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Index:
As soon as you head off of maintained or heavily traveled trails you will have to learn how to break a trail. Luckily this isn't difficult. There are three tricks to breaking trails: 1) Lift your feet. Unlike regular skiing you'll have to lift your feet so that the tips of your skis break the snow. If you fail to do this you will waste a lot of energy pushing your legs through the snow, and you will not leave a nice set of tracks behind you. 2) Take turns. You'll tire very quickly if you try to break the trail yourself. Every ten minutes or so you should move to the rear of the group. This way everyone has a turn at breaking snow, and then gets a break. If you are using sleds to haul gear the people pulling the sleds should remain in the rear, as this gives them the best trail to ski on, and prevents the sleds from damaging the trail for other skiers in your group. 3) Keep your legs together. For some reason people seem to move their feet apart when they break trail. Not only is this hard on your leg muscles, but its also irritating for the people behind you. Try to keep your feet parallel and close together (so that you produce a track like those you see on maintained trails). To turn make small "baby steps" in the direction you wish to move. This will produce a relatively smooth turn for the people behind you. On of the greatest dangers a skier can encounter is an avalanche. The best way to deal with avalanches are to avoid them. Unfortunately this isn't always possible, so every backcountry skier should know who to search for avalanche victims and what to do if they are caught in an avalanche. The best way to learn how to do this is to take an avalanche safety course. These should be available through your local outdoors club or university. If you are traveling through and avalanche danger area all members of your party should carry avalanche beacons, and know how to use them. Types of Avalanches: Avalanches occur when the cohesions of snow on a slope are not strong enough to support the weight of the snow. When this occurs a large quantity of snow can break free and slide down the slope - this is an avalanche. Unfortunately it is impossible to predict exactly where and when an avalanche will occur. Generally speaking two types of avalanches occur. The first are termed slab avalanches, which occur when a large quantity of snow starts to move at the same time (usually sliding on a weak layer in the snow). These avalanches can occur in almost any conditions. The second type of avalanche are loose-snow avalanches. These avalanches are characterized by an avalanche that starts at one point and grows as it descends the slope. These almost always occur in new snow, and may be set off by skiers. Avoiding: If you know what too look for avalanche area's are easy to avoid. First, check with the local forestry service or rangers. They will know where avalanches are frequent, and if there is a current danger. Next, check the local weather conditions over the past few days. If there has been more then 2cm (1") of accumulation in the last hour, or more then 30cm (1') accumulation in the last snowfall avalanches are likely to occur. Other signs of avalanche danger are large changes in temperature, rain and heavy winds. Four of five avalanches occur during, or within one hour of snowfall. When on the trail you can identify locations where avalanches are likely. First of all look for places where avalanches have occurred before, as avalanches often follow the same paths down a mountain. Secondly, look for open slopes with angles between thirty and forty degrees - avalanches are rare on slopes shallower then this, and snow doesn't usually accumulate to dangerous levels on slopes greater then 45 degrees. Finally look for a convex slope (a slope that gets progressively steeper). The shape of these slopes puts additional stress on the snow pack, which makes slab avalanches common. During the winter months try to avoid traveling on north facing slopes. Under winter conditions the sun on southern slopes stabilizes the snow pack, making travel safer. In the spring southern slopes become more dangerous as melting snow is prone to avalanche. Because of this you should travel on north-facing slopes during the spring. Also - travel on windward slopes tends to be safer because the wind pack the snow. Slopes in the lee (facing away from the wind) are very dangerous, as they rapidly collect snow during storms. Crossing: Sometimes you must cross an avalanche slope. Before heading into the danger area check that everyone's beacons are working, and that they are all switched into the "transmit" mode. Next loosen the straps on your packs, loosen your bindings and loosen or remove the safety straps on your poles (this makes it easy to jettison gear if you're caught in an avalanche). If heading uphill, move straight up the fall line instead of switch backing. Move one at a time, and everyone else should watch from a safe location. If traversing the slope head as high up the slope as you can. Head across the slope one at a time, and try not to cut a trench when moving across the slope. Each person should make a new path across the hill above the previous paths. this reduces the likelihood of forming a fault-line where the snow can fracture. Rescue: Rescue starts before the avalanche ends. If you are watching the person cross and you see the beginnings of an avalanche yell a warning. Watch the person as they are swept down the hill. Every time you spot them make a mental note of where they were relative to trees or rocks. As soon as the avalanche stops mark the last place you saw the person and search downhill from this point. To search using a beacon switch your beacon to receive, and have your group stand in a line parallel to the slope. Each person should be no more then 10m (30') apart. Walk down the hill together, and every ten steps or so stop, and rotate back and forth. Doing this you should quickly find the signal of your lost party member. Once the signal has been found you must locate it's exact position. To do this orientate yourself so that you receive the strongest signal. Now walk forward, and monitor your beacon until you see a sudden drop in signal strength. Mark this location on the snow (use a ski pole, piece of clothing or whatever you have