Mt. Hood Snow Sports

Written by the excellent Graham Mueller

The liftline. We've all been there. Herded like cattle into some sub-alpine corral. You jostle for a group of four. The dude behind you clacks his edges against yours every time the line moves. Somehow parents still can't control their kids. It's somewhere between an airplane just after boarding and the waiting room at a dentist's office. All this just to get on the lift. You just want to ride. With millions of acres of mountain terrain out there, why not just hike off into the backcountry with a map and compass? Avalanches, that's why.

Inside the confines of a ski resort, patrollers use various techniques to trigger avalanches so you don't have to. Outside the resort's permit boundary, no such luck. Where there's a slope, a slab and a trigger, there's possibility of an avalanche. What's a pow-loving, crowd-averse shred to do? Arm yourself with knowledge, of course. Glenn Kessler and Mountain Savvy to the rescue!

Now based out of Parkdale, Oregon, Kessler has served some 15 years as a climbing ranger on Mt. Hood and Mt. Ranier. He is a snow and avalanche expert certified by the Canadian Avalanche Association to provide their courses. This year he plans to conduct nine Level 1 courses for beginners and one Level 1+ course for those who are already Level 1 certified.

As a beginner in all things backcountry, I knew this course was a perfect place to learn my way out of crowded ski areas and into the fresh tracks beyond. First off, gear rental (transceiver, probe and shovel) is included with the entry fee, all you need to provide is a pack and a means of transportation - be it splitboard, snowshoes or skis. Also included is the course's instruction manual, Free Riding in Avalanche Terrain or Backcountry Avalanche Awareness (two different books, but similar to the point of near-total repetition) both by Bruce Jamieson. I would recommend the three-day course which is broken into 8-hour days, instead of the more demanding 10-hour days of the two-day course. Either way, pack a lunch and be prepared for full days of classroom instruction and field training.

In our three-day course, we alternated between discussion and fieldwork. We might talk about avalanche terrain and beacon searching in the morning and then get out into some avalanche terrain (albeit stable terrain) and perform beacon searches in the afternoon. This combination of learning by seeing, talking and doing was quite effective for me.

The class learned a ton of useful information throughout the course and rather than go through the whole list here, I'll refer you to the Mountain Savvy website's list (http://www.mountainsavvy.com/detailsgovy.html). Some of the things that stuck out in my mind were the following:

Always strive to choose the right terrain for the right day. If an area looks particularly unstable at a given time, it doesn't mean you can't get out and play, just find something that works better.

Shoveling takes the bulk of the time and effort in a search. With practice, it can become easier. Practice your beacon and probe skills constantly also, in case you're ever put to the ultimate test. You might have friends to rely on in a group search, but if you're on the clock to save your friend's life you'll want to have some practice. Also, go slow to go fast. If you rush through things the first time, chances are you'll skip something and end up repeating multiple steps. Better to just take an extra second and do everything right the first time.

Snow science is far more complex than I ever imagined. Predicting avalanches is on par with predicting the weather and we all know how reliable that is. Err on the side of caution because we all want to stay on the right side of the snow. A preliminary site for northwest avalanche information is the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center (www.nwac.us).

For those of you daydreaming of leaving the resorts for good, a Level 1 avalanche course is the right place to start. With Mountain Savvy, for just $235 and a weekend of your time, you'll gain experience in a variety of avalanche safety techniques. This will NOT make you invincible, but in fact might make you more dangerous. It will also give you the skill set to leave the liftline junk show for good. Or at least on crowded weekends.