Reflecting on U.S. Avalanche Deaths

News of 15 avalanche deaths in one week in early February in the United States has left us deeply saddened. We have been in touch with our American colleagues in sympathy and to determine if there is any link to these tragedies. A number of the incidents involved multiple victims and most victims were experienced. This is not the scenario of novice users flooding the backcountry we’ve been anticipating.

The snowpack in Colorado and Utah is unusually weak; our colleagues there are calling it a one-in-ten-year condition. But there’s also some indication Covid is producing “risk management fatigue”—people fed up with Covid safety messaging and restrictions in their daily life, paying less attention than normal in the relative freedom of the backcountry. A survivor of one of the accidents in Utah said, “I realize now that I am exhausted from the 10+ months of near-constant stress Covid brings… As a result, my typical training, motivation, and mental reflection has been much less than a normal fall/winter.”

We’re always looking for opportunities to learn and improve our risk communication messages. Risk management fatigue can affect everyone, and we all must continue to be vigilant with ourselves and our friends in the backcountry.

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South Coast SPAW

In late January, we sent our Revelstoke-based roaming field team to the North Shore Mountains outside Vancouver while we prepared to issue a Special Public Avalanche Warning for the region. An unusual weak layer in the North Shore Mountains had created challenging conditions and there had already been a report of one non-fatal avalanche incident. 

Forecasters Grant Helgeson and Arienne Hanna made valuable observations in the region, and created videos on the conditions. They travelled into the backcountry outside Cypress Mountain on Thursday, Jan. 28, the day we issued the SPAW. Their reports were extremely valuable and we were able to use videos they took in the field to highlight the dangerous conditions in the region. Those videos were highly appreciated on our social media channels and broadcast that evening on CTV Vancouver News at 6.

The SPAW ended up being extended to a full week and expanded to include Vancouver Island. Having a team on the ground definitely helped raise awareness and coverage of the unusual conditions.  

Updated AST 2 Curriculum

We are close to completion on a significant update to our Avalanche Skills Training 2 course curriculum, with a new instructor manual that builds on the foundation laid by the AST 1. This new manual incorporates the Daily Process, which is a structured approach introduced in the AST 1. The AST 2 takes those concepts further, giving students lots of opportunity to apply all the steps—pre-trip planning, slope evaluation and verification during the trip, and post-trip debrief—under the guidance of the instructor.

In both the AST 1 and AST 2, the central focus is learning how to make terrain choices that are appropriate for the conditions. These courses provide students with a strong foundation in planning and decision making in avalanche terrain. The AST 2 is a must-have for any serious backcountry recreationist, whether they access their winter playground by ski, board, sled, snowshoe, or climbing.

The AST 2 curriculum is in the final stages of production and will soon be sent to instructors. We expect it to be fully incorporated into courses for next winter.

Backyard Backcountry Challenge

Are you looking for an excuse to get outside close to home? The Avalanche Canada Foundation is holding the Backyard Backcountry Challenge to raise money for public avalanche safety programs.

This is not a race. It’s not about the fastest or longest journey. The challenge is to motivate, energize, and share your backcountry activities in your backyard. Spend the month of March connecting with your friends safely in the great Canadian outdoors. 

The goal is to climb the height of Mount Everest over the course of the month—8,849 metres (29,028 feet). We'll be using tracking software to log your journey from basecamp to the summit. 

Registration opens Monday, Feb. 15. Details will be announced soon on the event webpage. 

Polaris Snowmobile Loan

We are extremely grateful to Polaris for their continued support of our programs. They have been committed to loaning us a mountain snowmobile since 2012, and that support has continued this winter. We recently took a trip to Mountain Motorsports in Golden, BC, to pick up a Polaris RMK Khaos 850 155, which will be used by our field teams this winter. 

Snowmobiles are essential to Avalanche Canada’s public safety programs as they allow our field teams to get out in the mountains where they collect important snowpack and weather data, and, in normal years, engage with recreationists. They are particularly important this year as they have allowed us to expand our field work to compensate for limited data from professional operations. Thank you Polaris for continuing to support our field teams in this way.

Glacier National Park Permit Areas

Users of our website can now see the Glacier National Park winter permit areas on the main map. We are happy to bring this feature to ski tourers in Rogers Pass and know it will strengthen our partnership with Parks Canada. The map will not indicate whether or not the restricted areas are open; it simply shows the boundaries. This feature is only available on our website right now, but we will be including it on the app shortly. For restricted area status, visit the Glacier National Park website.