[avalanche] what you should do in one

How are you for avalanches over there, after the weekend tragedies?


"A cascade of avalanche-related deaths hit Utah on Saturday as snowmobilers and skiers traveled into the backcountry for a long Presidents Day weekend."


The USDA Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center Web site at www.avalanche.org/~uac/ offers these tips:

* Venture onto slopes one at a time, leaving someone in a safe spot. Split large groups and stay in visual and voice contact.

* Plan an escape route. What will you do if you trigger a slide?

* Use slope cuts. Keep up your speed and cut across the starting zone, so that if you do trigger an avalanche, momentum can carry you off the moving slab into safer terrain.

* Watch for cornices and give them a wide berth. Never walk to the edge of a drop-off without first checking it out.

* Look for alternatives: Follow ridges, thick trees and slopes with safer consequences. You can usually go back the way you came.

* If there's no other choice, go underground. You can almost always weather a bad storm or bad avalanche conditions by digging a snow cave in a protected area. You may be uncomfortable, but you will be alive.

So if you're in London, Edinburgh or maybe Adelaide, you'll know what to do.