Seattle Mountaineers Snowshoeing Committee

A Message From Our Directors:

In the past week we have experienced more recreational avalanche fatalities than during any other period in the last 100 years. These deaths are geographically diverse and many communities across the country are dealing with tragedy. On Monday, it hit closer to home for all of us in the PNW, as we experienced our first avalanche fatality of the season. From all of us at the Northwest Avalanche Center, our deepest condolences go out to all who have been affected.

Although we are only halfway through the winter season, we are approaching our national annual average for avalanche fatalities. This should concern all of us.

Today’s National Avalanche Danger Map displays a dangerous snowpack from Northern Washington to central Colorado. These conditions are very favorable for human triggered avalanches and are the primary factor in why we’ve seen an unusual occurrence of avalanche incidents.

We’re also concerned about a secondary link between the accident cluster this past week and the individual and societal effects of the pandemic. There are more people in the backcountry than ever before, and more people in the mountains increases the probability of human triggered avalanches.

And while it’s impossible to draw a direct line between the stressors of the pandemic and avalanche incidents, the virus clearly adds overt and latent stressors on all of our lives. These stressors influence our day-to-day interactions, and they likely impact our recreational mindset in the backcountry.

Your risk is determined by deciding where and when to go. Please consider the intersection of the snowpack, your experience, and the added stress of recent months on you and your partners. Are you feeling the need to push it, or could you pull back a bit? Life in the pandemic has undoubtedly added more uncertainty to our lives.

Remember this tenet from your avalanche education: as uncertainty in your plan increases—your exposure to hazards should decrease.

Avalanche centers across the US are focused on one thing: equipping the public with information and education that enables people to recreate safely in the snow. As you head out for that much needed time in the backcountry, we urge you to read and understand our avalanche forecasts, plan accordingly, and consider how the pandemic may be altering your recreational mindset.
Stay safe.


Scott D. Schell
NWAC Non-Profit Executive Director
[email protected]


Dennis D'Amico
NWAC Forecast Director - US Forest Service
[email protected]
https://nwac.us/home/a-message-from-nwac-directors/

NWAC Snowshoeing Survey The Northwest Avalanche Center is leading a survey of snowshoers in the PNW as a means to better serve this community. The goal is to understand the PNW snowshoer customer journey, demographics, habits, inspirations, aspirations, and snow/avalanche safety knowledge. The results of this survey will a...

Are you a Snowshoe graduate interested in sharing your skills with a new group of snowshoe students, but don’t know where to start? We’re tooling up for a new season of Snowshoe courses and would love for you to join us! To that end, we have scheduled a New Instructor clinic at the Seattle Program Center on December 10th.

Instructing is fun and rewarding, and a great way to reinforce your own skills in winter safety!

Snowshoe Instructors Clinic - Seattle - 2015 Snowshoeing is one of the primary entry points into the Mountaineers, and we always need new volunteer instructors to help teach winter travel and safety skills to our students, numbering over 100 each year.

Wow! Seattle Mountaineers Snowshoeing passed 200 likes in the off season! We gained 12 new friends during June alone! While we don't have much to post about during the summer months, we're looking forward to a snowier winter. Here's a photo reminder of what that's all about.

Please be aware of a recall on certain MSR shovels! Follow the link for more details.

MSR About Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled shovels and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or to Mountain Safety Research for a free replacement shaft.

Be aware that NWAC has issued a weekend avalanche forecast, with a rating of Considerable in all forecast regions. In the Snoqualmie Pass area, the problem is loose wet avalanches which are likely on all aspects, near and above treeline. Also possible cornices on generally northeast aspects.

"It will be beautiful to be in the Olympics and Cascades Saturday but remember to make careful snowpack evaluations and cautious route finding decisions especially above treeline."

Northwest Avalanche Center Provides mountain weather and avalanche information for the Northwest US, including the Washington Cascades, Olympic Mountains and the northern Oregon Cascades.

Please be aware of a recall on the Ortovox S1+ avalanche transceiver. If you own one, please check out the information from Ortovox.

Due to the possible failure of a component, which could lead to a transmission fault, we need to recall all S1+ avalanche transceivers for precautionary repair. You can find more information about the recall on our website:

www.ortovox.com/recall-s1plus-us

This recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Check out the Blood Moon with The Mountaineers — The Mountaineers Head to Mount Baker with us to experience the Blood Moon and snowshoe under the moonlight!

Taking advantage of clear skies, one of our volunteer leaders led a snowshoe overnight trip this weekend to Mazama Ridge at Mount Rainier. The campsite had views of The Mountain and the Tatoosh Range, and from just a bit farther uphill we could see Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, and Goat Rocks. As the evening waned, the golden sun lit the landscape and cast dramatic shadows, while our party enjoyed the quiet and stillness.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industry recently published this poster, promoting safety in the trucking industry. (We're assuming that the gentleman's pack is sitting just out of frame, while he burns off some extra energy.)

A glorious day with several inches of fresh powder snow heading up to Castle Pinnacle Saddle. Active wind-loading on a considerable avalanche danger day kept us conservative and away from gaining the top of the ridge below the saddle. But it was still absolutely amazing, and we did some other traveling in avy-safe terrain to extend our day. Photos by Heidrun Eberhardt.