...Safe Travel Techniques...

Don't do it like these bozos...

If you decide that you're going to avoid getting hit by a car by never crossing the street, then you'll lead a very boring life, indeed, and you won't even be safe--you'll probably get killed by a meteor and it would serve you right.

Eventually, you'll get tired of cowering in the flat lands and you'll decide to risk traveling through an avalanche path. Good for you! Avalanches don't run non-stop, obviously. Some paths only run once every 100 years or even longer. If you look both ways before crossing the street you'll avoid being run over most of the time. Similarly, if you use safe travel techniques, you'll avoid many problems with avalanches.

COMMANDMENT #1:

Always, always, always travel in avalanche paths one at a time! Even if the hazard of human-triggered avalanches is so low as to be non-existent. This is to reinforce good habits and break dangerous natural patterns.

We humans suffer from an intense "herding instinct". We just don't feel safe when we're all by ourselves, so we huddle together in groups. This is an effective strategy against lions and tigers and bears, but it makes it very easy for the avalanche to clobber all of us together, leaving noone to dig us out.

Pick a safe site and gather up for lunch later.

COMMANDMENT #2:

Never, never, never enter the slope above your buddy! Skiing above your friends is attempted murder. If the snow slides, you will probably be near the surface, but your unfortunate friend will most likely end up buried deep under all that snow you dropped on him, which is bad.

Once you stop moving, don't linger in the avalanche path like Wile E. Coyote staring up at the whistling piano--get out of the way!

COMMANDMENT #3:

Always have an escape route. If things don't go well and you trigger an avalanche, you will have a brief moment to use your momentum to carry you to an "island of safety", provided that you have identified one in advance and are already aiming for it. Ridges, big trees and lower angle slopes all work.

Safe Route-Finding:

At any given time, the avalanche hazard will be higher in some locations than in others. It is possible to travel safely, even in periods of high avalanche hazard if you are selective about the terrain your route takes you through. It is not possible, however, to travel safely on any slope at any time!

Plan your route through avalanche terrain, don't just blast off. Use small features to your advantage. Avoid problem areas like:

• Shallow spots over or near rock outcroppings,
• The center punch,
• Steep rollovers,
• Gullies and other terrain-traps,
• Shady spots on sunny slopes where instability lasts longer.

If you go to the wintery mountains expecting to deal with them on human terms, you are courting disaster. The avalanche dragons don't care that it's been 3 weeks without fresh powder; they don't care that this is your only day off this week and they don't care that you want to impress the Boarder-Betty in the group. Listen to what the snow is telling you and adjust your expectations accordingly or suffer the consequences!

In hazardous conditions, stick to thick tree stands, ridges, low angle slopes and the windward side. Beware of avalanche starting zones far above you. Stay away from dangerous "terrain traps" like ravines where you can be buried deeply by even small amounts of snow.

Consider the consequences of going for a ride before you commit to a particular route--will you be carried into a wide, smooth alluvial fan or tumbled through sharp rocks?

Consider the ability of the group--maybe skiing the slope will be okay for skiers with a light touch, but not so good if someone falls hard and flails.

Travel on more stable aspects--generally sunnier aspects in the winter and shadier aspects in the spring. Your local avalanche advisory hot-line can help you decide which aspects, elevations and areas to be especially cautious with on each day.