When it comes to talking about safety rules, conventional avalanche wisdom points to there being no rules of thumb. Having said that, it still does not completely rule out all hope for staying safe and alive in the face of such impending disasters that can happen on snowy terrains.
Overview of avalanche safety:
Avalanche accidents do not occur because of any fatal hand played by Dame Luck but as a result of physical and human factors that underlie each mishap. Persons heading for the outdoors where avalanche accidents are common need to update themselves on the available information about related factors that result in avalanche accidents.
Increasing chances of survival: avalanche safety tips
Most accidents involve slab avalanches and the victim, or a member of the victim’s party, usually triggers the slab that kills them. Skiers and climbers make up the bulk of the unfortunate casualties in avalanche accidents but snowmobilers and snowboarders are surpassing these numbers at an alarming rate now.
- Begin by learning about the fundamentals of the backcountry or avalanche prone area. Most avalanche conditions form as a result of the interaction of terrain, weather and snow pack. If one can learn to recognize the subtleties of avalanche terrain and mountain travelers understand how to correctly spot the obvious slopes where a fracture may occur, it will bring down fatalities by a large percentage.
- Mountain travelers need to know the likelihood of a potential fracture site, how far it may propagate by studying the terrain and paying attention to the weather. This is a vital link since storms are the source of most the world’s avalanches. Recognizing weather patterns helps travelers determine when a prolonged period of extremely cold and clear weather can significantly weaken a snow pack and set up a hair trigger circumstance. This is why persons venturing in such situations need to have a ‘feel’ of the snow and a good grasp of the physical processes that the snow pack depends on.
- Keep an ear out for any hint of hollow sounds, cracking, or collapsing, which are also important field observations. The ability to get a ‘feel’ of the snow is not of much use unless the smart mountain traveler combines it with the knowledge of slab structure and fracture propagation. This essential base of knowledge allows one to evaluate the stability of a given slope.
- Plan a route prior to leaving and ensure safety by staying close to dense timber. Also plan out escape routes before beginning to cross unstable slopes.
- It is advisable to cross slopes one at a time if instability is suspected of a slope and do so while maintaining constant visual contact with members of your group throughout.
- Stay aware of changing weather/temperature conditions if the outing lasts more than a few hours and carry avalanche rescue equipment, like beacons, ski-pole probes and collapsible shovels, as a necessary part of survival gear in mountainous areas prone to avalanche accidents.