With the official start to the ski season imminent and the chance of a good snowfall this week, I thought it a good time to start switching on mentally to the conditions we can expect early season and the hazards that present themselves. Decent early season snowfalls create a lot of enthusiasm and with limited resort runs open, people begin looking to the backcountry. For the experienced there is an understanding of being patient, waiting for the first blizzard to fill everything in. Early season can however entice those with less experience or knowledge but great desire to push out into the backcountry and there are some important things to consider this time of the year.
Get your gear sorted. Have you changed the batteries in your beacon? Are your skins in good enough condition? Has your first aid kit been refreshed since last season? Do your new boots fit your bindings ? Do you have a backup plan? etc, etc. Don’t be distracted by not being fully prepared and end up making poor decisions. Early season yes but the hazard and risk are the same.
Understand the hazards. Just getting away from the trailhead can be a challenge early season and bush bashing common. Consider your best approach and the extra effort and time needed to get onto snow and back to the car. Also the damage that can be caused to the vegetation tramping in ski boots should not be ignored. With little base and shallow snow cover there is always a minefield of obstacles just beneath the surface and there have been plenty of early season injuries ruling people out for the season. Take it easy!
If you have done an AST 1 course you will remember that a shallow snowpack does not necessarily mean it is stable and the opposite can be true. Without getting too technical, shallow early season snowpacks can produce faceted snow especially near the ground. This, along with other buried weak layers caused by melt freeze cycles, surface hoar (frost), rain etc, tend to create a range of issues to remain aware of. Typically the best early season lines are those in the lee of ridges and gullies where the wind has allowed more snow to accumulate. Often these wind-loaded slopes are the only slopes with enough snow to ride, but they also represent the most danger as they hide the buried weak layers. “If there is enough snow to ride, there is enough snow to slide”.
Of course careful terrain choices and slope evaluation is always key and now we can enjoy the advantage of having critical information available to us through the professional forecasting offered by Mountain Safety Collective. If you are not a member you should join www.mountainsafetycollective.org
Early season turns can be the best but control the froth. Don’t underestimate the “human factors” that are behind so many backcountry incidents and don’t overlook the hazards. If you want to read up on any of this, “Staying Alive In Avalanche Terrain” by Bruce Tremper is a great book. If you haven’t done any training, get on an AST1 course this year. It’s not just about avalanches and is really the beginning of what can be an incredible backcountry journey. Getting educated is just as important as getting the right gear!
