WOOD RIVER VALLEY, IDAHO — Whether it feels like winter or not, it's time to start getting comfortable with your avalanche gear.
Patty McIlvoy, local owner of Backwoods Mountain Sports, is keeping calm about the snowfall so far this winter. He stated, “We’ve had a dry start, and as a backcountry skier that’s not a tragedy."
The last two years we got a lot of snow early, it was awesome! But we spent a lot of the season with lots of avalanche danger,” McIlvoy points out.
While the number of backcountry recreationists has increased, the fatalities have actually decreased in the last 30 years. The success relates to learning how to assess the terrain a person surrounds themselves with. This directly correlates to the education offered by a variety of organizations. Instructors emphasize creating real-life scenarios which means having alternate routes planned while traveling in the backcountry,
Ethan Davis, an avalanche specialist for Sawtooth Avalanche Center, stated, "Before you even head out in the back-country, use an online mapping tool to figure out if this slope is steep enough to avalanche and where this avalanche might go. Then planning your terrain appropriately given the avalanche forecast and the avalanche problems you’re looking for [and when] to avoid areas.”
When asked about what to look for in a partner, Ethan acknowledged that it requires identifying one's weaknesses.
“I personally like to get wherever I was planning on going. So if I have a plan, it takes a lot of willpower to deviate from that plan. But one way I can mitigate that bias is to have backup plans so that I know if I planned on getting to a certain place that day but the conditions weren’t appropriate for me to be there, I have an easy fallback. That makes it a lot easier for me to make that switch in the field.”
The Sawtooth Avalanche Center makes it easy to learn about their upcoming events, so plan ahead and get educated! You can also practice at one of their four beacon parks: two are one Sun Valley's Baldy Mtn, one at Atkinson Park, and another at Baker Ck.
Please remember, the most important objective for any trip is to be able to ski the next day. The Sawtooth Avalanche Center recommends practicing with your safety gear. Accessing available resources increases your odds of staying safe.
