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Show Route choices help ensure safe tours Back Country Safety Editor's note: This is the fifth in an eight-part series on backcountry ski safety written by Red Pine Back Country Search and Rescue. by RITCHIE TAYLOR I'tah Powilerbird Guides and CHRISTOPHER SMART Record staff Writer Each winter, hundreds of winter sports enthusiasts head for the high peaks of the Wasatch and Uinta mountains. Inevitably, many of these mountaineers are exposed to the hazard of avalanche. But by selecting a safe route, skiers can minimize the chance of being swept ;iway by a snowslide. Few skiers will actually see avalanches occur and even fewer will be directly involved with a well-developed well-developed slide. But the touring party par-ty that is involved with an avalanche is likely to have one or more of its members caught or buried in the slide. Most skiers who are buried in avalanches die. party should be exposed to the suspected slope at a time. Skiers should mo from one safe location to the next without stopping. While making such traverses, second, third and subsequent skiers should follow in the track of the first skier. This will not only increase speed, but will also minimize the disturbance to the snow pack. And skiers should not ski directly above each other. Many avalanche deaths have occurred when a skier high on a slope triggered a slide that buried a skier lower on the slope. Skiers should know the location of the other members of the touring party at all times. To ensure a safe ski tour, all members of a touring party should be equipped with avalanche rescue beacons (or locators) and shovels. And the tour group should tell someone so-meone where they are going and when they expect to return. If, while on the tour, conditions do not appear to be those anticipated, never hesitate to turn back. The tour can easily be completed another day. A good ski tour is conducted under the leadership of a competent mountaineer moun-taineer who selects a route that optimizes op-timizes safety, efficiency and pleasure. Begin the tour with a call to the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center at 364-1581 for an evaluation of current mountain weather and avalanche conditions. The members of the touring tour-ing party should decide whether the tour planned can be made under existing ex-isting conditions. The safest routes of travel are generally on the windward sides of ridgetops. Skiers should beware, t, however, to avoid overhanging cornices cor-nices that can occur on ridgetops. Safe routes also can be found on the valley floors of canyons and basins. These routes must be far away from avalanche runout zones. Some timbered slopes can offer protection pro-tection from avalanche, but many do slide. Generally, the more timber present, the greater the protection from slides. Ski tourers should avoid steep slopes on the leeward side of ridges where the phenomenon of windloading occurs. Windloading is heavy deposition of snow that may not be stable. Skiers should also avoid gullies where no slide runout is possible. In the bottom of a gully, even a small slide may deposit 10 feet of snow. Likewise, narrow V-shaped V-shaped canyons should be avoided. While touring, skiers should make observations concerning the stability stabili-ty of the snow pack. Things that may indicate unstable conditions are recent re-cent avalanches, cracking of snow in front of skis and snow settlement, indicated in-dicated by a loud "whumping" sound. Traversing open slopes can be dangerous. But if a touring party decides to cross a suspected avalanche avalan-che slope, precautions should be taken. Only one member of the touring |
