The first snow of the season excites us and will coax some people willing to sacrifice some p-tex into the backcountry for some early season bliss. Along with the fun we need to start thinking about avalanche safety as well. A quick review of the books Snow Sense by Fessler/Fredston or the freshly revised Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper is always a good method of getting our brains thinking snow again. Check out the numerous Online Tutorials as well.  Do a thorough check of your rescue gear to make sure there wasn’t something broken or missing from last season. Make sure your probe and shovel assemble and disassemble properly. Put new batteries in your avalanche transceiver and make sure it’s both sending and receiving signals at both close and far distances.

When there’s snow on the ground, it’s avalanche season. Remember that avalanches can happen with only a small amount of snow on the ground and we’ve had fatalities early season with two feet or less total snow depth (November 6 th, 1994 one skier killed. November 7 th, 1998, one snowboarder killed. Both in upper Little Cottonwood.) Not to mention numerous close calls including THIS ONE from 2006. The excitement of the first time out on snow for the season can easily cloud our judgment. Try to think through your desicions.

While we might not be dealing with quite the same concerns of mid season, it is time to start paying attention to the layering of the snowpack. Handpits are all that’s really needed at this time since the snowpack is so shallow. You can do many of these in a day and remember to start doing them as soon as you start walking uphill and continue to do them as you gain elevation to note how the snowpack changes as you get higher. If you feel more comfortable by getting your shovel out for digging and doing shovel shears, compression or shovel tilt tests(video), by all means do it! Poke your head in the snow and find out what’s going on. In general, you are most concerned in finding the presence of a slab which is a strong layer of snow on top of a weak layer of snow. The weak layer can collapse or fail and cause the strong layer on top of it to release and start sliding down hill in the form of a slab avalanche.

Keep in mind that many avalanches occur during or just after a snow storm.  Higher wind speeds are often the cause of slab formation which can produce dangerous avalanche conditions as well. A little investigation prior to going out into the backcountry can help clue you in. Until we are issuing daily avalanche advisories, you can use the automated weather stations to check temps, winds, and precip as well as using them in conjunction with the daily advisories once we get going. This web page also has links to the many excellent National Weather Service forecast products to give you an idea of what weather is expected during your outing.

Lastly keep in mind that there are many rocks, stumps, and downed logs hiding in the thin snowpack. It’s a long season which will seem even longer if you are laid up with an injury. Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you in the backcountry again this season.

Brett Kobernik.