Managing hazards when skiing

I'm starting this thread because Lowell brought up good points in a TR on the Watson traverse and I think we could have good discussion on objective hazards while skiing and how to detect, manage, and communicate these hazards.  We already have a good system related to avalanche awareness, alerts, characterization, communication, and education, it seems like the community as a whole can share other information in a similar manner.

Here's Lowell's post that got me thinking about this:

I'm guessing that this and other reports (and the movie I'm working on) will continue to boost the popularity of the Watson Traverse. I think a lot of skiers will want to try the Park Glacier Headwall, since that's the most spectacular route from the summit.

So it seems like a good time to discuss this alternative. For those of you who've skied the headwall during the traverse, I'm wondering what protocol you recommend for the descent. Do you just take a look and drop in, or do you do something more involved?

Traditionally, steep skiers have recommended climbing the route first. It's the only way to really know the snow conditions on the route. But that doesn't work on a route like the Watson Traverse where you're traveling the wrong direction. What would you do instead? I'm honestly curious.

As a strawman, here are some tactics I might consider if I wanted to ski the Park Headwall without climbing it first. I'd like to hear your ideas.

1. Visually inspect the slope from above (of course).

2. Belay someone as they descend on foot to check for instability or iciness. Do lots of poking, stomping and testing. Climb back up to your skis.

3. Belay the first skier down as they test the snow, make ski cuts, and so on. Once the first skier is satisfied with conditions, he/she could untie and ski down. The other skiers would presumably follow unroped.

4. Ski with an ice axe easily available (through your shoulder straps perhaps) so you can drive it in if you encounter an ice patch. (Maybe have an ice screw handy too.)

Can you think of anything else? I might not do all of these things, but I would certainly do some of them before dropping onto a slope like this from above.

Do you guides lead clients on this sort of terrain? If so, how do you do it?

---

(For what it's worth, our May 31 party never seriously considered skiing the headwall from the summit. We didn't prepare for it, and we wanted to follow Watson's route down from the Cockscomb. Our track angled down from the Cockscomb saddle to the bergshrund, where we found a crossing that didn't require a jump.)

And some other relevant information to get the conversation started:
www.wildsnow.com/more/ski-descent-rating-system/

A few questions in no particular order:
What objective hazards (other than avalanches) are you concerned about when you're skiing? 
How do you manage these hazards?  Ski techniques, routefinding, etc.
Does your tolerance of risk change with location?  What about your skiing style/techniques for risk management?
Where do you get most of your information on a route that you haven't been on before?
Do your approaches typically overlap with more distant objectives each time in an area that you're familiar with or do you go for completely unique areas each time you get out?
Do you climb what you ski?

I'll add a little bit more about myself and my approach.

I've been snowboarding near Mt. Baker ski area since 1990, getting around on snowshoes in my teens and 20's and have taken up splitboarding in the last few years.  I'm very comfortable around the ski area but have become more conservative as I've gotten older (I hesitate to say "mature").  My first mountaineering experience was when I got out climbing with my dad at the age of 14 but I put that interest aside for faster paced activities for a long time.  Now I'm more patient and have been getting further out into the mountains but still stay close to the ski area for most of my tours. 

Beyond avalanches I'll look out for and avoid "no fall" zones and lines with no good sight lines to check the lines before commiting to them.  I also don't like crevasses, especially early in the winter with thin bridges and mid spring when we haven't had freezing weather at night.  I'm always cautious on blind rolls.

I have always put on a harness when I step onto a glacier even if it's just to clip a sling onto my ice axe.  I usually carry a single long ice screw, sometimes I carry a picket but usually not, I always carry a 30m rope on glaciers but haven't ridden any lines that required a rapel.  I've never skinned on a rope team because I don't feel confident in my abilities to arrest a partner in a fall if I have skis on my feet.  If I'm worried about falling myself then it's time to go to boots and probably boot crampons.  I've never ridden on belay but I can see it being a very valuable tool for checking slope conditions on a big adventure in unknown terrain.

I usually expect decent snow conditions, at least soft snow, if I'm heading out in the 4000-6000 foot range but I seem to always find crust (breakable or otherwise) in the alpine and expect to tone down my riding.

A lot of my route information comes from personal experience, usually riding a line next to the one that I rode the week before, or from partners who have experience with the route.  Sometimes but not very often I'll read TRs on here and on CC.com, guidebooks (Volken's and Burgdorfer's), and scouring maps (online and paper), before suckering someone into going out with me and exploring on our own.

I'll spend lots of time reading the detailed weather information on NWAC and NOAA to come up with my own estimate of what snow conditions I'll find.  Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong.

