Avalanche Awareness
While snow safety and avalanche mitigation efforts help reduce the risk of avalanches, avalanches and snow slides may occur at ski areas, both inside and outside of the posted boundaries. Avalanches are an inherent risk of the sport due to the nature of snow and its application on steep, mountainous terrain. Become educated on how to reduce the risk of injury or death from avalanches through your own actions and awareness.
Taking these steps may help reduce the risk:
- Always ski with a partner and keep them within your sight at all times.
- Obey all signs and closures.
- Carry avalanche equipment such as beacons or transceivers, reflectors, probes and
shovels when skiing or riding in areas where avalanches may occur.
- Consider wearing a helmet.
Visit avalanche.org for further information on the risks and prevention of avalanche-related injuries or death.
Mt. Hood Meadows is equipped with the RECCO avalanche rescue system. Being equipped with RECCO reflectors can assist rescuers in helping you.
When and Where Avalanches Happen
Although avalanches can occur on any slope given the right conditions, in the United States certain times of the year and certain locations are naturally more dangerous than others. Wintertime, particularly from December to April, is when most avalanches will "run" (slide down a slope).
While expertise is not a guarantee that you won't be caught in an avalanche, it does provide some basic knowledge about how to avoid avalanche areas, what types of weather and terrain signs to watch for, and what to do if you are caught in an avalanche - all information that may save you or other members of your party.
Anatomy of an Avalanche
An avalanche has three main parts. The starting zone is the most volatile area of a slope, where unstable snow can fracture from the surrounding snow cover and begin to slide. Typical starting zones are higher up on slopes, including the areas beneath cornices and "bowls" on mountainsides. However, given the right conditions, snow can fracture at any point on the slope.
The avalanche track is the path or channel that an avalanche follows as it goes downhill. When crossing terrain, be aware of any slopes that look like avalanche "chutes." Large vertical swaths of trees missing from a slope or chute-like clearings are often signs that large avalanches run frequently there, creating their own tracks. There may also be a large pile-up of snow and debris at the bottom of the slope, indicating that avalanches have run.
The runout zone is where the snow and debris finally come to a stop. Similarly, this is also the location of the deposition zone, where the snow and debris pile the highest. Although underlying terrain variations, such as gullies or small boulders, can create conditions that will bury a person further up the slope during an avalanche, the deposition zone is where a victim will most likely be buried.
Avalanche Conditions
Several factors may affect the likelihood of an avalanche, including weather, temperature, slope steepness, slope orientation (whether the slope is facing north or south), wind direction, terrain, vegetation, and general snowpack conditions. Different combinations of these factors can create low, moderate or extreme avalanche conditions. Keep in mind that some of these conditions, such as temperature and snowpack, can change on a daily or even hourly basis.
Weather
Avalanches are most likely to run either during or immediately after a storm where there has been significant snowfall. The 24 hours following a heavy snowstorm are the most critical.
Snowfall
Recent snowfall puts extra stress on the existing snowpack, especially if it does not adequately bond to the pre-existing surface layer. The extra weight of new snow alone can cause a slab to break off and fall down the slope, particularly in storm-induced avalanches.
Temperature
When temperatures rise above freezing during the daytime and drop back down again at night, melting and re-freezing occurs, which can stabilize the snowpack. This is particularly common during the springtime. When temperatures stay below freezing, especially below zero degrees Fahrenheit, the snowpack may remain relatively unstable.
Snowpack Conditions
Perhaps the most significant factor (but not the only one) is how the snowpack has developed over the season. We only see the surface and maybe the top few layers of snow, but it can be layers of snow several feet deep that may ultimately determine whether the slope will fail.
Slope Angle
Most avalanches occur on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees, but can occur on any slope angles given the right conditions. Very wet snow will be well lubricated with water, meaning it might avalanche on a slope of only 10 to 25 degrees. Very dry or granular snow will most likely avalanche on a slope close to the 22 degree angle of repose. Compacted, well-bonded layers create a snowpack that can cling to steeper slopes until a weak layer is created.
Slope Orientation
Although avalanches will run on slopes facing any direction, most avalanches run on slopes facing north, east, and northeast (also the slope directions that most ski areas are located on).
