How to Prepare for an Avalanche
Avalanche Preparedness
Snowy mountains are too wonderful to avoid, but there’s danger behind their beauty. If you’re planning a ski trip or live near a mountain that receives snow, learn how to avoid and react to avalanches. Preparing will increase your chances of making it out alive.
Avalanche Facts
Avalanches can weigh hundreds of thousands of tons and move at over 100 miles per hour.
By the time even the smallest avalanche reaches the end of the slope, it has the collective momentum of 400 freight trains.
About 100,000 avalanches occur every year in the US. Sorry, ski bunnies!
Between 1950 and 2000, over 1,100 people died due to avalanches in the US. On average, 28 deaths are reported annually.
How to Prepare for an Avalanche
- Create an avalanche preparedness kit that includes your TSP (transceiver, shovel, and probe).
- Never head onto the mountain without checking conditions and asking for local advice.
- Plan your routes with the help of a trained guide or avalanche expert.
- Travel in groups of three or four, and stay alert to changes on the mountain.
- Jump above the fracture if you see an avalanche detaching from the side of the mountain.
- Travel diagonally to the side if the avalanche is behind you; the strongest force will be in the center.
- If you can’t hold onto a tree and get caught in the flow, lose your nonessential gear and start swimming to stay on top of the slide.
- If you get buried, spit to figure out which way is up. If you can’t swim out easily, try to uncover one arm and then stay still.
- Work on your own avalanche training courses until you’re the expert!
Likely on the Slopes
- Slab Avalanches — The most common and most deadly. A layer of ice melts, detaching heavy slabs of ice and huge amounts of snow.
- Powder Avalanches — Terror cloud! Powdery snow flows down the mountain at almost 200 mph and may affect people in the valley below.
Less Likely on the Slopes
- Wet Snow Avalanches — A mix of snow and water creates a custard consistency. This diabolical custard comes loose and makes its way downhill more slowly than the other types. Delicious.
- Ice Avalanches — Huge chunks of ice shear off the sides of glaciers, usually falling into the sea. Your TSP won’t help you if you are in an ice avalanche.
Don’t Ski Fresh and Steep
Hills steeper than 35 degrees are not safe for 48 hours after heavy snowfall. Avalanches are likely in heavy, fresh snow on steep slopes.
Don’t Forget Your Compass
North-facing slopes in the US have more avalanches due to less stable snowpack. South-facing slopes are more dangerous during the spring thaw.
Don’t Drop Your Cell Phone
Your phone and transceiver are key gear. Emergency calls use any available signal, so they could still go through if you have no service.