FILLING THE VOID
Safe backcountry skiing starts with an education
In the 2004-05 season, 37 people died in avalanches. Twenty of them were skiers and snowboarders. Such numbers are useful for developing statistics and averages, but, sadly, in a desensitized world where mortalities constantly fill TV screens and newspapers, it's become easy to dismiss the numbers and move on to the next tragedy. Too often when we're looking at stats, graphs and figures, we forget that these fallen skiers had families and friends. But when you talk to a father who lost his 22-year-old son, or a wife whose husband of 35 years is not coming home, it's suddenly clear that avalanche victims have left an empty space and that they are terribly missed.
If there's one lesson to be learned from all slide deaths it's that it can happen to anybody at any time. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, or how good of a skier you are, each time you step into the backcountry you are susceptible to getting slid. Just having the right gear isn't the answer, either, because your equipment means little if you don't know how to choose safe lines to ski. “Here we are in the information age, and it hasn't made our decisions any better,” says Bruce Tremper, director of the Utah Avalanche Center. “We need to come up with ways that combat the human factors.”
The best way to reduce your susceptibility to harm is to get educated. No longer is avalanche awareness reserved for the hardcores, but something every skier should make a priority. “The politically correct thing to do these days is take an avalanche course,” says Rod Newcomb, founder of the American Avalanche Institute based in Jackson, Wyoming. “It's not just backcountry skiers anymore, but mothers, fathers, sisters and wives and husbands.”
Fortunately, never before has there been such a concerted and wide-ranging effort to inform skiers about the hazards of traveling in avalanche terrain. Avalanche classes, ranging from the most basic principles of route finding to analyzing complex snowpack data, are held frequently throughout the winter at various locations across the West.
Furthermore, in every popular backcountry haunt in the United States, there exists at least some form of avalanche advisory, usually provided by a Forest Service avalanche center, small, lowly funded offices that operate in 18 places across the country. The people who work in these offices are passionate about their work, and very skilled. Despite the lack of monetary support (last year the Forest Service divvied up a total of $400,000 among all locations, or roughly $22,000 per office; remaining resources were supplied by community-led fundraising efforts), forecasters try to get the word out every day of the winter. And with the ease of the Internet—perhaps the best place to find weather and avalanche forecasts—it's all right at your fingertips.
In that fashion, powdermag.com has pulled together a comprehensive list of resources available to increase avalanche awareness. In the weeks and months ahead, you'll find info on educational institutions, forecasting sites, product reviews, Q&As with leading snow science professionals, and engaging articles from real skiers on safe backcountry travel. It's our effort to bring more awareness to the skiing community, in hopes that by the end of next season, there will be fewer empty spaces among our ranks. - Matt Hansen |
