Prepare for avalanches ahead of time

In response to the recent avalanche activity and the elevated current avalanche conditions, the Flathead Nordic Backcountry Patrol asks winter backcountry travelers to take a moment and review some avalanche safety tips.

Winter backcountry travelers should have a partner, avalanche equipment, education to identify avalanche terrain, training in the use of avalanche equipment, and up-to-date information about safety, weather and the current avalanche conditions.

They should carry with them an avalanche beacon, an avalanche shovel and an avalanche probe and know how to use them. Additional equipment includes an ABS avalanche air bag system and an AvaLung.

Education on basic avalanche awareness and understanding avalanche terrain is available every season through local Forest Service programs, online year-round or by books such as Bruce Tremper’s “Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain,” Jill Fredston’s “Snow Sense, A Guide to Evaluating Snow Avalanches” and E.R. Lachapelle’s “The ABCs of Avalanche Safety.”

The rescue window is very small with avalanches, and 15 minutes is not a lot of time to get things together. Winter backcountry travelers should be prepared to provide the assistance needed in a rescue situation.

North Valley Search and Rescue, which has been involved in the recovery of all three people killed in recent area avalanches, will be taking a proactive step by setting up education stations at the Canyon Creek and Hungry Horse Reservoir parking lots on Saturdays beginning March 3. In addition to free coffee and doughnuts, personnel will provide information on safety equipment.

For more information, visit online at www.flatheadnordic.org, www.glacieravalanche.org, http://avalanchesafetyworkshop.com, www.americanavalancheassociation.org, www.avalanche.org and www.mtavalanche.com.