handy). Now turn around and walk back along the same path, and look for anther drop in signal strength. Mark this location as well. Now, walk halfway between the to points you just marked and turn until you are at right angles to the line between the two points. Make sure you are facing towards the side where the signal source is strongest. Repeat what you did before (find the two locations where the signal strength fades). Now move to the middle of the new line and do this a third time. The lost member of your party should be located midway on the third line you've made. If you don't have beacons you'll have to search with probes (a pole of some type, such as the blunt end of a ski pole). Form a line along the hill with about 1m (3') between searchers where you last saw your missing skier. Walk forward a step, and thrust your poles into the snow. Then step forward and repeat this again. Do this until someone find's a hard spot in the show. Quickly dig down, if its your missing skier you're done, if its a tree/rock reform the line and continue down the slope. If you don't find the missing skier walk back to the top of the hill, and form a new line next to the old one. Repeat the step-probe-step procedure until you find the missing member. What if it's you? If you are the one caught in an avalanche there are several things you can to help you group locate you, and to help yourself survive. if you hear someone call a warning immediately start jettisoning equipment. Even if you're caught unawares you should still be able to remove some of your equipment. Next, make "swimming" motions to keep yourself on, or near, the surface of the snow. When the snow starts to slow put your hands in front of your face. As soon as you come to a stop push them away. This will form an air pocket which will make it easier to breath. If possible move into a fetal position (legs against your chest, arms wrapped around your legs or held tightly against your sides), as this will help to conserve heat. Try thrusting with your arms and legs. If you are close the surface you may get a limb out, or otherwise make a disturbance that your group can use to find you. Finally, relax. Try not to struggle too much, as this will waste energy. If you hear searchers yell, as they may be able to hear you through the snow. Now that they're rescued what do we do? Avalanche victims can face a broad range of injuries as a result of their ordeal. Some are lucky and come away with nothing more then a few bumps and bruises. Others may have hypothermia or broken bones. Regardless of what injuries they have the first thing that should be done is a full check of their body for breaks, bleeding and serious bruising. Once this is done the victim should be changed into warm dry clothes (a good method to warm clothes is for someone to "donate" the clothes they have been wearing). If necessary treat the victim for hypothermia. If possible the victim should be given some hot non-alcoholic beverage such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate or soup. If it is safe to move the victim take them to a hospital for a full checkup. If they cannot be safely moved send out a small party to get help. Make sure they have a map with your location marked, and a description of what medical aid is required. While they are gone the rest of your party should try to shelter the victim, and keep him/her warm. Travel in the backcountry during the winter can be an exhilarating experience! During the day you travel through a snow-covered wonderland, during the night the cold winter air provides an unbelievably clear window to the heavens. You'll ski, eat and sleep on pristine snow, see animals in their winter coat, and probably not see another living soul besides those in your group. Where do I sleep? Generally speaking you have three choices. Many organizations maintain backcountry cabins. These cabins can range from a small shack with a wood stove to hotel-like chalets. Check with your local ski club or outdoors store for information on these cabins. Next you can stay in a tent. This isn't nearly as bad as it seems. Snow is an insulator, so the ground doesn't suck away as much heat as you may expect. Add a warm sleeping bag and a good ground pad and you're set. For more information on tents see our tent section. Finally you can sleep in a snow shelter such as an igloo. Believe it or not these are even warmer then a tent, and with practice can be almost as quick to set up as a tent. For more information see our section on winter shelters. How do I move my stuff? Winter travel requires bulkier equipment then does summer travel, but you can usually fit it all into a backpack. Another option is to use a type of sled called a pulk. A pulk is simply a sled that has a rigid harness system that prevents the sled from sliding into the back of your legs. Many rental stores carry these, or you can make your own. How do I dress? You should dress in layers (as mentioned in the dressing section). During the night I recommend you wear a toque and wool socks. You should never wear your sleeping clothes during the day or vice versa, as the sweat caught in the material will cool you if worn too long. Here's a good tip: put your clothes in your sleeping bag for 5-10 minutes before you get up. This will warm your clothes, so you're not putting on cold clothing (a very unpleasant experience). Make sure you carry an extra pair of wool socks and undergarments in case of emergencies. Water: You'd think water would be easy to find during the winter - after all snow is just frozen water. Unfortunately its not that simple. Snow can be upto 90% air, and acts as an insulator. Because of this melting it results in little water, and requires huge amounts of fuel. If possible chip a hole in the ice covering a stream and get water directly from the stream. If this is not possible use chipped ice. Snow should only be used in an emergency. All water should be boiled, or chemically treated, or filtered before use. In the morning fill your water bottles with warm water and wrap them in extra clothes. This should keep them from freezing while you travel. As soon as you reach camp dump your water bottles so that they don't freeze, and refill them in the morning.
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This Page Copyright (2004), Knights of Dionysus
Authored by: Bryan Heit
