help.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Two words: situational awareness. Why would anybody go into the back country without bear spray, and not even be looking out for bears? At least they had a Garmin inReach with them, so they could get help.

It was February, so bears expected to be hibernating. It'd be fairly difficult to be aware that you're walking over a bear den in heavy snow.

They didn't use Garmin properly, that was a big mistake.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Two words: situational awareness. Why would anybody go into the back country without bear spray, and not even be looking out for bears? At least they had a Garmin inReach with them, so they could get help.

Back country skiing in February in Alaska your situational awareness is on avalanches, not bears. I spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and neither me nor my friends ever think about bears. We carry avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, and wear avalanche bags. None of us ever carries bear spray. One or more of us may carry a gun but that's for grumpy moose not bears.



Granted we spend most of our time in the Susitna Valley and the Alaska Range, which are different areas than Haines, but definitely full of bears in the summer. In winter you are most focused on not freezing to death, falling through ice, getting buried by snow, or trampled by a moose. In February, bears are way, way down the list of things that might kill you.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Northrick

Back country skiing in February in Alaska your situational awareness is on avalanches, not bears. I spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and neither me nor my friends ever think about bears. We carry avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, and wear avalanche bags. None of us ever carries bear spray. One or more of us may carry a gun but that's for grumpy moose not bears.

Granted we spend most of our time in the Susitna Valley and the Alaska Range, which are different areas than Haines, but definitely full of bears in the summer. In winter you are most focused on not freezing to death, falling through ice, getting buried by snow, or trampled by a moose. In February, bears are way, way down the list of things that might kill you.

This. But let's search for a way to blame the victim anyway. If you make a list of all the actions the victim and his buddies took before and after the mauling the plus side of the ledger would be distinctly longer than the minus side. They were knowledgeable, well equipped, interpreted and responded to the attack appropriately (I'd love to see critics display equal presence of mind while being chewed on by a defensive bear), no one panicked, they did what they could for the victim, stayed right where they could be found, and everyone, including the bears, survived. OK, someone didn't confirm the SOS call, but they did send a sort of "backup" message to another person which resulted in help (when you find yourself in dire trouble, tell anyone you might be able to reach). Remarkable story...good fact-filled article too!

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Northrick

Back country skiing in February in Alaska your situational awareness is on avalanches, not bears. I spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and neither me nor my friends ever think about bears. We carry avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, and wear avalanche bags. None of us ever carries bear spray. One or more of us may carry a gun but that's for grumpy moose not bears.



Granted we spend most of our time in the Susitna Valley and the Alaska Range, which are different areas than Haines, but definitely full of bears in the summer. In winter you are most focused on not freezing to death, falling through ice, getting buried by snow, or trampled by a moose. In February, bears are way, way down the list of things that might kill you.

That is very unfortunate. Because it means you are at risk of having the same thing happen.

The group was skinning up the mountain when they stumbled upon a brown bear’s den by accident at around 1,600 feet of elevation, said Carl Koch, a management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Koch said it’s a common misconception that bears enter into a full state of hibernation during the winter. Bears actually enter into a state called torpor, in which they slow down their body functions to preserve energy and stay warm through the winter. Torpor is less intense than hibernation and Koch said bears can even wake up and leave the den before returning to the state of torpor again. Bears can also awaken in response to a disturbance, he said.

Although attacks during the winter are not common, Koch said they can happen. The department receives calls about nuisance bears every month of the year, he said.

Koch advised anyone recreating in an area where bears may live to carry bear spray and said it can still be effective in cold weather.

Group accidentally encountered a brown bear den before one of them was mauled near Haines

[Metlakatla]

Now you've really stepped in it, Cloudy.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Now you've really stepped in it, Cloudy.

LOL, so what's new?

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

That is very unfortunate. Because it means you are at risk of having the same thing happen.

Life is full of risks. A few more during a bluebird midwinter day in AK. Up to each individual to weigh them. The relative risk between triggering an avalanche, injuring myself in a winter activity fall and dying of hypothermia is a lot higher than being mauled by a denning bear aroused out of torpor at just the right moment

[Techy02]

Yikes. Can't imagine mother brown bear coming out from under the snow right next to me. Glad the guy made it.