Winter has yet to settle over Alaska's largest city, but it's closing in fast enough that officialdom has begun warning about avalanche dangers in the mountains.
The run-out from a good-sized avalanche was visible along the busy Seward Highway between Anchorage and the suburban ski community of Girdwood this week, but such visual warning signs don't always deter those heading down the highway toward the Kenai Peninsula to recreate.
Both skiers and snowmachiners have, in the past, driven by glaring signs of avalanche danger in the Girdwood area, only to die in avalanches on the Kenai. Snowmachiners are, at the moment, safe. Chugach National Forest remains closed to snowmachining because of a still-low snowpack. But a couple feet of snow at elevation is starting to attract back-country skiers.
Kevin Wright of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center posted a warning Friday that "glide avalanches, breaking full depth to the ground, are being reported throughout the region.... As we go into the weekend, be aware that a shallow snowpack can be just as dangerous as a deep snowpack. Do not assume that early season conditions are somehow safer than late season. Be sure to carry your beacon, shovel, and probe. Travel with a partner, and constantly evaluate the snow conditions as you go."
Statistically, deadly avalanches occur less frequently in early winter than in spring, but they do occur. In Alaska, there have been some notable fall deaths. On Nov. 8, 1992, an avalanche that came down a gully on the south side of Flattop Mountain -- an Anchorage landmark peak -- buried and killed local geologists Bruce Hickok and Geoffrey Radford. Both were experienced mountaineers with avalanche training.
Tempted by fresh snow, however, they had gone skiing not far from Hickok's home off Canyon Road.
One of the tenets of safe mountain travel is that the most dangerous time for avalanches is during or just after a snowstorm. It is why Wright was warning recreationists headed for the Kenai to be particularly alert if another storm rolls into the area Friday night or Saturday morning, as looks possible. Early season dangers are not to be underestimated.
Angela Paez was a second-year medical student working in Anchorage when she went for a pleasant ski in Crow Pass above Girdwood in early December 1997. She'd helped deliver her first baby the night before. She would not live to deliver another. Though there was not much snow in Crow Pass at the time, Paez triggered an avalanche. It swept her into the Crystal Creek gorge and buried her there. She was not buried deep, but she wore no avalanche beacon and her traveling companion lacked a probe and a shovel with which to dig.
Had he been carrying those two simple tools, some avalanche authorities said later, they might have had a chance of saving Paez's life. But without the tools, the situation was hopeless. Her friend went for help. With him went Paez's hopes for survival. Avalanche experts stress that people buried only have about 30 minutes to live. It is vital, if they are to be saved, that their companions get to them quickly.
Avalanche beacons, when used be people knowledgeable in their operation, can quickly pinpoint the general location of those missing after the snow stops sliding. Probes can then be used to determine exactly where the missing person is buried. A good hand with a shovel can usually dig somebody out in time. All of which is why avalanche experts recommend beacons, probes and shovels for back-country travelers and, most of all, the knowledge of how to use them.
Tools are just extra weight to carry if you don't know how they work. The Alaska Avalanche School offers courses in both avalanche education and rescue.
Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com