Last year 44 people died last year in the U.S. from avalanches. Since most of these fatalities happened to those that were familiar with the risks and how to mitigate them, many avalanche education programs are shifting their focus to the human factors involved in accidents. If we have all the equipment and the knowledge and are still making the wrong choices, there must be more to the equation. The problem must be our judgment. The High Fives Foundation B.A.S.I.C.S. program (Be Aware Safe in Crazy Situations) recently released this video on avalanche awareness. Check it out. It’s worth a look.
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Well… beautiful vid. However, it seems to me that at Crystal and locally, it is the “experts” and the experienced skiers/riders that get into trouble. You can take all the training in the world but then you have to use it. Group think is the most dangerous thing that I have come across. For each individual, I recommend to know your limits and training and stick to it.
I think a training vid on how to ski around tree wells would be good.
Thanks to the Ski Patrol for watching over us.