Backcountry Safety Is A Matter Of Individual Preparedness

First and foremost, I would like to express my sympathy to the family and friends of Troy Douglas. Any premature death is a tragedy to deal with.

Newspaper and TV news articles have abounded regarding the danger of backcountry travel. These articles should throw a red flag to anyone who is even thinking of a trip into the mountains or the backcountry.

When we, as thinking humans, enter the backcountry, we must accept all responsibility for ourselves and our party members. Mother Nature does not care about what she does, when she does it or who is in her way.

Avalanches occur naturally and can be triggered by a wide variety of circumstances, manmade or otherwise. When we are unfortunate enough to get in their way, we almost always lose.

Even during nontechnical training, we are taught that there is only a 50 percent chance that a person will survive after 20 to 30 minutes of being buried. After 45 minutes there is little chance of surviving at all.

We are trained that when we enter the backcountry, we are individually responsible for our survival and that we must carry the proper equipment to deal with such emergencies. To put blame on others or agencies is just a way of venting anger and grief.

We are taught that we must carry the essentials to survive an accident. These include a shovel designed for avalanche digging and probe poles. And each member of a party must have an avalanche transceiver strapped to his or her body and know how to use it.

Even with these essentials, we are not at any less risk of dying. Avalanches move at incredible speed and carry enough force to snap 12- to 18-inch trees as though they’re dry twigs.

As an avalanche moves, it creates a great deal of friction that melts snow crystals. It is much more common for a victim to die of dismemberment or being crushed than from suffocation.

It is the job of our agencies - sheriff, Forest Service, etc. - to assist in the recovery of victims if they or their party cannot manage evacuation on their own. When there is a fatality, their job is body recovery.

This does not mean people from these agencies should risk becoming victims themselves. Recall the three Coast Guard rescuers who lost their lives recently trying to rescue people from a sinking yacht on the Washington coast.

The danger of avalanches is obviously very high now. No one should have entered the area of the accident in which Douglas died without proper training and equipment, and certainly not until the area was stable enough to be safe for a rescue attempt.

Douglas’ family and friends were negligent in attempting a recovery when they did because the area was simply not stable enough.

Tragedies happen in life. It is sad that this incident occurred. Coincidently, on the same day this article appeared in The Spokesman-Review, there was an article about two snowmobilers who stopped on a ridge top to examine the dangers, only to see another snowmobiler who was not with them get buried upside down, his legs flailing wildly, in an avalanche disposition zone .

It is each individual’s responsibility to educate and equip himself or herself with the skills necessary to be safe.

I encourage everyone who is inclined to enter the backcountry to seek training and learn the ins and outs of backcountry safety before he or she ventures forth.

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