21-22

<p>The first substantial storm of the season has coated the mountains and valleys with a blanket of snow and that means it’s time to think about avalanches. Be cautious of steep slopes with deeper snow, especially where there are thick drifts. If you’re out hiking or hunting, simply avoiding these drifted areas is the best strategy to avoid avalanches. Avoidance is more difficult if your goal is to ski, because slopes with deeper snow have the best coverage of natural obstacles. If there is enough snow to make turns, there is enough snow to avalanche. A small&nbsp;avalanche can cause season ending injuries (or worse) if it carries you into exposed rocks or trees. Travel and prepare for avalanches like you would in the middle of winter. This means travelling one at a time in avalanche terrain. Carry a beacon, shovel and&nbsp;<a href="https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encylopedia/probe"><u>probe</u></a>&nbs… a minimum. Helmets are a good idea as well with the thin snow cover.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Accidents are not uncommon with early season snow and have injured skiers, climbers and hunters.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/12/10/31"><strong><u>This accident report</u></strong></a>&nbsp;from October 2012 in the northern Bridger Range has many useful lessons. This report from <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/17/10/12"><strong><u>the tragic fatality</u></strong></a> in early October 2017 is a somber reminder of the potential consequences of even a small avalanche.</p>

<p>We are preparing for winter, scheduling avalanche classes, and setting up weather stations. If you have avalanche, snowpack or weather observations to share. Please submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong><u>websi…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong><u>mtavalanche@gmail.com</u></str…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>