Several things come to mind. 1. Many more bc skiers now come from alpine lift-served backgrounds, skiing a decade or more as children, and being extremely proficient skiers with skill honed on avy controlled slopes. 2. Better gear (skis, boots, bindings) easily allows skiers of varied bc experience to access the bc on skis that allow them to use their alpine techniques. 3. As a result, modal bc skiers are skiing lines that are inherently hazardous (from avy potential to terrain traps and obstructions) to themselves and to people below them. 4. As a consequence, the frequency of avy incidences must increase. In the nearly quarter century I have skied bc at Mt Rainier, I've seen the modal ski gear (and my ski gear) go from XC and skinny tele gear with leather boots to fat, just-as-light-as-the-skinny AT skis and boots and people (including me) skiing lines that were once inconceivable. Elsewhere, for example the North Cascades, Valdez, and Alps, people are skiing bigger lines, faster, with more hucking of cliffs, etc. These exploits are shared and publicized. Naturally, the major incidents of people being injured or killed are also publicized, and, inevitably, with negative responses from the reactionary segment of the public. So, as the old saying goes "you pays your money and you takes your chances" and our biggest challenge will be quelling the reactionaries.
