Be Careful Out There!!!

Seems like sound advice to me. I'll be extra-cautious this weekend 

This is all good information, if you choose to only ski at an established ski area with a solid base. However I beleive that once you head into the backcountry it makes no difference how deep the snowpack is. Hidden hazards can be present at any depth. So if you already choose to ski in the backcountry then your automatically risking injury to yourself. So whats the difference really? Ski what you feel comfortable with, if it looks hairy, slow down. Just ask my buddy who went sailing of a waterfall drop and busted his head open in January.

Uhh, I beg to differ. The probability of hitting unseen objects definitely goes down as the snowpack deepens and as lower portions consolidate. There are lots of rocks and stumps and logs with broken branches laying in the bottom, say, five feet of "air above the ground," and once that's covered with consolidated snow, sure there are still hazards lurking but there are just less of them (especially if you "ski what you can see" and follow a few other common sense rules that generally help one avoid things like unintentional cliff drops...). For instance, at Snoqualmie, I've found that my groups have had MUCH less ski-unseen-object impact in our below-treeline adventures once we have over 50" of snowdepth showing on the Snoqualmie telemetry station. You can always still seek out windswept talus ridges and other fine places to find the snow snakes at any time of year, of course, which is again where common sense comes in...

Quote from: climbinghighest on Today at 08:10:43 AM

I beleive that once you head into the backcountry it makes no difference how deep the snowpack is. Hidden hazards can be present at any depth.

I have to agree with Jim's disagreement here. The frequency of snakes corresponds fairly directly to snow pack depth. Near the beginning of my snowboarding carreer, I ended the life of a snowboard by landing on top of a hidden rock in early season. I am not smart enough to learn from the first warning, so some years later I was jumping in early season at Stevens. On one landing I felt something snag a finger. When I came back around to look, I had exposed 5 vertical feet of rock next to my landing and was lucky enough to just graze it. From the lip I had seen it as a dark spot and avoided landing on it but I was too stupid to comprehend the risk.

I cringed when reading cityhick's post:

Quote From: cityhick on: 11/12/06, 10:15 AM

Needless to say there wasn't nearly enough covereage and I proceeded to make maybe two turns before douching myself on a rock taking my brand spanking new pretty pink helmet out of commission

Now, low snow conditions always trigger visualizations of what might have happened to me (I never wore a helmet when I was younger). A couple years ago my board went under a hidden snag while I was skiing in trees with moderate pack depth, and because I was being cautious (intentionally slow) I escaped without injury.

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages

Based on personal experience I have to agree with the warning posted above.  Two years ago on the first (lift-served) day of my season I flew over a small cliff that is usually filled in and pulled my left shoulder out of socket.  Last year I waited until the second day of my season to clip a stump and fall into a granite dorsal fin right under the surface.  I knocked my shoulder off my collar bone. The physical pain wasn't as bad as knowing that I'd just cashed at least half of the season in the first week, particular the second year in a row. And now I have to ride in hockey shoulder pads, doctor's orders.

Knock on wood, but things like this never happen to me in the BC -- I am more careful when I'm not on a "safe" run that's been deemed openable by the ski patrol.  And I think I make more turns and go slower when I've earned them instead of racing like a bat out of Baker to get back up the lift before it's tracked out.

Utah may have had the first avalanche burial and beacon rescue of the year.  These guys go out right after a dump and released one....

www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=645752
www.sltrib.com/ci_4661391

"Thin snow means weak snow," said Bruce Tremper, director of the avalanche center. "Every time you load it up with weight from wind-blown snow, it gets sensitive."
    Tremper said avalanches this early in November are typical, but especially dangerous.
    "This first snow of the season surprises people," he said. "They think a little bit of snow isn't dangerous. But it's just the opposite because it's so thin."

And it looks like the NW Avalanche Center fired up their mountain weather forecaset today:  www.nwac.noaa.gov/products/SABNW
 

I have to agree that the danger exists everywhere in the early season. You are not safe from the snow snakes if you are riding at athe resort durring the pre season. Case in point is my buddy Pat. We were skiing Alta in the pre season and he dropped his knee right into a rock on a run that is normally a groomer. He had a bunch of staples and stitches and now has one of the nastiest scars that I have ever seen. Luckily he didn't shatter his knee.

The issue seemed to be more prominent back in my home resort of Alta, because of the density of the snow. It didn't pack down nearly as easily as it does here, but I think the danger still exists.

It is tough sometimes to think about this stuff when you are all excited about another season of skiing, but good to practice good safety at all times. You just never know what lies just benieth the surface.

Bryan C