I'm much riskier when I'm close to the ski area and as much as I pride myself in being self-reliant or part of a self-reliant group I recognize that I'll take more risks in areas that are more travelled.  I'd go out with one other partner on the CD route on Baker if the weather/snow is good but I'd want a third on Shuksan mid winter.

I don't typically ski what I climb when I'm in familiar terrain because I want to ski much steeper lines than I'm interested in skinning up or I try to do loops instead of out-and-backs.  Outside of my comfort zone I'm more likely to do an out-and-back style tour.

I have a lot to learn when splitboarding crosses into mountaineering and seem to pick up something new everytime I go out.

when i was young, i traveled in the mtns. light and quick, safety was 3rd at best.
day tripping the muir snowfield was no problem in the 80's, the gate was open and the road was plowed. gator and his pals were just beginning to save lives above 10k. now, i would need to plan and organize and study and pack and evaluate my gear and have enough supplies for 3 while checking the weather every 13 minutes texting nwac telemetry do i have the right liners should i go full rocker they do look good on my new avapack with all my digging tools if i ever need that pieps.
it will never be like it was but it's still fun, thank god.

Thanks for the thoughts Alpy, this doesn't really seem to be catching on.

A comment over in the Watson Traverse TR mentioned looking for exits. It's a habit that I have too and one that makes me a lot more comfortable in steep but benched terrain where a tumble or slide might only last a hundred feet. Skiing the Roman Wall or the White Salmon glacier there really aren't "safe zones" to exit to.

In the case of a line that is sustained between 30* and 45* for 3000' vert with no ridges to go to or benches to slow a slide how do you change your skiing?

from shred:

Good discussion on steep skiing protocol.
I have a protocol for pretty much every time I ski something that is out of bounds, (and sometimes in bounds).
It is almost instinctual now.
1. Is the snow going to move?- Most likely yes.
2. How much is going to move? Sluff? Slab?
3. What is my exit options and zone of safety? I like to have at least 2 exit strategies ( specially on exposed terrain).
4. If ice. Do I have the option to reascend? Or a safe exit?
5. Is this line within my personal abilities?
6. Am I mentally & physically prepared?
7. One ski cut. Stable? Go!

As far as others repeating what we did: We had optimal conditions to ski the Park Headwall with lower risk of the shrund danger. Conditions on steep high pitches can change almost instantly with wind, solar radiation, etc.etc.
I recommend not taking this ski lightly.
Also I may add: that everyone that skied this tour was almost as strong as they get, in regards to Knowledge, Stamina, Skills and Experience.
Be prepared and be ready to back away if its not in.
"Live to Ski another Day"

Here is a short video that captures the near perfect conditions:

thesnowtroopers.com/2014/mt-baker-wa-watson-traversepark-shred/

... this doesn't really seem to be catching on.

Fear not, it will. You're asking difficult and high-level questions; replies will appear slowly, but they'll be thoughtful.

--What objective hazards (other than avalanches) are you concerned about when you're skiing?

Anything that can render harm to my party or others. Rockfall, crevasse hazard, slips above exposure, you name it....

Many of us have photos on our walls of competent/expert friends who haven't returned from the mountains. We don't want to add more names to those lists.

-- How do you manage these hazards?  Ski techniques, routefinding, etc.

Baby steps; don't get into anything I can't get out of. If it feels wrong, it is wrong, come back another time.

Know your circle of competence, and tread within it. Leave a healthy margin for error. If new competence is required, develop it in a safe environment.

We've found the increasingly-common idea of "ruling out terrain" to be helpful for managing human exuberance and emotion. "Ruling-out" can be applied broadly to many concepts other than terrain. Just because a thing is awesome or possible doesn't mean you have to do it today.

-- Does your tolerance of risk change with location?  What about your skiing style/techniques for risk management?

I try to keep my goal risk tolerance roughly constant at an error rate of ~1/10,000 days, but will very occasionally bet a little bigger if the expected return is enormous. Only bet bigger if the risks of the bet are simple, understood, and you're at peace with the likelihood of possible consequence, including being crippled.

Only ski as fast as you can see/stop. One at a time when one-at-a-time is warranted. Don't ski ice; it's unforgiving.

-- Where do you get most of your information on a route that you haven't been on before?

Internet, maps, guidebooks, experience; applied in that order. Maps are requisite.

-- Do your approaches typically overlap with more distant objectives each time in an area that you're familiar with or do you go for completely unique areas each time you get out?

Both. In both cases, I try to only swim out as far as I can get back. It's rare that we'll pull off a complicated challenge in a new place, but just being in a new place is a lot of fun, so it works out.

-- Do you climb what you ski?

Very often.