Avalanche Preparedness

https://www.kunc.org/post/dont-get-caught-one-advice-avalanche-preparedness#stream/0


Good afternoon all,

Per ...

Article above is both audio and print narrative.

Article has a hyperlink to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Note mention of a "avalanche transceiver".

Having no familiarity on avalanche survival - I am still mentally cold just reading article - I did learn something I found interesting. If caught in an avalanche, the snow next to you is not the "wind-driven powdery stuff". It's compacted around you like cement. This is somewhat the opposite when caught in a hot desert sand storm. It takes years and years to get buried by the loose sand. Related lesson: I'll stay away from avalanche prone areas.

Still cold ........

 

A guy I went to high school with was working with the power crew when they got caught on an avalanche. The others got away but he was caught in the edge and was carried, head first, into the lake where the city gets most of its water. Fortunately, his feet were visible and his crew mates were able to pull him out in time. He quit the utility crew and became an accountant.

 

The high school guy now an accountant definitely knows about vertical columns being better than horizontal with no vital signs !