Avalanche

:This article refers to the natural event. For other uses, see Avalanche (disambiguation)

Avalanche avoidance

Due to the complexity of the subject, winter travelling in the backcountry (off-piste) is never 100% safe. Good avalanche safety is a continuous process, including route selection and examination of the snowpack, weather conditions, and human factors. Several well-known good habits can also minimise the risk. If local authorities issue avalanche risk reports, they should be considered and all warnings heeded. Never follow in the tracks of others without your own evaluations; snow conditions are almost certain to have changed since they were made. Observe the terrain and note obvious avalanche paths where vegetation is missing or damaged, where there are few surface anchors, and below cornices or ice formations. Avoid travel below others who might trigger an avalanche.

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The group

• Do not travel alone. There will be no-one to witness your burial and start the rescue.
• Traversing - is to be avoided to minimise cutting across the slope.
• Risk exposure - minimise the number of people on the slope. Maintain separation. Ideally one person should pass over the slope into an avalanche protected area before the next one leaves protective cover. Route selection should also consider what dangers lie above and below the route, and the consequences of an unexpected avalanche (i.e., unlikely to occur, but deadly if it does). Stop or camp only in safe locations. Wear warm gear to delay hypothermia if buried. Plan escape routes.
• Group size - the party should be large enough to perform a rescue, but additional people will increase the disturbance to the slope. Members should be aware of their duties to search.
• Leadership - If you find yourself in a potentially dangerous avalanche situation, you should seriously question the choice of route, why your safety is being put in jeopardy, and what alternatives might be safer than pressing on.