What is the Deal with Peoples Skin Tracks?

I would say I would not mind skiing up many regular season avalanche slopes right now.

From what I have seeen in the places I have been at, there has not been enough snow to warrant an avalanche yet....3 feet of snow....with many a boulders showing their skin.  I can't speak for every area.

This is a very dangerous early season perspective, Stefan.  Given the amount of snow we've had and the heavy winds of this weekend, there's ample reason for caution.  It doesn't take much snow on the ground to do damage if you get in the way.

EDIT
To add to that, it was this time of year in 2007 when we had a nasty, nasty avalanche cycle that killed 5 or 6 people in two days. Three of them were in the Crystal BC, where there was maybe 24-30" of snow on the ground.

Paging Mr Cookiemonster, Mr Cookiemonster, clean up required in the avalanche fallacy aisle.

Over a month ago I saw slides going to the ground on north exposures with just a foot of snow coverage (north side of Table Mountain). It was fairly sobering. On Saturday there were multiple skin tracks switchbacking up the middle of the same slopes. I'm not saying this was dangerous--pretty stable snowpack on Saturday--but it's alarming to think that this was probably not much of a consideration for those trudging slowly up the tracks set by others in what are clearly massive slide zones. In general I think they're just ignorant, and I think ignorance is fast becoming the norm rather than the exception in areas of steep backcountry which offer easy access.

Early season fatalities are not uncommon. I don't think of myself as particularly skilled or clever, but I'm hoping to become one or the other before too much longer. Wish me luck!

Mark

The threshold snow depth required for avalanche formation is extremely variable. You should never assume that avalanche danger is non-existent unless the majority of the ground cover is still visible.

I don't think it's a good idea to use rules of thumb, but if you must, then you should at least use rules of thumb with safe defaults rather than unsafe defaults. For example:

* If there's enough snow to link turns, there's enough snow for an avalanche.

This is a very dangerous early season perspective, Stefan.  Given the amount of snow we've had and the heavy winds of this weekend, there's ample reason for caution.  It doesn't take much snow on the ground to do damage if you get in the way.

Actually, I don't think it is a dangerous early season perspective in the places I have been. From my areas of visitation I am still hitting ground in many areas from ground up to the top due to lack of consolidation. I am not as desirable skin lines in the backcountry as you folk, and I am offering the perspective that many people have assesssed the situation and are going into areas where you think is avalanche prone but at this time those people don't think so based on their assessments. Those people maybe running into rocks. If an avalanche happens in a boulder field where I am seeing boulders from bottome to top then that is actually something scary, becuase that means the boulders are moving.

In fact I was at 6300 feet on Saturday and the snow was anywhere between nil to a max of 1.5 feet. And yes, I would have crossed the avalanche path but there were too many exposed rocks. At Stevens on Wednesday I was hitting little rocks here and there. ...but then again I was not going for the primo lines.

Over a month ago I saw slides going to the ground on north exposures with just a foot of snow coverage (north side of Table Mountain).  It was fairly sobering.  On Saturday there were multiple skin tracks  switchbacking up the middle of the same slopes.  I'm not saying this was dangerous--pretty stable snowpack on Saturday--but it's alarming to think that this was probably not much of a consideration for those trudging slowly up the tracks set by others in what are clearly massive slide zones.  In general I think they're just ignorant, and I think ignorance is fast becoming the norm rather than the exception in areas of steep backcountry which offer easy access.

I saw those pictures you showed.

I have seen who I thought were experts crossed those same slopes in different years. Dirt slopes. Go figure.

And I have skied at Hyak...and we all know what happened there too.