Terrain
Paying attention to where you are in the grand scheme of things can offer clues about avalanche likelihood. Bowls and gullies are suspect at any time, regardless of other conditions. During hazardous conditions minimize the amount of time traveling beneath avalanche starting zones and never camp in a potential avalanche runout zone. Even a small avalanche starting high on the slope can carry down large amounts of snow onto and across the valley floor. Remember to keep an eye out for obvious avalanche chutes, where avalanches occur more frequently.
Vegetation
Many avalanches start above the tree line, making high-elevation mountains especially risky. Although forests help stabilize the snowpack, if an avalanche starts above tree line, it can cut its own path, or chute, through the trees below.
How to Determine if the Snowpack is Safe
There are several ways to gauge snowpack stability. Keep any eye out for any cracks shooting across the surface, or small slabs shearing off. These are signs of weakened snowpack. Also, listen for "hollow" or "whumping" noises as you walk or ski. This indicates that there is a weaker layer underneath, leaving the surface layer more prone to collapse.
Tips for Avalanche Survival
Before crossing a slope where there is any possibility of an avalanche, fasten all your clothing securely to keep out snow. Loosen your pack so that you can slip out of it with ease and remove your ski pole straps. Make sure that your avalanche beacon is on and switched to "transmit" rather than "receive." Cross the slope one at a time to minimize danger.
If You Are Caught in an Avalanche
Yell and let go of ski poles and get out of your pack to make yourself lighter. Use "swimming" motions, thrusting upward to try to stay near the surface of the snow. When avalanches come to a stop and debris begins to pile up, the snow can set as hard as cement. Unless you are on the surface and your hands are free, it is almost impossible to dig yourself out. If you are fortunate enough to end up near the surface (or at least know which direction it is), try to stick out an arm or a leg so that rescuers can find you quickly.
If you are in over your head (not near the surface), try to maintain an air pocket in front of your face using your hands and arms, punching into the snow. When an avalanche finally stops, you will have from one to three seconds before the snow sets. Many avalanche deaths are caused by suffocation, so creating an air space is one of the most critical things you can do. Also, take a deep breath to expand your chest and hold it; otherwise, you may not be able to breathe after the snow sets. To preserve air space, yell or make noise only when rescuers are near you. Snow is such a good insulator they probably will not hear you until they are practically on top of you.
Above all, do not panic. Keeping your breathing steady will help preserve your air space and extend your survival chances. If you remain calm, your body will be better able to conserve energy.
Rescuing a Victim
Begin looking for clues on the surface (a hand or foot, piece of clothing, ski pole, etc.), beginning with the point where they were last seen. As you move down the slope, kick over any large chunks of snow that may reveal clues. Since equipment and items of clothing may be pulled away from a victim during an avalanche, they may not indicate their exact location, but can help determine the direction the avalanche carried them. Mark these spots as you come across them. Be sure that all rescuers leave their packs, extra clothing, etc., away from the search area so as not to clutter or confuse search efforts.
Once the victim is found, it is critical to unbury them as quickly as possible. Survival chances decrease rapidly depending on how long a victim remains buried. Treat them for any injuries, shock, or hypothermia if necessary.
If you lost sight of the victim early during the avalanche, or if there are no visible clues on the surface, mark where the victim was last seen. Look at the path of the snow and try to imagine where they might have ended up. For those wearing avalanche transceivers, switch them to "receive" and try to locate a signal.
For those using probes, begin at the point the victim was last seen at. Or if you have a good idea of where they were buried, begin in that area. Stand in a straight line across the slope, standing shoulder to shoulder. Repeatedly insert the probes as you move down slope in a line. Pay particular attention to shallow depressions in the slope and the uphill sides of rocks and trees, since these are terrain traps where they may have been buried.
Avalanche Quick Checks
Following is a list of quick checks you can make throughout the day:
- What have the weather conditions been over the past few days? Recent heavy snows?
- Can you observe any wind loading on the slopes?
- Do you have a good sense of the snowpack? Have you performed any snowpit or shear tests?
- Have you noticed many fracture lines, heard "whumping" or cracking sounds, or hollow noises in the snowpack?
- Are you keeping an eye on the orientation and steepness of the slopes as you cross them?
- Are you lingering in gullies, bowls, or valleys?
- Noticed any recent avalanche activity on other slopes similar to the one you are on?
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If a slope looks suspect, are there alternative routes?
Information taken from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.