Avalanche awareness is crucial to safety

With the snow beginning to brighten up the mountains and the air acquiring a distinctly winter chill, skiers and snowboarders around the Missoula valley are beginning to gear up for their outdoor adventures.

Whether it’s a day trip into the Rattlesnake or a weekend up Little Saint Joseph Peak to stay in a backcountry cabin, there are a few things every backcountry explorer should know before strapping on skis or snowshoes.

“The biggest thing is just to realize that you need to be responsible, plan ahead ... Don’t just take off and cross the rope at Snowbowl out into the Rattlesnake backcountry with nothing but yourself,” said Dudley Improta, the assistant director of Campus Recreation and longtime avalanche awareness educator.

GETTING EDUCATED
There are various opportunities on campus to get schooled in avalanche awareness provided by the UM Outdoor Program. For the basics in how terrain, weather and snowpack affect avalanche hazard, as well as tips on picking safe lines and making good decisions, there is a free avalanche awareness lecture held on Nov. 27 and another on Dec. 4, both at 7 p.m. in the North Urey Underground Lecture Hall. Additionally, on Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, there will be an avalanche transceiver clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a cost of only $15. This includes instruction and use of transceivers.

On Tuesday, Jan. 29 and Wednesday, Jan. 30, there will be an avalanche awareness class, free of charge, which will include two continuing lectures in Social Science 352 from 7 to 9 p.m. As a supplement to this lecture series there will be a field trip on Saturday, Feb. 2 for snowmobilers and another on Sunday, Feb. 3 for snowboarders and skiers. The field trips are an extension of the avalanche awareness class and all students must go to lectures to be eligible for field trips.

The most intensive avalanche education opportunity on campus this year is the Avalanche Level One certification. The certification class will begin Friday, Jan. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. in McGill Hall, room 210. The class will continue through the weekend of Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 out in the field. The certification course costs $130 and is limited to 20 participants. Register at the Outdoor Program beginning Nov. 15.

GET THE RIGHT GEAR
Improta said there are three tools that every backcountry adventurer should carry with them at all times: a shovel, a transceiver and a probe.

“A transceiver is definitely the quickest way to find a buried victim. Once you find them, you’ve got to get to them – so there’s the shovel. A snowboard isn’t going to work. And a probe pinpoints the victim,” he said.

A probe is a small aluminum pole that flips out and turns into a nine-foot pole used to poke, or probe, the snow to find a victim.

Other products on the market include an Avalung, which allows you to get air out of the snow by exhaling out the back so you don’t form a freezing ice pack around your mouth, and an air bag that inflates after a rip cord is pulled and expands, essentially bringing you to the surface of the snow pack.

“It’s more than floating you, it more sorts you out to the surface,” Improta said.

BE AWARE OF RISKS
Improta said there are a few things you can watch out for that will help you identify a high-risk avalanche situation.

Four things to think about in the backcountry:

1. Terrain: Is the terrain you are going to play on steep enough to slide?

For example, the ideal gradient for a slide is between 35 and 40 degrees, Improta said. If the slope is steeper than 45 degrees then the snow usually sloughs off and becomes stable. Less than 35 degrees, the conditions would have to be pretty extreme to get the snow going in a slide.

2. Weather: Is the weather contributing to unstable conditions?

“Most (avalanches) happen during and immediately after big snow storms,” Improta said. Wind that blows snow from one place to collect in another can create unstable snow pack, and rain that adds weight can also trigger a slide.

“Any major changes in the weather and you should be aware,” Improta said.

3. Visible Weaknesses: Are there signs that the powder cornice or bowl you are about to launch off is unstable?

Improta suggests a few tests you can perform to check snow stability. You can dig snow pits – the deeper the better – to see every layer of snow. If you zig-zag a slope, jump at the corners of every zig or zag to see if it slides. The Rutsch Block is a standard test that entails digging out a section of snow and pulling it loose to see if it triggers any movement.

“Really, just be observant. If you see recent activity, realize that it can happen again,” Improta said.

4. Mitigating risk: Are you taking all precautions to make sure you don’t find yourself in a high-risk situation?

Improta said you should always have a trustworthy buddy with you and ski one at a time. This way, if an avalanche is triggered, there is someone there to save you.

“In our culture we tend to follow the risk takers ... but maybe that’s not the quality you want in a good backcountry ski partner,” he said.

Overall, Improta encourages people to be aware that when they go into the backcountry, it is always a potentially dangerous situation. It doesn’t matter if you are just out of bounds at Snowbowl or hiking high in the Bitterroot.

“Area skiers are crossing that rope looking for what we all want – untracked powder. But once you cross that rope, you have to realize that you are in the backcountry. Just to realize that is important,” he said.