I like to ski and snowboard powder in avalanche terrain when appropriate. I also like to take my motorized snowbike into crazy terrain when I can. This is a big reason why I'm in the business I am. So, I pay close attention to things that clue me in to when getting into avalanche terrain is appropriate. Here are some current thoughts. CURRENT SNOW SURFACE AS OF WEDNESDAY, JAN 13: In many locations, the snow surface has changed during over the last few days during the high pressure. There is also some surface hoar present. The surface snow from the last storm has changed …

Scene 1. The Room. Jean Paul Sartre's 1944 play No Exitdepicts anafterlife where three people sentenced to Hell find themselves locked in a room together. Each of them wait and wonder how they will be tortured...until after some great length of time, they come to find that they are there to torture one another. Forever. The reader might be expected to come away with a perverse view of humanity; that is, the idea that"L'enfer, c'est les autres" or "Hell is other people" after being a voyeur of the unfolding relationship of the three. Kirk Woodward writes that the three …

What is your Level of Acceptable Risk? How did you determine this? Some will center-punch Superior on a CONSIDERABLE danger while others feel happy going to Powder Park everyday. Everyone is different and it's insulting at worst and a waste of time at best to look askance at others who are on either end of the pendulum. It's - how shall we say - inelegant to look upon some as suicidal and others as boring and unfulfilled. The key points here are To be aware of your level of acceptable risk Understand factors that may influence your risk taking …

Yes! Especially in SEARCH mode. Several reports from failed or severely disturbed and delayed rescue action in the last years have shown that electronic equipment can have a very unpredictable and severe influence on avalanche rescue transceivers. Basic recommendations: In SEND (transmit) mode: keep items like cell phones, radios, iPods, and cameras with wireless capability at least 20cm away from your transceiver. Further is better. If your cell phone is on, it should be in Airplane Mode to minimize interference. Better yet, turn off all electronics and put them in your …

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There is lots going on with the snow, weather and avalanche danger right now. Looking at this from a backcountry powder skiers perspective, I don't like it. The older snow from November has become so weak that it is not going to allow me to get onto my favorite steep slopes for quite some time. I was fairly optimistic until about a week and a half ago when I finally had to admit defeat. The the old faceted snow has progressed to the stage that it's going to cause problems. Now we are loading it up and it seems inevitable that we'll see avalanches. It is going to take a …

Analysis of Utah Avalanche Fatalities in the Modern Era The Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) has records of Utah avalanche fatalities for the modern era, totaling 114 deaths. The modern era refers to the post-mining decades (the late 1800s and early 1900s) and for this study, itbegins with an avalanche fatality near Alta, Utah on January 1, 1940. The primary aims of this study were to understand who was getting killed in avalanches, where they were getting killed, and what types of avalanches were killing them. By understanding these factors, and looking at trends over …