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Avalanche Safety

Guidelines | Courses | Links

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Each year dozens of people are killed in avalanches (see list of North American accidents).

• Most fatal avalanches are triggered by the people caught in them.

• A large majority of fatal avalanches are caused by weak layers of snow buried by subsequent snowfall.

• About 25% of avalanche fatalities are caused by the impact of the avalanche.

• After an avalanche stops, the snow usually sets as hard as concrete making it impossible for victims to move or clear a breathing space.

• Victims buried for more than 15 minutes have less than a 50% survival rate, so it is important that everyone in the group be properly equipped and well-versed in rescue procedures.

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Avalanche Safety Guidelines

Before skiing in the backcountry of mountainous areas follow the following basic guidelines:

• Take an avalanche safety course given by a reputable instructor to learn how to avoid being caught in an avalanche and what to do if one occurs.

• Find out if there any any avalanche-prone areas where you are planning to ski by checking with the nearest ranger station or backcountry ski store and referring to maps and guidebooks.

• If there are a possibility of avalanches occurring where you are going, consult the region's avalanche advisory and get the latest weather forecast. Even if the avalanche rating is low there may be areas where blowing snow or other factors create a higher risk.

• If there is a possibility of avalanches, consider postponing your trip or going to safer area. Never let the thrill of the sport outweigh the possible danger.

• Consider hiring a professional guide that knows the area or joining a guided tour with an experienced leader. Mountain guides should be certified by Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, American Mountain Guides Association or Mountain Guides International.

• Don't go into avalanche terrain without proper training and equipment. It is vitally important that each person in the group carry avalanche rescue equipment and know how to use it.

• Think for yourself when skiing with a group without an experienced leader. Don't fall into the sheep mentality and follow the others blindly without evaluating the risk.

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Avalanche Safety Courses

Courses should be at least two days in length and cover route finding, stability evaluation, hazard recognition, avalanche zone crossing techniques and avalanche rescue procedures. Courses should include a field trip for practicing the application of the course material.

Canada
Introductory and advanced courses are given by Alpine Club of Canada and by over 50 other avalanche course instructors.
The Canadian Avalanche Association gives courses for industry professionals.

USA
American Avalanche Institute offers courses for recreationalists and professionals. www.avalanchecourse.com
Westwide Avalanche Network has a list of course providers www.avalanche.org/aviedu2.htm

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Avalanche Links

Canadian Avalanche Association provides posts bulletins for western Canada. It also provides course material and trains industry professionals. 604-290-9333 (Vancouver), 403-243-7253 (Calgary), 1-800-667-1105 (BC and Alberta) www.avalanche.ca

Colorado First Trax has a good avalanche info page www.firstrax.com

Westwide Avalanche Network contains info for the western US www.avalanche.org

Cyberspace Snow and Avalanche Center www.csac.org

Utah Avalanche Forecast Center www.avalanche.org/~uafc/index.phtml

Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research www.slf.ch/slf/slf.htm

Scottish Avalanche Information Service www.sais.gov.uk

Backcountry Access - manufacturers of the Tracker DTS digital tracking avalanche beacon and other rescue equipment www.bcaccess.com

Ortovox - manufacturers of avalanche rescue equipment www.ortovox.com/index_eng.html

Survival on Snow - produces and sells rescue equipment www.sos-find.com

See also Winter Safety

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