Avalanches: 'like a train with no brakes'

By Jay Evans

March 3, 2004 | "It was crazy how fast it happened. One minute we were hiking up and the next minute I'm trying to figure out which way is up," David Strickland, a 24-year-old University of Colorado student, explained as he reminisced his narrow escape from an avalanche near Winter Park, Col.

"I remember coming around a rock face and just hearing a loud roar. It was like a train, unbelievably loud, and then seeing a wall of snow. An 8-foot, or so, wall of snow, looked like a wave just rolling down on us. S--t was all I thought and I braced myself for the hit."

The avalanche that he ran into in the spring of 2002, was a small one. Dave was carried about 100 yards down the mountain and only buried under about a foot of snow. All four of the students escaped from injury that day but the slide made a lasting impression on all of them.

"It scared the crap out of me. I was just happy we were all aright and a little pissed I couldn't find my googles," Strickland said.

Avalanches accounted for 58 deaths in the United States during the 2002-2003 year alone, according to the Forest Service National Avalanche Center and approximately 150 deaths world wide. They are one of the most deadly forces in nature. The strike with no warning and they are very difficult to predict. But, with the snow-covered mountain peaks glistening in the sun, winter enthusiasts of all types will continue to venture into the back country.

"I know the dangers of skiing the back country. I mean, I could get hit by an avalanche any day at any time, but there is just something about fresh tracks on a steep face that out weighs the risks," Chris Evans, a back country skier said.

Many people share the sentiment. It is hard not to if one has any kind of love for winter outdoor activities, whether it be snowmobiling, snowboarding, skiing, or even snowshoeing. There will always be the constant battle between powder hounds and mother nature. We are now through February and it seems that not a day passes without news of an avalanche disaster either in the Northwest, Rockies, or even here on the Wasatch Front. The most frightening statistic is that once an avalanche victim is buried, there is only a 1 in 3 chance of survival.

David Strickland and his three friends were lucky. Was it something they did, was it precautions they took or were the gods just smiling down on them that early spring morning? Strickland said he had taken avalanche safety courses before, he was also familiar with the terrain they were riding, but they still got caught. But, experts say that education can dramatically reduce the chances of an avalanche and in the case that one does encounter one, it increases the chances of survival.

A few tips: first, what causes an avalanche? An avalanche occurs because snow is deposited in successive layers as the winter progresses. These layers may have dissimilar physical properties and an avalanche occurs when one layer slides on another (surface avalanche), or the whole snow cover slides on the ground (full-depth). An avalanche may be dry or wet, according to whether free water is present in the snow. It may be of loose snow, when the avalanche starts at a single point, or a slab avalanche which occurs when an area of more cohesive snow separates from the surrounding snow and slides out.

Second, avalanches are only caused by four factors: terrain, snowpack, weather, and people. Avalanches don't happen by chance. It is a mixture of multiple factors that cause the slides. A back country visitor should study the signs, know what type of weather is expected, know where he/she will be going and be cautious.

Third, always carry the proper safety equipment. Some of the equipment that one should carry is proper snow clothing, shovels, probes and most importantly an avalanche beacon.

"In the case of an avalanche, a beacon could be the difference in finding a person in 10 minutes and finding them in May," Todd Ebert, lifty at Beaver Mountain in Utah, said. "If someone is dumb enough to hit the deep stuff without one -- well -- maybe they deserve it."

Finally, caution is the best prevention. If something doesn't look normal or you get a bad feeling about a chute or pitch don't test it. The risks are too great. Live to ski another day. People will always have that tingle in their toes as soon as the first snowfall arrives each year. The mountains will always loom high above the head and sunbeams will never stop making the flakes twinkle like diamonds. But, when the avalanche danger scale is red, maybe a better plan would be to stay at home, wax the board, drink some hot chocolate and watch your favorite big mountain ski video. No one wants to end up in front of a train with no brakes.

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