For the week of November 19 - 24, 2003

Avalanche center gears up for winter season

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"Given the setup of the snowpack right now, overall we’re looking pretty good. We didn’t develop a big nasty layer on the ground. What’s there has a chance of becoming more solid, particularly if we keep getting these storms coming in."

— JANET KELLAM, Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center director

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

As the snow begins to pile up this fall, the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center is gearing up for another winter of avalanche forecasting and education.

With the arrival of new snow this week, avalanche season in Central Idaho is dawning. This photo, taken last May in the Sawtooth Mountains, shows evidence of morning’s business before avalanche danger rose due to rapidly increasing temperatures. Courtesy photo

Last winter, 30 backcountry travelers lost their lives in avalanches in the United States. Another 28 lost their lives in avalanches in Canada. In the 2001-2002 winter, 35 people died in the U.S., marking the deadliest winter since the 1950s.

For avalanche forecasters, the steadily rising number of people traveling in the winter backcountry translates to a rising need for avalanche education and awareness. It has also translated into a steadily rising, but not skyrocketing, number of backcountry accidents.

"Most of the avalanche professionals think that the trend of avalanche education is paying off," said Janet Kellam, Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center director. "We all know that winter recreation is absolutely exploding. There is an upward trend of avalanche fatalities, but I wouldn’t say it is also exploding."

What that means is education efforts are paying off, Kellam said. Fewer people are getting caught in avalanches than if education programs were more limited.

For Sun Valley-area skiers, snowmobilers and climbers, there are few excuses for traveling in the backcountry unprepared.

Home to the National Avalanche Center and the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center, as well as a number of knowledgeable backcountry outfitters, the area is blessed with ample resources.

As soon as the snowpack warrants, potentially this week, the Sawtooth avalanche center will begin posting daily advisories on its Website at www.avalanche.org/~svavctr/ and on a telephone answering machine at 622-8027.

What’s more, the center is preparing for several basic avalanche awareness classes. The first is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 2 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ernest Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum. A field session will follow on Monday, Dec. 8.

Meanwhile, Central Idaho’s first significant snowfall earlier this week has created a buzz unique to mountain towns, and the overall snowpack could develop into a sturdy base layer if forecasted storms come through this weekend.

"Given the setup of the snowpack right now, overall we’re looking pretty good," Kellam said. "We didn’t develop a big nasty layer on the ground. What’s there has a chance of becoming more solid, particularly if we keep getting these storms coming in."

Kellam warned that there are some weak layers of snow on east, north and northwesterly aspects of mountains.

"Those were the shady aspects that kept the Halloween snow," she said.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.