Stay Safe in Avalanche Country

It seems that news of avalanche fatalities is almost commonplace throughout the winter months, especially in the Rocky Mountain western states. Indeed, whether it's a backcountry skier, snowmobiler, or even a hiker, there are always people who seem to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, about 25 people have died every year in an avalanche over the past 10 years. There's no telling how many more have been caught in an avalanche and survived.

As gear and equipment technology improves, allowing more people to access the backcountry, those numbers have been climbing. In Wyoming, for example, the decade that began in 2000 was the deadliest on record for the state, with more than twice as many fatalities as the 13 that occured in the 1990s, according to the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center.

There are many online sites that provide information about avalanche conditions and forecasts. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center provides up-to-date overviews and forecasts for the entire state, and conditions can even be generalized into southeast Wyoming.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center provides daily forecasts for western Wyoming. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center has information about northwest Wyoming and West Yellowstone. The Northern New Mexico Avalanche Exchange is a place to view information compiled for that state.

To find information about your area, visit the CyberSpace Avalanche Center, a clearing house for news and information. The site has a state-by-state guide of online sources for checking conditions and forecasts.

Knowing the conditions is the just the first step. Knowing what to do if you or a member of your party is caught in an avalanche can be the difference between life and death. And while avoiding an avalanche is the best way to stay alive, having the right gear for an emergency is critical, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has compiled information about surviving backcountry danger.

The center provides a checklist of precautions to take when planning a trip into avalanche country, including factoring wind and weather, checking the snowpack and observing its activity, watching the slope and looking out for gullies, and noticing any recent avalanche activity. When in doubt, take an alternate route.

For those traveling by snowmobile, the Forest Service National Avalanche Center recommends practicing low-risk travel. That means choosing the safest possible route and never exposing more than one person at a time to an avalanche risk.

The best way to learn how to protect yourself from an avalanche is to take a class. The National Ski Patrol offers two levels of avalanche safety courses. The Level I course includes eight hours of classroom instruction, followed by a day in the field to practice the skills learned inside. There are many other organizations that also offer avalanche instruction.

For information about avalanche instruction in Colorado, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center has compiled a calendar of upcoming classes.