Avalanche Essentials: A Step-by-Step System for Safety and Survival

by Bruce Tremper

Overview

Avalanche safety educator Bruce Tremper’s recently published Avalanche Essentials is a terrific little tome that condenses the conventional wisdom into 189 pages. The book is profusely illustrated with numerous diagrams and real-life photos. A thorough index rounds things out, making the book useful for research or as a fulcrum during safety classes and seminars. — Wildsnow.com

* Companion to Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, the bestselling avalanche text in the U.S.

Winter athletes don’t necessarily want to be snow scientists, but playing in avalanche country does require basic knowledge of the risks in order to stay safe. This new guide by renowned avalanche expert Bruce Tremper is simple, accessible, and offers just the basics — an Everyman’s guide to avalanche safety that won’t overtax your average ski bums, but will keep them safe when they’re going for 12 consecutive months of powder. Avalanche Essentials is for everyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of avalanche awareness, focusing on systems and checklists, step-by-step procedures, decision-making aids, visual terrain and weather cues, rescue techniques, gear, and more.

Avalanche Essentials is intended for broader use by skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, hikers, climbers, and snowshoers. Because it steers clear of more complex topics (e.g., snow metamorphism), it’s perfect for generalists as well as anyone who has studied avalanche safety and likes to keep a pocket reference while in potentially dangerous terrain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594857171
Publisher:	Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date:	11/12/2013
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	494,116
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Bruce Tremper grew up skiing in the mountains of western Montana, where his father taught him the basics of avalanches at the age of ten. He was a member of the Junior National Ski Team and the US Ski Team Talent Squad; in 1973, he was NCAA Division Downhill Champion. Bruce’s professional avalanche experience began in 1977 when he did avalanche control for Bridger Bowl Ski Area. He later was director of avalanche control at Big Sky Ski Area, an avalanche forecaster for the Alaska Avalanche Center, and director of the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center where he worked for almost thirty years.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction: Why Should You Care? 7

Chapter 1 How Dangerous is the Brain? 26

Chapter 2 How Dangerous is the Terrain? 39

Chapter 3 How Dangerous is the Snowpack? 73

Chapter 4 Will it Slide? 96

Chapter 5 Low-Risk Travel Ritual 115

Chapter 6 Oops-Survival Strategies 128

Chapter 7 Rescue Techniques 138

Chapter 8 Rescue Technology 155

Chapter 9 Putting it all Together 166

Resources 182

Index 185