Please read Michael Pearlman’s excellent post Ski Patroller Death Highlights the Real Price of Powder Turns on New West about the ski patrollers we too often take granted. It is sad that it takes the loss of one of these very professional and dedicated people to remind us that they risk their lives so we [...]

A couple of days ago I suggested that skiers venturing off trail to ski steeper powdery slopes within a resort’s normally avalanche controlled boundaries would be wise to wear avalanche transceivers and carry a shovel and a probe pole just as if they were heading into the backcountry. Here’s why…Three significant avalanches where triggered by [...]

I presume Mr. Wolling and his ski patrol partner were following standard procedures that have been preformed hundreds of times over the years to stabilize the snow in Cheyenne Bowl. If that assumption is correct, then we can assume that this year’s snowpack is extremely treacherous, causing a release capable of trapping and nearly killing a very experienced patroller doing normally safe and standard procedure avalanche control duties.

In a few years virtually all cell phones will be smart phones having a sophisticated display screen capable of showing in real time, on a large scale satellite photograph or topomap, the location of the user and the location of a buried victim and accurately indicating the distance and direction to the victim, plus the victim’s depth.

Remember last year at this time? The Tetons were getting pounded with heavy snows and the avalanche danger was insane. There was an inbounds avalanche fatality  at Jackson and another avalanche partially buried several of their ski patrol members and damaged an on-mountain restaurant. The danger was so high Jackson had to keep much of [...]

Check out this account of a recent avalanche in Val’d’isere. Three airbag carrying skiers were caught in an avalanche and the two who deployed their bags were not buried. Luckily, the one who didn’t deploy his bag was dug out and rescued too. Why didn’t he pull the trigger? He doesn’t know. I bet he [...]

With lift-riding skiing over with for this season, and avalanche danger usually less of a problem,  April is a great month to head into the backcountry for excellent spring corn skiing, and often some very fine powder skiing as well. Of course we need to get up earlier in the morning to beat the heat, [...]

Yesterday, I couldn’t resist the lure of a day old snowfall covering the Tetons and a bright sunny morning. I decided to do the long trudge up South Leigh Canyon to reach Beard Mountain and its gorgeous powder fields. From the parking area to the base of the mountains it’s a 2-1/2 to 3 miles [...]

There has been a lot of media coverage of the three avalanche survivors of an avalanche near Vail who managed to get themselves completely buried, simultaneously, in a single avalanche, but managed a self-rescue and lived to tell the tale. Here’s the official report of the incident.
Lou Dawson, a former avalanche victim himself, takes a [...]

Skiing the Backcountry has a couple of new posts about the merits of avalanche airbags in general and the Snowpulse one in particular. The writer, or writers, share my enthusiasm for these devices. But, just because I wake up some mornings, like today, in a feisty mood, I want to take exception to a commonly [...]