Avalanche (un)safety tips and the hype of disaster

The news are all over about people getting killed in [tag-tec]avalanches[/tag-tec] this winter. Ski patrollers and sheriffs at Jackson Hole, Wyoming have referred to this season so far as the most stressful one “since the mining days”. A record number of skiers and tourskiers have been reported to die under avalanches in the Rockies and across the American West in December.

What’s really crazy is the way the media inflates the gravity of the situation. As if snowfall this year were deadlier than ever before. Of course, I acknowledge the fact that there have been a record number of fatalities this winter and naturally, we feel deep compassion for fellow mountaineers and skiers and their families who have fallen victim to the mountains. But the natural instinct of mainstream media is to inflate these disasters and manufacture half-truths, stories about how much more deadly the snow is than ever before.

Mainstream media tends to quote experts on these issues, but of course, these quotes are just fragments of opinions carefully constructed to support the story of the journalist. And the primary aim of the story is to sell itself.

How dare I say this? Here’s how: any seasoned [tag-tec]mountain guide[/tag-tec] or mountaineer will tell you, that on no day is the whole mountain completely safe or completely dangerous. Depending on the conditions (wind, recent snowfall, sun are the most crucial factors) you always have safe and unsafe slopes and valleys. Of course, you risk a whole lot more when you go out in grade 4-5 conditions than when you go out in grade 1-2…

The mountains have always been dangerous. Some years the avalanche death toll is higher, than others. The chances of anyone getting killed in an avalanche when out in reasonable conditons (under grade 3) is slim. This never gets mentioned in the avalanche-related news stories read by hundreds of thousands of people.

Let’s give credit to the New York Times, though, for this really cool illustration of a crappy, avalanche-risky hillside:
At least they’re good at making diagrams and giving scientific explanations…

What you need to understand from this diagram

Upside down storms – as they are remarked in the nytimes article – where temperature increases during the storm will result in a layer of wet, heavy snow resting on top of colder, dry and less dense snow. Until these layers settle on one another, they are fragile, meaning the top layer can slip on the bottom layer, resulting in slabs breaking away.  Slabs arel likely to break away where zones of weakness are close to one another.

What can you do to save your (and your buddies’) butts?

• never go out (off piste skiing or climbing) in grade 3 and higher avalanche warning. Stick to mountaineering on tight ridges, avoiding [tag-tec]couloirs[/tag-tec] or do [tag-tec]rock climbing[/tag-tec] routes. Ski on piste. If it’s boring, hit the moguls or head for the park.
• from year-to-year, refresh your knowledge of using avalanche safety geaer: transciever, shovel, pole.
• oh, and have ‘em with you as well.
• from time to time, have yourself burried 1 metre (3 feet or something) deep in snow by your buddies. Getting used to the feeling, you’ll panic less when hit by an avalanche and therefore save air. Stay under the snow for as long as you can bare (3-5 min) and try getting out without help.
• although it’s unlikely that anyone will perform an avalanche test every time you cross a new hillside, you should be familiar with avalanche testing. Check out zis video for 10 not-so-quick but easy steps.

The #2 Cause of Hiking&Climbing Deaths is… and how to avoid it

Can you guess it? Before I give you the answer, consider a very serious finding from ScientificBlogging.com concluding that by far, the most [tag-tec]climbing[/tag-tec] deaths on [tag-tec]Everest[/tag-tec] occured during the descent. That’s understandable, isn’t it? After all, descending is often more technical, you are more tired and tend to be more careless than on the way up…

“Wait a sec, what’s the no. 1 cause?” The primary mortal cause on the world’s highest peak among [tag-tec]mountain guides[/tag-tec], [tag-tec]climbers[/tag-tec] and sherpas is caused by symptoms such as confusion, loss of physical coordination and unconsciousness… all of which can be associated with cerebral edema. Cerebral edema is the scary consequence of the brain’s blood vessels leaking, resulting in the swelling of the brain.

The scientist gals and dudes who prepared this study were surprised to find that pulmonary edema – which is getting excessive fluid in the lungs – has been pretty rare.

OK, so many of you will never deal with the really high altitude stuff- that is, “death zone” climbing – or over 8000 meter climbing, so cerebral edema only leads deaths on high mountain expeditions. So, on to the number 2 cause of death on mountaineering, hiking and trekking excursions… Which is: [tag-tec]hypothermia[/tag-tec]. Hypothermia occurs, basically, when your body temp drops to around 32 deg. Centigrade, or just below 90 deg. Fahrenheit.

In this state, you do not yet freeze, but will experience cognitive deficiencies – loss of coordination, speech disfunctioning, illusions-seeing things etc. People have been reported getting rid of all their equipment and clothing when entering severe stages of hypothermia. Often, corpses found in the wilderness are actually discovered bare naked.

What to do and what not to do, when the danger of hypothermia sets in…

Do:

• make every effort to make a fire and warm up
• put the “patient” in two-three sleeping bags, unclothed
• have someone huddle with the person in a sleeping bag (almost unclothed), providing more body heat for the poor victim
• always carry an emergency foil blanket and wrap it around the body. The closer to the skin, the better.
• get rid of wet clothes, as they further heat the body. The moisture may come from sweat as well, not just snow or rain.

Do not:

• have the victim “move around” if hypothermia developed from spending lots of time in very cold water. In cold water, only the outer body will have been cooled out considerably, while the inner body may have conserved adequate amounts of heat. If the victim starts to move around, then the blood will carry all the cold around the organs and the heart, resulting possibly, in sudden death.

Needless to say, you should make every effort to get the victim in a hospital.

Tags: climbers, death zone, high altitude, Hypothermia, mountain, mountain travel, mountaineering, Trekking