Avalanche Awareness Talk: It Could Save Your Life

Who says just because there is no snow to ski we can’t still obsess over the sport that drives us? Well, thanks to our friends at the Utah Avalanche Center, addicted Wasatch dwellers were able to have an excuse to congregate and talk about snow for four hours this past Saturday.

The idea was to have an open discussion between experts and enthusiasts, sharing experience and knowledge in an effort to educate ourselves further about the dangers of backcountry travel and explore the latest practices.

We heard about historic avalanche events and the newest innovations from avalanche forecasters, ski patrollers, snow scientists, UDOT avalanche professionals, search & rescue personnel, mountain guides, ski industry manufacturers, backcountry skiers & snowboarders, snowmobilers, and avalanche scholars. Among them, the infamous Bruce Tremper.

It was just a really good way to spend a balmy afternoon in the beginning of November. Nothing quite gets you thinking like reminiscing about the horrific incidents from last seasons avalanche cycle.

I find that over the long summers it can take me a few tours to start getting back into my backcountry routine, not only in terms of gear checks and organization, but when it comes to decision making and group communication. Attending the awareness talk is one way that I am trying to stay one step ahead of the game this season.

It is easy to forget, but what we do every day, whether deep in the backcountry, off the side of your favorite resort ,or within the resort lines, is extremely dangerous. As human beings we like to focus on what we can control, and we like to think that we have got snow safety down to a science, but the truth is, snow is an ever changing substance that has many factors affecting its strength and composition. It does not always follow the rules, rather as many of our local resorts found last season, avalanches can follow more of the exceptions and catch us all of guard.

It is for this reason that I strongly urge you to get involved with you local Avalanche organizations, take an avalanche course, go to open talks about snow pack, learn how to use the beacon, shovel, and probe you got last Christmas, be educated so that you can live to play another day.

COUNTRY WIDE AVALANCHE RESOURCE LINKS

Tags: Avalanche, Bruce Tremper, Snow Safety, Utah Avalanche Center