Avalanche Awareness Archives

Oct 10, 2020

The Ultimate Guide
to Backcountry Skiing

The Ultimate Guide to Backcountry Skiing and Riding After each one of our courses at Baker Mountain Guides, we do our best to provide useful resources to our students so they can continue their education and not completely forget all the things they learned from us. There’s a lot of great information out there, but […]

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Oct 05, 2020

Backcountry Skiing Courses

Backcountry Skiing Courses and Ski Mountaineering Courses A pair of skis are the ultimate transportation to freedom. ~ Warren Miller The popularity of backcountry skiing and snowboarding has exploded in recent years. Crowded ski areas and costly passes are pushing people out of bounds. The backcountry provides a sense of adventure and freedom that cannot […]

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Jun 27, 2020

Travel Techniques for
Backcountry Skiers

Travel Techniques for Backcountry Skiers and Riders In the backcountry, as a skier or rider, it is of utmost importance that you manage your group through terrain appropriately. Below are some common travel techniques on the uphill and downhill to help you keep your squad skiing/riding together for a lifetime. And we at Baker Mountain […]

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Jun 27, 2020

Human Factor in
Backcountry Skiing

Human Factor in Backcountry Skiing and Riding The majority of avalanches catching people are triggered by the person skiing/riding or someone in their party. Though some of these incidents are the result of ignorance, the vast majority occur because the party involved made critical decisions based on human emotion and desire (The Human Factor) rather […]

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Oct 10, 2020

Backcountry Skiing First Aid Kits

Backcountry Skiing First Aid Kits Do you have the necessary tools to respond to an emergency in the backcountry? Do you have the medical training? Avalanche Rescue training? The more training I get and the more I know, the bigger my pack gets. Below is what I carry in my backcountry skiing first aid kit. […]

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Oct 10, 2020

Avalanche Problems

The Nine Avalanche Problems Explained Not all avalanches are the same. This post teaches you about the nine different Avalanche Problems you could encounter any given day while out in the backcountry. To get the most out of this post, you should first have a basic understanding of the North American Avalanche Danger Scale. Avalanche […]

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Jun 28, 2020

Avalanche Beacon
Function Check

How To Do An Avalanche Beacon Function Check When going out backcountry skiing or riding, one should always do an avalanche beacon function check to ensure everyone is searchable and able to search. Below is a great video created by three IFMGA Guides on how to do a simple and concise avalanche beacon function check. […]

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Oct 10, 2020

Single Burial Avalanche Rescue

Single Burial Avalanche Rescue Obviously, the best way to avoid a rescue is to avoid the avalanche all together. Take an Avalanche Course to be proactive and learn how to avoid avalanches. That said, even the most trained professionals can still make mistakes, so everyone traveling in the backcountry should understand how to execute a […]

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Oct 10, 2020

Strategic Shoveling
for Avalanche Rescue

Strategic Shoveling for Avalanche Rescue The average burial depth in an avalanche is around 1.3 meters, which equates to about 1-1.5 tons of snow to move in order to extricate someone from avalanche debris. That’s just on average, in reality, someone could be buried much deeper. How long can someone survive under the snow? On […]

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Oct 01, 2017

Avalanche Course
Pro-Rec Split

Big changes are coming to avalanche education! After much anticipation, the long awaited professional – recreational split has arrived. The main outcome has been the creation of a professional track for advanced level avalanche courses. However, recreational backcountry skiers and snowboarders will find the new recreational curriculum to be more engaging and applicable as well. […]

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