Avalanche!
Reducing Your Avalanche Risk:
"One at a time. If your group comes to a slope that you are nervous about, only one person at a time should go onto the slope. Whether crossing or going up or down, do so one at a time while all others act as spotters from a safe location. This way, should an avalanche occur, there will be only one victim and lots of rescuers.
Avoid the center. The greatest danger on any steep slope comes when you are in the middle of it. Should an avalanche break, you have no escape route. So avoid the center of open slopes. Cross it at the very top or bottom. Go up it or down along the edges. These positions give you a much better chance to escape.
Stay on shallow slopes. You can always travel avalanche-free on slopes up to 25 degrees, and more than 95% of the time you are safe on slopes up to 30 degrees. To measure angles exactly, you should buy an inexpensive slope meter (about $18 in mountain recreation shops.) One caution, however; be extra cautious wherever steeper slopes lie above shallow ones. Though avalanches won't start on shallow slopes, it is possible that you could trigger an avalanche far above you, placing you in harm's way.
"One at a time. If your group comes to a slope that you are nervous about, only one person at a time should go onto the slope. Whether crossing or going up or down, do so one at a time while all others act as spotters from a safe location. This way, should an avalanche occur, there will be only one victim and lots of rescuers.
Avoid the center. The greatest danger on any steep slope comes when you are in the middle of it. Should an avalanche break, you have no escape route. So avoid the center of open slopes. Cross it at the very top or bottom. Go up it or down along the edges. These positions give you a much better chance to escape.
Stay on shallow slopes. You can always travel avalanche-free on slopes up to 25 degrees, and more than 95% of the time you are safe on slopes up to 30 degrees. To measure angles exactly, you should buy an inexpensive slope meter (about $18 in mountain recreation shops.) One caution, however; be extra cautious wherever steeper slopes lie above shallow ones. Though avalanches won't start on shallow slopes, it is possible that you could trigger an avalanche far above you, placing you in harm's way.
