A COMPREHENSIVE AVALANCHE RESOURCE FOCUSING
ON AVALANCHE AWARENESS, EDUCATION
AVOIDANCE AND PREVENTION!
UPDATED FOR THE 2006/2007 SEASON
A Large Avalanche in Utah triggered by avalanche control bombs
Avalanches are the major concern for backcountry riders.
Learn all you can about safety and survival gear,what you need for backcountry cruising,how to use it properly, where to buy it today!
This page covers all the different aspects of snowslides by category...Please check out each section carefully and learn all you can before going into the backcountry...
Of all the dangers in the backcountry... a large avalanche poses the most threat
you can't see them... you can't hear them... you can't feel them...
UNTIL THE SPLIT SECOND THEY START
AND BY THEN ITS USUALLY TOO LATE...
I speak from experience having survived two medium avi lanches in ALTA UTAH... one where I was totally buried and another partially buried... both triggered by me while skiing...Plus a few close calls with large sluff slides and a small avi that I triggered in Hokkaido,Japan, but rode out of the way...
I have also PERSONALLY seen 2 HUGE avalanches that were clocked at up to 200 MPH PLUS when I lived in Alta Utah ...They go so fast, nothing can outrun them. I will never forget the time I saw one of these slides cover 200 yds in less that 2 seconds in the flats, fill the adjacent creek full of snow and then continue uphill for 50 yards...AND...
then in less than 2 minutes... freeze solid...
SO THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!
AVALANCHE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION
Most experts will agree that most fatal avalanches are triggered by people who are either skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling,trekking or snowshoeing...
Most experts will agree that knowing these 3 things about avalanches is the best way to stay safe...
#1...This basically means avoiding avalanche prone terrain...
#2...Being aware of what weather conditions occurring within the last few days that may create conditions favorable for avalanches...
#3...How the previous weeks or months weather is directly related to avalanche danger levels for today...
Most avalanche experts will also agree that avoiding high risk avalanche areas is the best way to stay safe...
But this is much more difficult in practice and even the experts occasionally get caught by surprize...
A very famous quote says... "Remember that the avalanche does not KNOW you are an EXPERT"
I am no avalanche expert, just a very lucky survivor.Check out all the sections related to avalanches with links to resources for education ,classes and training, avalanche testing and safety gear below...
AVALANCHE CENTERS AND RESOURCES
Here is a guide to some of the best avalanche resources available on the internet.It should be noted that this not by any means a comprehensive or extensive resource list as there are literally thousands of resources about every aspect of avi science...
I think the best place to start your search for avi info is AVALANCHE.org they are the best starting out point with links to all the major avalanche centers in the USA and Canada and with links to many other avi resources...
Another good place to start your quest is the avalanche section of the National Snow and Ice Data Center NSIDC...They have a few good pointers about avalanches and links to other avi centers and resources...
Next place to hit is the CYBERSPACE AVI CENTER...you can find lots of resources here and a section with semi global network of avalanche centers with avi forecasting and advisories...
I also read about spring and summer avalanches and took the quiz, I barely passed at 7 out of 10 correct and went back and thoroughly reviewed the material...
It was a eyeopener for me as I realized that I have been making some mistakes during the spring...So this is a good time to read about spring avalanches, again any information is better than none at all...Another good resource is to read the first hand accounts of avalanche survivors...
Here is a cool place to learn about avalanches...Check out is Conways corner at Teton Gravity Research.com
You can find some good info quick and easy and the online tutorials are a very good start to learning about avoiding avalanches...Just a reminder that none of the info presented is in any way a substitute for a good HANDS ON avalanche course...
You can't go wrong reading all the good info from the Canadian Avalanche Association. The CAA has a wealth of info about avalanches that could take days to get through...Summer time is soon so spend the days to get through all the info they have Canadian AVI Association and seriously think about joining a RAC class ....
UTAH AVI CENTER Here you will find another excellent and professional avalanche resource with educational info and advisories and lots of new stuff such as the Beacon basins for practicing your beacon searching techniques...If you plan to go into the backcountry anywhere near Utah these are the guys to call and learn from...
