Avalanche Avoidance

Avalanches are naturally occurring movements of snow that occur when a snowpack is destabilized. They occur in Canada especially at slopes that are ironically best for skiing including double black diamond runs.

Many groomed ski hills are safe because ski patrols constantly monitor, assess and make recommendations. Back country skiing is not as safe. Manitobans traveling to new slopes should avoid back country situations unless accompanied by skilled locals who know those slopes.

Avalanches kill people by blunt trauma and suffocation. Buried survivors do have a chance of rescue providing other survivors and dogs can locate them before they run out of time.

The problem with rescue is that even when dug out immediately many victims have died from the initial trauma. So more effort needs to go into focusing on avoiding triggering and being caught in avalanches than surviving them

Physical signs in the environment- trees with half their braches missing (‘avalanche flagged”), and runways with no trees are dead giveaways that avalanches happened there before and are likely to happen again.

Changes in snowpack destabilize it, making ski travel a bad idea. Rapid thawing or freezing, and recent heavy precipitation (snow and rain) all make the bonds between layers of snow more unstable.

Stepping on snow and hearing a “whoomph” sound from a pocket of air is a very bad sign and skiers should proceed directly to après-ski time

If caught in an impending avalanche kick off restrictive bindings and roles as they limit your ability to struggle.

Don't try to outrun an avalanche since you can't- instead move to the side trying to get out of the main path. Vegetation and trees may also slow down the avalanche some.

Avalanches start as liquid so fight to stay above by swimming. As the avalanche slows the snow will quickly turn ice hard. Struggle to keep your feet first. As soon as the snow stops clear airspace around your face and stick one arm up (which rescuers might see).

Proper search and rescue is a specialized skill that has to be taught. In Manitoba this isn't a priority but travelers intending to do extensive winter outdoor travel might consider this.

I took an avalanche course in Utah which included avalanche beacon rescue ad have included notes on this n my website (below) These courses are frequently run at ski destinations. Interested readers can also contact the Canadian ski patrol.www.cpps.ca.