Backcountry Avalanche Safety


Book Description

Essential reading for all outdoor enthusiasts who venture into mountainous terrain where avalanches are common. In spite of the increasing sophistication of avalanche hazard forecasting, an alarming number of people die every year in backcountry avalanche accidents. This updated edition of Backcountry Avalanche Safety contains the latest information on avalanche risk and focuses on the following vital topics: Mountain Weather Snow and Snowpack Types of Avalanches Avalanche Terrain Trip Planning Avalanche Gear Travel in Avalanche Terrain Riding Steep Slopes Companion Rescue Using colour photographs along with detailed charts, graphs and diagrams, the author clearly explains the importance of managing risk while enjoying backcountry adventure during the winter months.




Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain


Book Description

Winter recreation in the mountains has increased steadily over the past few years, and so has the number of deaths and injuries caused by avalanches. Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain covers everything you need to know to avoid trouble in avalanche terrain: what avalanches are and how they work, common myths, human activities that lead to avalanche trouble, what happens to victims when an avalanche occurs, and rescue techniques. Provides step- by-step instruction for determining avalanche hazards, using safe travel technique, and making effective rescues.




Allen & Mike's Avalanche Book


Book Description

With more and more people heading into the winter backcountry on skis, snowshoes, and snowmobiles, avalanche safety is of paramount importance. Allen & Mike's Really Cool Avalanche Safety Book distills the sometimes overly technical information of snow science into a user-friendly format with helpful illustrations and easy-to-understand text. With years of experience as NOLS instructors to draw on, Allen O'Bannon and Mike Clelland team up to give winter recreationists the information they need to stay safe in the backcountry, including how to prepare for your trip, proper equipment and how to use it, snowpack assessment, choosing safe travel routes, decision making, and rescue scenarios. Written for both aspriring winter backcountry travelers and experts alike, this book is a must-read for anybody who loves to experience the solitude and beauty of the snowy mountains.







Avalanche Safety for Skiers & Climbers


Book Description

This is a handbook for anyone venturing above the snow-line in winter or summer. The writer explains how to avoid avalanche accidents through observation, recognition of avalanche terrain and good route-finding. This advice is reinforced by a variety of case histories from around the world. The second edition incorporates up-to-date techniques and equipment and also addresses the problem of stability evaluation for back-country telemarkers, snowboarders and extreme skiers.




Backcountry Skiing


Book Description

* For intermediate-to-advanced backcountry skiers* Includes trip planning, navigation, fitness, and avalanche safety information, in addition to techniques*Provides advice on how to make well-informed backcountry decisionsMartin Volken and his co-authors provide skiers with all the tools and knowledge they need to safely and successfully travel in the mountain backcountry. The guide features intermediate-to-advanced techniques for ski touring and ski mountaineering, from planning backcountry trips to perfecting turns in rolling terrain and mastering uphill climbing. For those skiers ready for a more technical, high alpine environment, they draw on traditional mountaineering skills, including roped climbing, setting protection anchors, using ice axes, climbing on bare rock, and more. In addition to mastering techniques, Backcountry Skiing also features information on recent evolutions in ski equipment; avalanche safety tips; a primer on mountain weather and glaciers, trip planning tools, a discussion of emergency situations, nutrition and fitness advice, and winter camping basics.Throughout this guide, a special emphasis is put on being well-informed and making good decisions - whenever you strap on your skis and skins and head out into the backcountry.




Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose in the Avalanche Patch


Book Description

What are our survival odds in avalanche country? Author Bruce Kay explores this puzzle in Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Drawing from the experiences of his peers and his own 35 years as a climber, skier and avalanche professional, Kay explains why avalanche country demands a unique mindset of managing risk by consideration of the unknown as much as the known. He explores related topics, including: - The Siren Song of Culture - Intuition and Bias - what is the difference? - Optimism and Luck - do we roll the dice or calculate risk? - The Expert Illusion - Strategic Mindset Using the work of Ian McCammon, Gary Klein and the Nobel Prize winning Kahnemen, Kay shows how the avalanche problem is nearly perfectly designed to produce errors in judgement, yet still provide opportunity for solution. This is brought to life using case studies and adrenaline - pumping stories from fellow professionals and recreationists. He warns that his book may at times "demand a bit more of the reader than the average ski video," but if truly interested in surviving to ski another day, this book is for you.




Snow Sense


Book Description

Book which focuses on teaching backcountry travellers to recognize, evaluate, and avoid avalanche hazards by gathering available key information and clues from the snowpack, weather, and terrain.




Wild Snow


Book Description

Presents historical background on ski mountaineering, which is climbing a mountain on skis and then skiing down the slopes, and offers tips on climbing and skiing specific mountains.




Dragons in the Snow


Book Description

Edward Power sets the reader down in the midst of a February 2017 blizzard that raked Utah’s Uinta Range as nine snowboarders made their way into the backcountry for a day of intense adventure. As the boarders were taking their first turns, expert avalanche forecaster Craig Gordon was tracking the storm and its impact, posting one of the most dire avalanche forecasts and warnings in his career. In Dragons in the Snow, Power delves into the research and science behind avalanche forecasting and rescue, weaving in the art of backcountry skiing as well as dramatic tales of avalanche accidents, rescues, and recoveries. And he paints compelling portraits of the men and women who have made the study of avalanches their life’s work. The tales told by these avalanche forecasters, as well as the stories of the backcountry riders who may "wake the dragon" make for not just a compelling read, but also a powerful tool for raising avalanche awareness in everyone who plays in the winter backcountry.