How to Survive an Avalanche

By Terry McCarthy

Though only one person has been found dead from an avalanche a week ago near Park City, Utah, 16 people have been killed in avalanches in the U.S. this season, almost double the toll at the same time last year. Ski resorts routinely blast problem snow from steep slopes. But as more skiers and snowmobilers head for the backcountry, where there is no organized avalanche control, attention is shifting to new self-rescue techniques.

Three-quarters of avalanche fatalities are caused by asphyxiation. For those buried under the snow, survival chances plummet if they are not found in the first 15 minutes; in the U.S., 70% of people buried in avalanches do not survive. The most widely used avalanche-protection technology is a radio transceiver worn on the body that sends out signals that can be picked up from above the snow. But these beacons only increase survival rates by about 10%.

Much more successful is a German system of inflatable air bags carried in a backpack that keeps the wearer from sinking in moving snow by increasing the body's surface area. In 70 documented cases of air-bag users being caught in avalanches in Europe, only three died. But the backpacks are rarely used in the U.S. They cost about $600, twice the price of an avalanche beacon, and they can't be carried as baggage on airlines, which won't accept the pressurized-gas canisters used to inflate the bags. Still, experts hope that will change. Says Dale Atkins, a forecaster at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, who has participated in 500 mountain searches: "It's the best tool to save lives in avalanches."

--By Terry McCarthy