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IPFS News Link • How To

How to Survive an Avalanche

• http://www.artofmanliness.com-

The victims are typically backcountry recreationalists—skiers, snowboarders, climbers, and snowmobilers. Snowmobilers account for twice as many avalanche fatalities as the other groups, mostly because of their surging numbers, and also because the weight of the snowmobile and rider is greater than that of a person on skis, making them more likely to stress the weak layer in a snowpack and set off an avalanche (the noise isn't the reason, by the way. The idea that noise can cause an avalanche is a myth). Avalanche victims are often risk takers that set aside safety concerns in the pursuit of their goals, and 89% of them are men.

While the majority of avalanches happen naturally, 90% of avalanche fatalities occur in avalanches triggered by the victim himself, or by someone in the victim's party. So avalanches aren't exactly freak accidents, and there is a lot you can do to avoid getting swept up in one and to increase your chances of survival if you do.

Now here in Oklahoma, the avalanche threat hovers right around zero percent. So I called up Sarah Carpenter, an instructor at the American Avalanche Institute in Victor, Idaho to fill me in on how to prepare for, survive, and help a buddy out of an avalanche.


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