Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain

322 Pages·2016·19.15 MB·English

by  Tremper B.

T
r
HOW-TO/WINTER BACKCOUNTRY $19.95 U.S. e
m
p
e
r
S
“No one who plays in mountain snow T
should leave home without having A
studied this book.” Y
—Rocky Mountain News
I
N
G
STAYING ALIVE IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN

offers technical skills, practical advice, and
A
common sense approaches to dealing with
avalanches. Author Bruce Tremper provides L
the latest avalanche knowledge, practice, I
V
and the system of techniques, procedures,
checklists, and protocols the pros use to E
keep themselves and others alive in dangerous terrain. All outdoor enthusiasts

will enjoy Tremper’s down-to-earth voice. More than 80 photos and 100 I
illustrations make the information easy to understand and to put into practice. N

The more tricks you know, the more knowledge about snow stability you A
possess, the better your travel skills and rescue skills, and most important, the
V
more mastery you have over your own human foibles, the better your odds for
A
surviving in avalanche terrain. In this book, Tremper gives you everything you
need, including: L
A
• Recognizing safe terrain vs. dangerous terrain
• Tests for judging snow stability N
• Safe travel techniques C
• What to do if you’re caught in an avalanche
• Search and rescue strategies H
• Managing the human factors that cause avalanche accidents E

BRUCE TREMPER is the director of the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center T
second edition
and coordinated backcountry avalanche safety preparations for the 2002 E
Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He is one of the nation’s foremost
R STAYING ALIVE
experts on avalanches, and has appeared in news reports and documentaries
R
produced by National Geographic, PBS, and Discovery Channel, among others.
A
IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN
I
N
Bruce Tremper
978-1-59485-084-4

Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
STAYING ALIVE
in AvAlAnche TerrAin
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
second edition
STAYING ALIVE
in AvAlAnche TerrAin
Bruce Tremper

Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
To Bill and Barbara Tremper
v
The Mountaineers Books

is the nonprofit publishing arm of The Mountaineers Club,
an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration,
preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134
© 2008 by Bruce Tremper
All rights reserved.
First edition, 2001. Second edition, 2008.
no part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any e lectronic, mechanical, or
other means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published simultaneously in Great Britain by Bâton Wicks, London
Distributed by Cordee, 3a DeMontfort Street, Leicester LE1 7HD
Manufactured in the United States of America
copy editor: erin Moore
illustrations: Gray Mouse Graphics
this is what the eps file looks like...all this within one file...you can see the crop marks I refer
cover, book design, and layout: Peggy egerdahl
to in the explanation.
All photos by the author unless otherwise noted

Ani
cover photograph: Andrea Binning releases a slab avalanche on her second turn from the ridge
top of the Coast Mountain Range near Mount Waddington, BC. © Mark Gallup.com
Frontispiece: Snowbird avalanche expert Dean Cardinale with his avalanche search dog,
Midas, on a search for two backcountry snowshoers who were killed in an avalanche they
triggered. Neither snowshoer wore a beacon; the only way to locate them was with ava-
lanche dogs and probes. (Wasatch Range, Utah)
Back cover photo: Author doing field work
Library in Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tremper, Bruce, 1953-
Staying alive in avalanche terrain : how the pros keep themselves and
others alive / by Bruce Tremper.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Mountaineering—Safety measures. 2. Avalanches—Safety measures.
i. Title.
Gv200.18.T74 2008
796.9028'9—dc22
2008027104
Printed on recycled paper
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
CoNTENTS
Acknowledgments ____ 6
Introduction ____ 8

