Avalanche training seminar at Pebble Creek

With all of the snow in our area, it’s a good time to learn about the dangers of avalanches. Only two days after that deadly avalanche in a New Mexico ski resort that killed one and trapping many others, ISU students and the community took part in avalanche safety and rescue seminar up at Pebble Creek.

Over the weekend, Pebble Creek displayed great conditions on the slopes. However, while most of looking to get fresh powder, others were learning its dangers.

“I think with all of the things in the outdoors, Avalanches are the most difficult to deal with.” Ron Watters, a professor at ISU has been teaching an avalanche safety class for 45 years. Today, they’re looking at snow composition, searching for signs of avalanche potential in snowflakes… under a microscope.

“We’re looking at what snow crystals are in the snow pits and what we’re trying to determine where the weak places in the snowpack. And those weak places are where we can get an avalanche.”

They found that this past storm system brought high avalanche potential to southeast Idaho. With more than 22 inches of snow in the high mountains, there hasn’t been enough time for snow to bind, creating light “airy” snow that causes dangerous conditions out in the backcountry.

“What’s its doing is adding weight to the old snow, so there are some avalanches that are occurring with an entire snowpack and then there are some avalanches occurring in the old snowpack.”

While some students learned the formation of avalanches, others learned search and rescue. The third group is using avalanche transceivers. Like a radar system sending a signal out… to help find those who are buried under the snow.

As a snowboard instructor, Lucas Witten took this class to stay prepared on the slopes. “Outdoor field, you never know what’s going to happen, most of the time people are unprepared. Sp definitely getting more experience in the field is going to be huge.”