Interesting take on avalanche danger

I don't agree with the author's point one bit. There is an inherent risk to being in the backcountry that he completely ignores. Regardless how much you know about snow or avalanche conditions, there is always a chance that you will get hurt or killed. Lots of experienced mountaineers and backcountry enthusiasts die because they decided that there was a 1 in 10,000 risk that that they would get hurt, and it happened to be their unlucky day.

This guy seems to think that because he's been around for long enough, he'll never make a mistake. This is the wrong attitude to take. You should know your shit, and be ready to respond if you, or someone else screws up. You shouldn't sit there thinking "Dang, it's that own idiots fault. Hopefully he enjoys suffocating".

 
this is very true, but nonetheless for every skilled (thereby i mean a person who knew what he/she was doing and was properly equipped, trained and made the correct decisions) that gets buried/killed in an avalanche, there are 10x or even 100x more victims who had no idea what they were doing or made the wrong decisions as a result of insufficient training/knowledge....
i live in belgium, and i don't hear very much about avalanche fatalitites in the news, but the ones i do hear about are weekend warriors going outside the resort without even letting anybody know, without proper avvy equipment, training or knowledge...
so i agree that the author's point is questionable, but it's a point nontheless...There's a thin line between being a fool and a hero and that line is only determined by wether or not he survives...

 
i wish i had a source for this, but when i was taking an avy class last year we were told that the vast majority of people killed in avys have actually have had some sort of training. its all about good decision making when you're out there.
 
It's not because you've had an avvy class that you can asses the dangers properly.I know lots of people who had an avvy class or initiation and still don't read avvy reports before heading out, don't carry compass or clino-meter, etc.
People are often reassured by the fact that they've been through an avvy course. THIS IS WRONG !People should be reassured by the fact that they know what they're doing.
( By example, a guy follows an avvy course with a professional guide, the guide explains all factors that lead towards an avalanche, such as exposure, snowdeck, slope angle, people, etc...The guide then takes the guy into a 35° northern exposure couloir because the avvy danger was extremely low and the snowdeck was very stable.
Then a year later the guy returns and remembers what the guide told him, he only remembers some things.He remembers that the guide told something about exposure and slope angle, snowdeck etc. Since he doesn't remember too well, he decides to play safe and go down the couloir from last year, he knows it's a safe descent because he did it last year. Only difference, the avvy danger is 3, there is a lot of windblown snow acumulated in the couloir and he brings 2 of his buddys who have never had an avvy course...
other scenario
the guy remembers what the guide told him about exposure, since there isn't a guide this time, he'll favor a southern exposed slope, the guy has read the avvy report and sees that it's rather high, so he stays on gentle slopes and prefers skiing ridges, thereby avoiding the dangerous couloirs in which windblown snow has acumulated. He brings 2 friends who he has pushed into following an avvy course and carrying avvy gear.
So you have 2 scenarios, in the first scenario the guy thinks he knows what he's doing and in the last scenario the guy actually knows what he is doing...
only a small nuance but it coul be the difference between life and death...)
sry for the long post, i hope i made my point clear, english isnt my native language so i'll apologize in advance...
-peace out

 
I'm not sure where the author is getting the idea that the current young generation is the only one that has ever done unnecessarily dangerous things.
 
thats exactly what i was saying, people can get all the training in the world but it comes down to common sense to rely on that training when you're there.
 
All true, great post man.

One of the biggest problems is when people get complacent because they have "Skied that line before"..
 
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