Published January 27, 2006 10:10AM
Never head into the backcountry unprepared. Surf the web, read some books, and above all
take a class
. Here’s a start.
WEBSITES:
avalanche.org: State-by-state avalanche course locator; forecasts
fsavalanche.org: Interactive backcountry tour; basic avalanche primer
avalanche.ca: Discussion boards; academic articles (Canadian)
PRINT AND VIDEO:
Snow Sense: A Guide to Evaluating Snow Avalanche Hazard by Jill A. Fredston and Doug Fesler ($8.95)
Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper ($17.95)
The Avalanche Handbook by David McClung & Peter Schaerer ($19.95)
Avalanche Rescue Beacons: A Race Against Time Everything you need to know, laid out in plain English (video; $25)
Teton Gravity Research and Backcountry Access team up in a how-to video for the Tracker beacon (see the “Wanted” article below)
DECEMBER 2005