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The Adventurer's Handbook 30 Crucial Skills, Nifty Tips, and Shameless Shortcuts How to Avoid an Avalanche Yes, you've checked the avalanche report; yes, you're carrying a beacon and shovel; and, yes, you and your companions have practiced avalanche rescue. But still . . . before dropping into that backcountry bowl, says Bruce Tremper, of the [U.S.] Forest Service's Utah Avalanche Center, look at the surface of the snow. If it seems rough and sandblasted, the pack is eroded and probably safe. But if you see a smooth, rounded slope, it could signal a dangerous wind slab—where gusts have piled on additional layers of snow—and you should head down elsewhere. |
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January/February 2002: |