chapter one
AvAlAnche BAsics ____ 25

chapter two
how AvAlAnches work ____ 39

chapter three
TerrAin MAnAgeMenT ____ 67

chapter four
weATher ____ 97

chapter five
snowpAck ____ 113

chapter six
sTABiliTy ____ 148
chapter seven
hAzArd evAluATion ____ 205

chapter eight
rouTefinding And sAfe TrAvel riTuAls ____ 222

chapter nine
rescue ____ 245

chapter ten
The huMAn fAcTor ____ 279
Appendix: United States Avalanche Danger Descriptors ____ 303
Glossary ____ 304
Bibliography ____ 309
Index ____ 312
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
ACkNowLEdGmENTS
if you like this book, please don’t thank me; i’m just the messenger. Most of the ideas in this
book came from the pioneers of avalanche research and education, which started in the
United States with ed lachapelle, Monty Atwater, and ron Perla, who ran the Alta Study
center from just after World War ii to1972. Together, they came up with the bulk of what
we now teach in modern avalanche schools, as well as most of the techniques now used in
avalanche forecasting, control, and rescue.
As you will notice, the names of my mentors, Doug Fesler and Jill Fredston, come up
repeatedly in this book, and for good reason. Doug Fesler has lived among the big Alaska
avalanches for 40 years. he started the Alaska Avalanche School in the early 1970s; he was
joined by Jill Fredston, now his wife, in the early 1980s. Together they now run the Alaska
Mountain Safety center. As near as i can tell, they know more about avalanches and more
about teaching avalanches than anyone else in the world. Most of the organization and pre-
sentation of avalanche concepts in this book were pioneered and refined by Doug and Jill
through hundreds of multiday avalanche courses.
Special thanks for the hard work of the manuscript review committee:
Dale Atkins colorado Avalanche information center
roger Atkins canadian Mountain holidays helicopter ski guide
Karl Birkeland Forest Service national Avalanche center
Doug coombs pioneer of the valdez, Alaska, extreme skiing
phenomenon
Doug Fesler Alaska Mountain Safety center
liam Fitzgerald Utah Department of Transportation avalanche forecaster
Bruce Jamieson avalanche researcher, University of calgary, canada
ron Johnson Gallatin national Forest Avalanche center
Tom Kimbrough Forest Service Utah Avalanche center
ed lachapelle America’s most venerable avalanche expert
evelyn lees Forest Service Utah Avalanche center
ian Mccammon engineering consultant and national Outdoor leadership
School avalanche instructor
Mark Moore northwest Weather and Avalanche center
Mark newcomb helicopter ski guide and world-class mountaineer
Peter Schaerer canada’s most venerable avalanche expert
Juerg Schweizer Swiss Federal institute of Snow and Avalanche research
Knox Williams colorado Avalanche information center
6
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
AcKnOWleDGMenTS 7
Thanks also go out to the many people who have made significant contributions to this book
but, for various reasons, were not able to review the manuscript. Those include (in alpha-
betical order): ed Adams, Duain Bowles, Bob Brown, howard conway, rand Decker, Kelly
elder, Jill Fredston, Andy Gleason, hans Gubler, clair isrealson, Janet Kellam, nick logan,
Dave Mcclung, Art Mears, John Montagne, halstead Morris, ron Perla, Doug richmond,
Don Sharaff, Grant Statham, and chris Stethem.
The second edition was reviewed by Karl Birkeland, ian Mccammon, and ron Johnson,
and thanks to erin Moore for her wonderful editing.
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
INTroduCTIoN
It’s so wonderful finding out you were wrong, that you were ignorant,
that you know nothing, not squat. You get to start over.
—Rick Bass
whAT hAppens when you geT cAughT in An AvAlAnche?
it was november 1978. i was a cocky, ex-national-circuit ski racer, 24 years old, fresh out of
college, and because i needed the money i was building chairlifts at Bridger Bowl Ski Area
in Montana. in the ignorance and vigor of youth, i naturally enough considered myself to be
an avalanche expert. i had grown up in the mountains of western Montana where my father
had taught me about avalanches when i was 10 years old, and i had skied in the backcountry
the past several years and had so far avoided any serious mishaps. in other words, i was a
typical avalanche victim.
i was skiing alone (first mistake) and not wearing a beacon (second mistake). After all, i
wasn’t “skiing,” i was “working,” tightening the bolts at the base of each chairlift tower with
a torque wrench. even in my stubborn ignorance, i could see that it was clearly very danger-
ous. Over a foot of light snow had fallen the night before on top of fragile depth hoar and
the wind was blowing hard, loading up the steep slopes beneath the upper section of the
chairlift with thick slabs of wind-drifted snow.
Starting from the top, i skied down, stopping at each tower to torque the bolts. When i
was finished with the tower at the top of the avalanche paths, i took off my skis and started
walking back up the slope so i could gain the ridge and circle around to the tower beneath
the avalanche paths. But i quickly discovered my third mistake. Since i didn’t bring my
backcountry skis or climbing skins, the easy ski down was now an exhausting pig wallow
back up through chest-deep snow, and the nearby snow-free cliffs were too scary to climb
in my slippery plastic boots. i couldn’t help but notice that only a 15-foot-wide couloir at
the base of the cliffs separated me from the safe slopes on the other side. naturally enough, i
thought a good skier like me should be able to get up speed and zip across it before anything
too bad happened. (Ski cutting alone and without a beacon or partner—fourth mistake.)
i did my ski cut according to the book. i built up speed and crossed the slope at about
a 45-degree angle so that, in theory, my momentum would carry me off the moving slab,
in case it did break on me. Since i had never been caught in an avalanche before, i had no
idea how quickly the slab—after it shatters like a pane of glass—can pick up speed. i heard
a deep, muffled thunk as it fractured. Then it was like someone pulled the rug out from
under me and i instantly flopped down onto the snow, losing all the precious speed i had
built up. like a startled cow, i sat there on my butt and watched soft slab shatter into little
8
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]
inTrODUcTiOn 9
blocks and the blanket of snow rocketed down the slope as if sucked downward by extra-
heavy gravity.
i jumped to my feet and tried to build up my speed again so i could jet off to the side,
but it was far too late. The blocks of shattered slab were moving all around me, like a herd
of tumbling cardboard boxes blowing in the wind. nothing seemed to work. even though
only 2 or 3 seconds had elapsed, the avalanche, with me as its unintended passenger, was
already moving a good 20 miles per hour (mph). looking downhill, i saw a line of small
trees coming toward me at a frightening speed. They looked like periscopes slicing through
the water in an old World War ii movie. i tried to maneuver to grab one of them. But the
avalanche, as i discovered, pretty much has its way with you. choice is an option you think
you might have before you’re caught in an avalanche, but never afterward. luckily it took
me directly into the smallest tree and i slammed it hard and held on with all my strength.
The snow pounded me like i was standing under a huge waterfall, and it felt like my neck
would snap as each block of wind slab smashed into my head. The tree snapped off, and i
rocketed down the slope again.
Then the tumbling started, over and over like being stuck in a giant washing machine
filled with snow. hat and mittens, instantly gone. Snow went everywhere, down my neck,
up my sleeves, down my underwear—even under my eyelids, something i would have never
imagined. With every breath, i sucked in a mixture of snow and air that instantly formed a
Skiers triggering an avalanche (Columbia Mountains, British Columbia) © Brad White/Alpenstock
Property of Max Pankov, [email protected]