17-18

<p>This weekend’s snowfall came in with wind. Wind creates drifts and when we have skiers hitting these drifts, we typically have avalanches. It is common to have avalanches with our early storms and I expect to hear of some in the coming days.</p>

<p>As I type this bulletin I have to admit that I am feeling rusty about avalanches, and imagine many of you are too. Over the years I have seen people make similar mistakes skiing early season so I lean on their errors to help scrub some of the rust away. Here are some things to consider:</p>

<ul>
<li>Equip yourself with all the tools you normally travel with mid-winter: beacon, shovel and probe at a minimum. Helmets are especially helpful with rocky runout zones and thin coverage.</li>
<li>Travel one at a time in avalanche terrain.</li>
<li>Small avalanches can be season-ending affairs at best and deadly at their worst. Be careful of getting swept into rocks or buried deeply in gullies or carried off cliffs. All of these have occurred early season in Montana.</li>
<li>Avoid wind-loaded slopes. These slopes are the most inviting because they have full coverage, but they are also the likeliest area to trigger a slide.</li>
<li>Cracking and collapsing of the snow is bulls-eye information that the snow is unstable.</li>
</ul>

<p>There are two things you can do right now to prep yourself for successful backcountry travel. First, read <a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/12/10/31">this accident report</a> from October 2012 in the northern Bridger Range. Its chock full of useful lessons. Second, look over our avalanche education courses which are listed below and <a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/education"><strong>HERE</strong></a>.</p&gt;

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<p>This month we are preparing for winter, scheduling avalanche classes, and setting up weather stations. If you get outside send us an observation via our website, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com">mtavalanche@gmail.com</a&gt;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>

<p>The saying with every winter’s first storm (or summer’s last) is, “If there’s enough snow to ride, there’s enough snow to avalanche.” A phrase as worthy of seasonal repetition as the classic ski film, <em>The Blizzard of Aahhh’s</em>. In addition to watching new and classic ski films this fall, sharpen your avalanche skills at various classes and events, listed below and <a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/education"><strong>HERE</strong></a>.</p&gt;

<p>A few feet of new snow in the mountains makes avalanches possible. Hunters, skiers, and hikers should travel cautiously where snow is deep and wind-drifted. Last weekend, an avalanche was observed in the Tobacco Roots that was large enough to injure or bury a person (<a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/images/17/skier-triggered-slide-17-sep-2017"…;). Here are some things to consider when you head to the mountains.</p>

<ul>
<li><u>Everyone</u> in your group should each carry a beacon, shovel, and probe. Put fresh batteries in your beacon, check your probe and shovel for damage, and know how to use them.</li>
<li>Expose only one person at a time in avalanche terrain, whether climbing or descending.</li>
<li>Avoid steep slopes with thick slabs of wind-drifted snow, or if there is collapsing or cracking of the snow.</li>
<li>If you are unsure of snow stability, travel in terrain less steep than ~32 degrees.</li>
<li>Small slides can cause serious trauma if they push you into rocks or trees, and can bury a person in small terrain traps like confined gullies, road cuts, or creek beds.</li>
</ul>

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<p>We are preparing for winter, scheduling avalanche classes, and setting up weather stations. Drop a line if you get out in the hills and have any avalanche or snow observations to share, e-mail <a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com">mtavalanche@gmail.com</a&gt; or call 406-587-6984.</p>