AVALANCHE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GEAR
FOR GPS and NAVIGATION GEAR... GO HERE TO THE GPS and Navigation Page
FOR BACKCOUNTRY GEAR... ........ GO HERE TO THE Backcountry Gear Page
An avalanche beacon should be the #1 item in your easily accessible jacket pocket...Followed by a PROBE AND a SHOVEL...An avalanche beacon is WORTHLESS unless you have a probe and a shovel to dig out your friend , your family member, a member of your snowboarding crew or even a complete stranger Avalanche snow freezes rock hard in 30 seconds to a minute or two and if you are without a shovel and probe.
THEY ARE DEAD...
AVALANCHE BEACONS...THE FIRST DEFENSE
 Backcountry.com is one of the best places to get avalanche beacons and avalanche survival packages with Free Shipping...They have a really good selection of beacons , probes and shovels....
This is the Avalung!!!It can save your life if you are caught in an avalanche...
It gives you an extra 30 minutes to 60 minutes to allow your buddies to find you and get you dug out...If they don't find you by then YOU ARE DEAD...
BC.com carries a good selection of avalanche probes ...Buy one of these separately if you don't buy one of the Beacon/probe/shovel packages...
One of the last things but certainly not the least is the Avalanche shovel...If you or your buddy or someone else in the area doesn't have SHOVELS ANYONE BURIED IS DEAD.DEAD.DEAD...
OK that takes care of the full line of Avalanche safety gear at BC.com...But I did leave one item out and that is the emergency blanket in case you get caught out late and can't make it back to safety...Check it out in the Avalanche survival section at Backcountry.com ...
New for 2006/2007 is MountainGear.com You can check out all the backcountry gear that MountainGear.com has that you could use for backcountry snowboarding...Alot of it for extreme snowsports, mountaineering, climbing and winter trekking...
Now hit over to check out the Snowboard Gear at Boardtactics.com Look in the snow/accessories/backcountry section to find some shovels, probes and poles by Dakine and the K2 backcountry field kit...The kit is on sale at a reasonable price so it is cheap insurance in case you ever get stuck out somewhere overnight...
The next place to shop is at REI.com ...They ALSO have the only beacon that I use and recommend to everyone...It is the BCA DTS Tracker AVALANCHE BEACON...IT GETS MY HOT PRODUCT DESIGNATION...Check out this avalanche beacon and the Pieps beacon too...Any beacon is better than NO beacon, but the BCA BAT is hands down the best I have seen on the market so far, plus the easiest I have used...Check em out at REI.com ! You can find all of the avalanche safety gear in the Snowboarding section then look in the Avalanche section
You can save 25-60% Off Winter Gear at Altrec.com  on Snowboards, Jackets and more with Free Shipping... They have lots of avalanche gear mainly shovels, probes, avalanche saws and snow study kits BUT NO AVALANCHE BEACONS???...You can see their showcase of lifelink products below
BACKCOUNTRY GEAR FOR E.U. SNOWBOARDERS
If you live ANYWHERE in the European Union...
You are in luck as the HOTZONE.tv has free shipping to anywhere in EU and they have a decent selection of backcountry packs, beacons, shovels, probes and first aid by Ortovox in the Backcountry section...
The top pick here is the Ortovox crossrider set, which includes the crossrider backpack,an avi shovel, beacon and probe all engineered to fit perfectly into the pack...
It gets my hot product reccommendation for sure...While you are there
at the HOTZONE.tv check out the equally killer selection of snowboarding gear they got...
I am still searching and always searching for more online shops that carry good avalanche gear!
Check back here again a few times a year for more gear from other shops!!!
One last thing... I am a Snowboarding Master but I am NOT an Internet Master, see how this site was PLANNED then BUILT and is QUICKLY and EASILY maintained... PLUS ...more importantly how to attract the right traffic to your business website by clicking on the graphic!!!
If You are like Me, Then I KNOW you want to be out doing some outdoor activity, not sitting in front of your &$@?* computer all day................ See how with SBI ! .....Check it out TODAY !
IF you have ANY questions here is a convenient way to ASK OTHER SBI USERS A QUESTION
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE!!!!
INFORMATION IS YOUR POWER!!!
USE YOUR POWER!!!!
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