I don’t disagree with you, the problem is that people don’t get adequate avalanche training, and have very little idea how to navigate in avalanche terrain, much less disseminate an avalanche hazard report.

For me, I take at least one avi or ski mountaineering course a year and only travel with experienced backcountry skiers or split boarders. And once the season starts, it’s full on, skiing, planning missions, watching the weather, and having the patience to wait for the snowpack to consolidate after a storm , then checking/ recording snowpack observations as we move through the terrain.

People think that skiing in the back country is laid back, but it’s anything but. It’s about planning checking gear and waking up at ungodly hours in order to summit before the sun comes up and starts warming the snowpack. It’s about knowing when to back off and having a back up plan. It’s about respecting the slopes and getting home safe.

the fact is if you ski enough you will get caught in a slide at some point, or have to deal with an injury way out in the middle of no where, it’s about mitigating the hazard and knowing when to huck and when to take a granny line.

There is a steep couloir line that I have wanted to ski for about three years now and I have been up to it about 10 times and still have never skied it, because it’s exposed, and has no where to exit or stop.

Usually on these slopes we leap frog between islands of safety, but this line it has to be shredded top to bottom,it’s a no stopping steel legger, it’s so sexy, fast and dangerous it will be extremely rewarding when it hits.

Ski touring/ mountaineering is fucking awesome, it’s not a hobby and that’s the problem, people think it is something they can jump into every once in a while, it’s not. It’s a way of life during the winter.

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