Beginner | Blog | Expert | Intermediate | Ski Industry News

‘Tis the Season for Avalanche Awareness

by Dan Giesin | October 11, 2022

It’s only early autumn in North America, and yet the lethal effects of avalanches have been topics of conversation around here lately.

First, there was the general theatrical release of the award-winning film “Buried”, which documents the tragic events of an avalanche that struck a Lake Tahoe-area ski resort 40 years ago.

Then came word that Hilleree Nelson, the acclaimed American ski mountaineer, had died in an avalanche while attempting to make the first ski descent of Manaslu, an 8,163-meter peak in the Himalaya.

These two events brought into sharp focus that deadly avalanches can strike at any time and anywhere, and there is an urgent need that folks who venture into snow-covered mountainous  back-country to be well aware of the dangers.

Luckily, there are many options available to get you up to speed.

Know Before You Go

Nearly 20 years ago, the Utah Avalanche Center, in the wake of a slide near Mt. Timpanogos that killed three teenagers, created a program to promote avalanche awareness and provide life-saving education to as many people as possible.

That program, known familiarly as KBYG (Know Before You Go), was aimed at local schools at the outset, but the success of UAC’s initial steps — they went from 3,000 local kids enrolled in the program the first year to 12,000 by the second installment — had them branching out until KBYG is now an international phenomenon, with annual, no-cost basic awareness and education information available to just about everyone.

Recently, UAC, in conjunction with  Avalanche Canada, Colorado Avalanche Information Center, National Avalanche Center and Northwest Avalanche Center, rebuilt the program and  released an updated version of their program, which is available at  kbyg.org.

Snow and Avalanche Workshops

For those who would like hands-on avalanche safety advice and insights this is the time of year when low-cost seminars are readily available, including:

Further resources

Finally, there are several Web sites that provide weather and avalanche-danger forecasts for those venturing into the back-country.

Build Your Own Ski Vacation Quote

More from the Blog

Making the Most of the End of the Year

Saving the best days for last? Well folks, it has been a phenomenal ski year out West (sorry East coast skiers, maybe next year!), and with that comes the most heart-wrenching time of year, when we must say goodbye to our beloved mountains and let the beauty of summer...

Purgatory – The Prettiest Resort in the Southwest?

About 7 hours south of Denver, striated cliff bands welcome you as you make your way up through the town of Durango to Purgatory Mountain Resort. The name of the resort is certainly a misnomer – Purgatory appears to be anything but! Protected by its remote location,...

Staying safe in DEEP pow

Let’s talk about the snowpack. It’s not just your imagination, 2022-23 has been an excellent snow year so far. The West in general is still dry as ever, but it is nice to at least take a moment to enjoy the snow we do have. In California, reeling from a couple years...