Student Attending Exclusive Boarding School Encounters Avalanche | Emily Franciose Case Analysis

This video answers the question: Can I analyze case of Emily Franciose?

Dr. Grande’s book Harm Reduction:

[MELtheJ]

"There's a sense that some people are angry because the risk that was always present was actually realized." --Dr. Grande

[davidhefflefinger]

My son died in an avalanche backcountry skiing a little over a year ago. He was with two "experts" according to the county sheriff. He had even purchased an extra snowmobile so the three of them could ski together. I told him they we going to get him killed, but of course he didn't listen. The sheriff said he'd give these "experts" my number, but they never called.

[allengreg]

I was into rock climbing when I was a much younger man. One of the "experts" told me he never went on "lead climbs" because rather than being the safety mechanism it's purported to be, it's actually a suicide pact. The problem with experts is that they will go so long without any problems, that they become overconfident and start to cut corners.

[michelleobrien]

I had a friend who loved hiking. He died in his 20s when he fell off a cliff. At his funeral his hiking friends made a point of saying that he was always safety conscious and never wreckless but the risk of tragic accident is always there and each of them accepts that risk in the pursuit of the joy and fulfilment this activity brings to their lives. So while it's absolutely tragic and unwanted that a life is cut short, it was a life lived to the fullest.

[kimberlymcgee]

I've always seen or heard of people buried and dying in an avalanche, but not being ripped apart. That's sad really.

[SuperZardo]

March 21 is already quite late in the season to undertake that kind of activity in Switzerland. Snow is usually more stable in the second half of January and in February.

There are two kind of avalanches: dry ones (unstabilized fresh powdery snow, occuring mostly at the beginning of the season or after days of heavy snowfall) and wet ones (mostly at the end of the season). In March whole patches may become instable, and snow is mostly old and therefore well stabilized but can loose its connection with the ground as the layer touching the ground might melt. So large sheets of snow may suddendly break off. And it's rather heavy, compacted snow, too, which then rushes downwards, taking everything with it. There's basically no way of getting out of that kind of heavy snow by oneself if buried 6 feet under.

Looks like the guides did only have a partial understanding of the dangers, otherwise they would have avoided steep slopes at that time of year. Detailed forecasts for avalanche risk were already available online in Switzerland when this unlucky chick wasn't even born.

[CMDWP]

"On planet Earth gravity is on by default" [12:22] Dr. Grande's humor is so crafty :)

[seanmahoney]

I find your sarcasm and desert dry delivery refreshing and delightful, happy subscriber.

[pfschuyler]

This has everything to do with the true dangers of delegation of risk/trust of authority. The parents & students delegated the risk to the school. The School delegated the risks to the guides. The Guides were reckless. The true risk was obscured. Many small or large scale disasters can happen exactly this way.

[andreasissons]

I was in Vail in 2023 on a ski trip and read about this accident. Sad this happened to someone so young but if you've lived and played in the mountains, whether it's Colorado or Switzerland, you have a different mind set about them. Interestingly, in 2023 the back bowls of Vail were closed when the warm weather conditions in early April created avalanche conditions. They didn't reopen for the rest of the season.

[chubbycatfish]

"If there was an avalanche, maybe it would not take out the entire group."

Nice to know he used hand grenade defense tactics for mountain climbing.

[darthkek]

You don't have to ski or even climb. Just hiking a trail can be deadly in a mountain. One foot slip, one tiny tumble, and you can go over an edge, or just fall and hit your head on a rock. I love mountaineering, and reduce risk as much as I can, but I know each time I go out can quite reasonably be my last.

[CKC_siquesee]

I have several friends that knew her :( I believe she was a ski racer... Tony Seibert, whose grandfather (Peter Seibert) founded Vail, also died in an avalanche in 2014 at the age of 24... I was a ski racer for 13 years and qualified for the Junior Olympics 7x. I never have and never will ski in the backcountry. My dad was heli skiing in BC in the 70's and the other group was caught in an avalanche...he and others in the group that were in the helicopter at the time had to dig up all of the dead bodies...my dad dug up two friends... please know what you are doing if you go into backcountry -- even expert Olympic ski racers (famously Buddy Werner) die in avalanches.

Edit: Shame on those of you calling her deplorable names…smdh … just because her parents were rich?!

[hotrodmercury]

As my instructor told me when I first started to learn to fly.

"You can do everything right, up until everything goes wrong"

Nature is unforgiving.

[elisar]

This was very interesting to me, as I grew up about 10 miles away of where this disaster has happened. Horrible and sad. Thank you.

[joechang]

young people tend to think they will live forever. It is hard to suppress this, and doing so would take out some of the joy of life.

[karilynn]

Very sad. I think that kind of wealth CAN cause a person to lose their gut instinct to some degree. Everything is on a platter for them unlike someone whose life is just normal. Being in the norm you use your gut more and your common sense thinking skills, too....because you simply have to.

[arinerm]

An axiom I learned during outdoor adventure training remains true: "Nature is **always** trying to kill you."

[DDCCO]

I was in a warzone at 20 years of age. My comrades and I were highly skilled but knew that our environment at that time was never present during the morning briefings.

[Mr.Crowley]

That time of year is also the most dangerous time for avalanches as parts of snow and packed ice can warm and then slip and then create massive force as it gains momentum…argh.