Here in Crested Butte, it has not snowed for a week an a half. This lack of snow fall not only dampers desires for skiing, but it slowly wreaks havoc on the snow pack. As many backcountry enthusiasts know, early season snowfall often dictates the behavior of the snow pack for the rest of the season. A prolonged period of cold temperatures and no new snow causes the depth hoar sugar-snow that threatens the stability of the base layers of our snow pack. This season’s snow pack is slowly taking the form of the classic unstable Colorado snow.
Early season backcountry skiers can also be victims of this unstable snow pack. It’s easy for early season skiers to forget their avy savvy when faced with some of the first precious powder turns of the year. But, it’s always important to have your avy sense about you as a backcountry enthusiast.
This time of year it’s always a good idea for backcountry enthusiasts to practice their avy savvy. You don’t even need to be on snow to be thinking in “avy mode”. Here’s some ideas to practice your avy sense:
1) Beacon practice - Grab a bunch of your friends who have beacons. Borrow beacons if you can. If there’s snow around, bury them in some snow (this could be while on a backcountry outing or just in a random snowfield, like in a park). If there is no snow, go to a big house or building and try to hide the beacons in random places. Begin by hiding one beacon. Then practice multi-beacon searches if possible.
2) Read books – There’s tons of books about avalanches out there. There’s books of how avalanches happen, about avalanche safety, and even some that purely report avalanche accidents. It doesn’t matter what you read. All will get you thinking in avy mode again. If you don’t feel like buying a new book, see if you can borrow one from a friend, from the library, or even re-read a book you haven’t read in a few years.
3) Utilize online resources – We all know there’s a ton of information on the internet. Go to your local avalanche information cite and read everything they have. Visit other state’s cites. A great national cite is avalanche.org.
- Stories – Some of my favorite stories can be viewed on Lou Dawson’s WildSnow.com site:
- Absorb the Punch
- The Wrong Side of Safety
- Caught
Also, check out this recount of an avalanche on Decker near Whistler. - Online Tutorials- Check out some online tutorials. A couple can be found here:
Avalanche Basics
A Day in the Backcountry - Online Videos – There are a lot of online videos out there that can be educational, and viewed for free. My favorite is “A Dozen More Turns” which comes in three parts: Part I, Part II, Part III
- Online Publications- There are many online publications. One you might find interesting is the Avalanche Review, a magazine that can be viewed online.
4) Attend local avalanche awareness talks – Look for information on these on your local avalanche cites, newspapers, backcountry gear stores, and the radio.
5) Sign up for an avalanche course – Even if you have taken an avalanche course already, it can be helpful to take another avy course. If you have already taken Avy I, try Avy II. Many institutions also offer avy “Refresher” courses- which are shorter, but packed with valuable information. You may also consider taking an avy course from a different institution, because many institutions have different philosophies on how to handle avy courses- which means you may learn different information from one institution to another.
6) Re-acquaint yourself with avy terminology- It’s easy to forget what terms like “Moderate” and “Considerable” on the avy danger scale mean. Look at it again. Also, check out this Avalanche Encyclopedia
All of these things are steps that you can take to help re-tune your avy sense. Of course, none of these replace actual on-snow experience. However, they will help prepare you for the upcoming snow season!
