Posts Tagged avalanche facts
I’m not sure if this is good or bad news, but regardless, it’s news. The New York Times just ran a story on the science of avalanches. As any backcountry skier knows, understanding how avalanches work is a bit of art and science…and, in my opinion, luck. The story is no doubt in response to [...]
Winter has officially arrived here in the Pacific NW. Besides a few breaks here and there, it’s pretty much been snowing for the past two weeks. This is great for the snow pack, but unfortunately the backcountry is hard to reach and scary to be in at the moment. We’re not alone. The other day [...]
This is not the weekend to go backcountry skiing, at least here in the Northwest. Interestingly, the reason for what could be a truly hazadarous weekend for any sort of ski touring, has less to do with the Pacific Northwest and more to do with the Rockies. “This is the weakest snowpack I have seen [...]
The west is experiencing a series of big snow storms. The arctic front that had created havoc here in Seattle is moving across the country dumping all sorts of snow in the mountains. Great for ski areas, bad for backcountry skiers. Just today, the day before Christmas, 2 snowmobilers were caught, buried and killed in [...]
One of the many benefits to backcountry skiing in the Pacific Northwest (besides tons of snow and huge amounts of terrain) is we don’t have to worry AS MUCH about hoar frost. Which is why, while living in Whitefish, Montana, last winter, I was always a bit nervous ski touring. Although I wouldn’t say Whitefish [...]
Last night I was browsing the world wide web so I could share some avalanche education with my readers. I stumbled across the Forest Service avalanche center website and uncovered this pretty cool little interactive avalanche game.(Although I suppose calling it a ‘game’ isn’t very appropriate.) I applaud the forest service for providing such material, [...]
