Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain

The moral of the story is to pay attention to weight, not depth.

three-step rating, which they call “Simple, Challenging, or Complex.”

Convex slopes statistically produce more avalanches and more avalanche accidents than other kinds of slope

Wind can deposit snow ten times more rapidly than snow falling out of the sky.

That’s why an inclinometer is one of the most important tools to carry in avalanche terrain.

And the avalanche doesn’t care about our peculiar perceptions.

To an avalanche, the closer the slope is to 38 degrees, the more it wants to send a slab rumbling down the mountain.

The most important point to remember with slope steepness is that within the range of 30 to 45 degrees, avalanches are extremely sensitive to slope steepness.

Slopes between 35 and 45 degrees cause the vast majority of avalanche fatalities (Figure 3-2).

The bull’s-eye is around 38 degrees.