Return of Snow Safety Sundays
(Last Updated On: December 22, 2016)
Last year, we announced our “Snow Safety Sundays” campaign, an effort to help improve avalanche awareness of our followers.
We at 14erskiers recognize that we have inspired a lot of people to venture into the backcountry. But, backcountry travel does not come without its risks. Every day we travel into the backcountry, we are continually analyzing and communicating with our partners about these risks.
Although we don’t always talk about it in every blog post, snow assessment is a daily routine for us. We begin this process by continually watching weather and avalanche forecasts for our desired area (which may or may not be the area in which we live, Crested Butte) and determining what lines are likely safe leading up to our tour date. From there, we often develop Plan A and Plan B options – varying lines that we can choose from based on our observations of the snow. While we’re out there, we are continually observing – watching for snow that has moved or is moving, digging hand pits, etc. While observing, we also communicate about our observations and the safest route of travel. The thought process and decision-making that goes on is constant. And at the same time, we are constantly learning more and more about how to make safer choices.
We want to stress the importance of snow safety to our followers. But, we are not avalanche professionals. So, we will leave the education in the hands of others by sharing external content.
Every Sunday evening at 6 pm, we will feature an article or video related to snow safety that we find useful, to be posted through our Facebook and Twitter social media platforms. These articles will range from the basics to more complex decision making problems. But, we will post things that EVERYONE can learn from.
We will begin our campaign tonight, and use the hashtag #snowsafetysunday throughout, covering 20 Sundays, and 20 helpful articles.
Our goal is to emphasize the importance of Snow Safety and that the process and decision-making are both constant and serious while traveling in the backcountry. Indeed, we need to escape this uncontrollable and chaotic world of mass-shootings and terrorist attacks and a crazy president elect, seeking solace in the outdoor world. And we CAN do THAT safely.
We hope that you will join us in our campaign by liking, sharing, and retweeting articles we post. We also hope that you will also become influencers by researching and sharing your own favorite articles on Sundays, also using the hashtag #snowsafetysunday.
Be safe, have fun, and ski your heart out this season!
Meanwhile, check out these articles from our own archives. Maybe you could learn something too:
Brittany Walker Konsella
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