Last significant human triggered slide in the backcountry noted on Christmas Day. With storms overhead and on the horizon, let's take a quick look back at an aspect/elevation diagram of human triggered slides (into faceted snow) since December 1.

This fall, Wendy Wagner from the ChugachAvalanche Center in Alaska and I started working on travel recommendations/advice for each of the Avalanche Problems associated with the avalanche forecast. We've been querying others across the field as well as consumers of the avalanche products. I consider the Wasatch to havethe savviest and well-educated backcountry folks around - so - we'd love to have your take/feedback on the project. (feedback box below or direct - [email protected]) Our project set about to create a set of travel recommendations for the …

Thinking about terrain. There's quite a bit of history in our mountains and quite a bit of avalanche history as well. We're lucky to have a lot of options when we head to the backcountry...which is a good thing - after all, matching our terrain choices to the avalanche conditions may be the Holy Grail for a long life. Of course this isn't a new concept. Well decorated historian of the American West Wallace Stegnerimplored us to have a "society to match the scenery". We can aspire. A few years ago, I (with the help of Dr. Phoebe McNeally, Mark Hammond and others of the …

Knowledge really is power in the mountains and of course, we as backcountry riders want to stack the odds in our favor. See the VIDEO. It’s not a mystery that avalanche professionals like Bruce Tremper (Utah Avalanche Center) or Dr. Bruce Jamieson (Avalanche Researcher) can create life-long careers in backcountry avalanche terrain, and they’ve been doing this longer than some of us have been alive. Are they really just that LUCKY, or is it because throughout their careers they’ve made solid, well thought out, and most importantly, educated decisions …

This season, like many others, started with early season snow that faceted and was subsequently buried by storms in November. This provided enough cover for the first turns of the year and also for human triggered avalanches. In prior years, this scenario has included a few significant accidents. Eventually it snows enough and the early season facets are a distant memory. What can we learn about this pattern from the Utah Avalanche Center’s database of reported avalanches? In many cases these avalanches involving facets are quite deep. The chart below shows human …

The Weed family went down to southwestern Colorado for Thanksgiving. After the feast we headed on up to Red Mountain Pass, hoping to find some soft snow to play in, and to take in the incredible scenery… We were immediately impressed by beautiful and huge, feathery surface hoar or frost crystals growing on the snow surface on sheltered meadows. And our quest for the perfect snow feather began. Surface hoar forms as water vapor from the air freezes into delicate two-dimensional crystals on the snow surface. Surface hoar forms at night under clear skies and in …

It's acritical issue, but it does It looks like there is a fix -Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled airbags and contactBCAfor a free replacement trigger assembly. Please spread the word to anyone you know with a BCAairbag. Hazard: The trigger assembly can fail resulting in the airbag not deploying, posing a risk of death and injury in the event of an avalanche. Consumer Contact: Backcountry Access (BCA) at(800) 670-8735from8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Mondaythrough Friday or online atwww.backcountryaccess.comand click on Safety Alert under Customer Service at …