White Death

 White Death

      Many times life’s great adventures are extreme and a lot of fun and for the most part safe. But, every once in a while those adventures can be very dangerous and in some cases even deadly.  This holds truer for those who are extreme snow boarders and

skiers. One of the biggest fears a skiers or snow boarders have is that of being swept

away by an avalanche.

      According to www.coloradoan.com, there have been 11 deaths in January do to avalanches which makes January the deadliest January in two decades. The Coloradoan said this about one of the avalanches Colorado had:

“The climber's body was discovered near St. Mary's Lake northwest of Idaho Spring on Saturday by an avalanche rescue dog in the debris field. That avalanche was a large one estimated by CAIC staff to have measured 1,200 feet wide, running nearly 650 vertical feet and 3 to 4 feet deep. On. Jan. 21, a snowmobiler died west of Crested Butte. Colorado regularly leads the nation ion avalanche deaths with about six per year.”

      So if Colorado leads the nation with an average of about 6 deaths per year due to avalanches and this year alone we are at 11 deaths just for January, then it would be safe to say that this year could be a record breaking year for deaths due to avalanches.

      So what can you do to increase the chance of surviving an avalanche? Well there are a lot of things you can do to protect

yourself, One of the biggest things is before you go call the ski area and ask them what

the conditions are, are there any avalanche warnings? If you are going to ski the back country let someone know where you are going and how long you will be gone. Some ski areas also offer avalanche classes, they will teach what to do if you are caught in an avalanche, and they will also teach you how to read the conditions of the snow so you can avoid the areas where an avalanche could occur.

      There are a few things that you can buy to keep yourself safe, one of the biggest things you should get rather you are in the ski area or in the back country  is an emergency locator beacon, this will help the rescuers to find you should you become buried. Now if you are skiing in the back country there are a few other things you should have as well. You should have a small folding shovel in case you have the chance to dig yourself out. Also, you should have a good flashlight and a bright colored ribbon so rescuers can see you if you dig yourself out. There is also an air bag you can wear which works much like a life vest, it will inflate when you are swept up in the avalanche, the idea is that it will keep you on top of the avalanche and keep you from being buried.

 

      In short, if you are a skier, snowboarder or snow mobile, there are things you can do to keep yourself safe and enjoy winter sports and not become a fatality. So get out there and have fun and enjoy Life’s great adventures.

 Related websites:

 Avalanche training   Backcountry Avalanche-safety-101    B.A.S.I.C.S. TWO Avalanche Awareness