After the sudden deaths of two local men. in-.an avalanche on Copper. Mountain Jan,. 3, Ter- . _ race Review senior reporter Tod Strachan asked, the experts: for . their’ views' on avoiding | the. - deadly slides and survival skills for those unfortunate enough. to be. Caught it in. one," ‘This is’ what they said.’ o Anyone who “Ventures: “into _. mountainous country during the winter is at-risk of. becoming an. avalanche: victim. And if it hap- pens to you; you’re on your own. There is no emergency _ organization. that can respond — quickly: enough, ‘and if your companions ‘can’t locate you in the first few minutes, the trained " rescuers who arrive.on the scene later: will simply. bea Tecovery team. What can you do to reduce the | tisk? How can you improve your chances? ‘As in any: activity that involves a measure of risk, experts will tell you the answer _ to these questions is very simple.: Learn to recognize the hazards, and avoid them. If you're a fisherman, for example, you likely have some _ education regarding water safety and: swimming skills. You wear a-life jacket. You never go out alone... You know ‘the buddy . system ‘works. ‘The same con- cepts apply to. safety in ava lanché:country,. - ~ : First seek out some basic edu- 7 cation So you-can recognize and evaluate. the hazard, Says. ava- lanche expert Al Evenchick: And also prepare yourself for the - Prices as little os ‘ Co . fd L N ( | No Frills ° {4 Low Cost iW No Commission Sale embership Fee OM ¢- Warehouse | prices AN TH Volume Deale eventuality. that ‘you may be caught: by surprise in. spite. of | your awareness and knowledge. "It’s not . complicated,” - says Evenchick. "There. are. basic things to learn to recognize and evaluate the hazard, And following that, know how. to improve your chances: if you’ re caught"... oF _ As far as. education is con- cémed, sources are not difficult ‘to find. The Ministry of Envi- ronment, Lands: ‘and’ Parks ‘travels the province’ each year with workshops. There was one in. Terrace last year. Also, the Canadian Avalanche Association, possibly the best single.source for wide range of information, offers a five-day training program designed for | everyone from professionals to : people interested in nothing -More than a little healthy out- door récreation. “You may have to wait. for ‘programs like ‘these to. come around, but while you’re waiting there other things you can do. Several good*books have. been ‘ published, for example, Try the library. A number of books are avail-- -able, but Evenchick recommends . ‘three. There is the Avalanche Handbook published by. the forest services branch of: the "U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because this . publication :was: prepared for technical people, you might find it a little dry. but it is a.good source of knowl- edge. This book is due to be— some. . along on every outing. . terrace Review — Wednesday, january. 15, 1992 3 . Gord Sweeting: Personal location device should be taken Another is titled The Ava- lanctic Book.. It was written by Betsy Armstrong . and Knox Williams and published by Ful- : crum Inc.:of Golden, Colorado in 1986. And another is a Cana- -dian. publication “called Ava- lanche Safety for Skiers and Climbers. Of the latter, Even- updated by a Canadian publisher. chick says: "It’s a good book No Gimmic Warehouse Operation . Ks ¢ Low Prices! | S Staff Large Selectio Furniture & _ TREMENDOUS Locale A . tare nen ede Beate ta a n of Brand Name g Mattresses at s SAVINGS! ear Terrace OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 4730 Keith Ave, Min Wm &Sar: 10am: 6pm | 635-4111 SINDAY: Chesed because it’s not overly technical and: it’s aimed at the _rec- reationalist. If the library doesn’t have it, they should." What will you learn froni these ‘avalanche courses and . books? You will learn. how to recognize and understand avalanche ter- rain, You will begin to under-— Stand basic snow pack structure and how the weather affects that snow pack, And you will soon - find yourself applying — this knowledge in the field to avoid hazardous situations, ‘There is a second component to education, though. Through | education, you can reduce the tisk, but you can’t eliminate it.’ For that reason you have to learn ‘ how to survive an avalanche. © There are many types of ava- lanches — wet, dry, slab, clean and those filled with debris like trees and rocks. And they're all fast and unforgiving. Speed depends on a number of factors such as the terrain; the type of snow and the steepness of. the slope. Evenchick says a dry © gliding avalanche. might travel at a speed of between 40 and 50 _- kilometres per hour, a wet turbu- lent avalanche at 30 to 100 kilometres per hour, a dry turbu- lent avalanche at 40 to 200 kilometres per hour..And a large . powder avalanche can reach velocities up to 250 kilometres _ per hour. The avalanche that claimed the ‘lives of two Terrace men near Copper Mountain on Jan. 3 was. likely travelling somewhere between 50 and 90 kilometres per hour, The fastest avalanche ever clocked was travelling at 350 kilometres per hour. Even outside of the immediate avalanche area itself, air turbu- lerice in. the fotm of a powder ee TERT ETEETS pore tee -eldud, can cause.a good deal of HE SNO OV my damage. Far beyond the toe of. a” recent avalanche near Meziadin,: ‘for example, needies were. ripped . off trees by the powder cloud for _ & distance of several. hundred - metres. So fast, slow, turbulent, debris- . filled... There. is no simple answer. as . to how you should | react if you're “caught in an avalanche. - The biggest single factor in survival is education... Knowitig how to evaluate the _ conditions, the terrain and the snow. . What is the weather like? What ‘type of snow is it? How steep is. the slope? Are their rocks, trees . or a cliff below? Should. you cross the slope as a group or one. at a time? These and other ques- tions need to be answered before . a_particular piece of terrain-is ‘approached so you can mentally prepare yourself to react appro- ‘priately if an avalanche dots occur, — 2 For anyone caught in an ava- co lanche, RCMP dog master Cpl. Lothar Bretfeld. offers this advice. "Swim" towards light. As you feel yourself beginning. to slow, push snow away from. your face to create an air pocket, : ‘and tuck your elbows in by your | - sides and press out to create _ space for your chest to expand. And at the last moment, reach as high as you can with one hand towards: light: There’s.a- good chance a glove or a sleeve will penetrate the surface, making. it possible to-locate you quickly:'. If your hand doesn’t break. through the surface, don’t panic. | You still have some time. Statis- tically, according to Bretfeld, there is a 60 percent chance for survival if you are found. within 20 minutes. And according © to Evenchick, you have a 50 per-. - cent chance of survival in the first 30 minutes. After that, however, your chance of sur- vival begins to decline rapidly. . Quick recovery is the-key to survival. For this, reason, Bret- ’ feld, Evenchick and Search and Rescue coordinator Gord Sweeting recommend three basic pieces of equipment that every- one in your group should carry on every outing into a back country area. The most valuable is a | per- sonal locating device, a compact electronic gadget that transmits a radio signal to guide rescuers to your location. The cost? About $150 to $200. You should have a collapsible probe. The cost of this item is around $30. . And finally, you.should carry a — shovel, something stout and ‘light, but big enough to do the job. Without it, the first two | pieces of equipment may not be of any value at all. a All - recreational activities. enhance out physical and mental — being. For this‘reason, these are very worthwhile activities. True, — most involve some risk. Perhaps - that’s one of the factors involved in their popularity: They're seen as a test... a challenge. But if - you're’ properly prepared, the . tisk factor doesn’t necessatily have to. be unacceptably: high;: Lr