Avalanche Awareness

You may associate avalanches with the Alps and the greater ranges, but the reality is that British mountains and even hills, like the Cheviots and Pennines regularly avalanche, sometimes with fatal results.

Classically walkers and mountaineers are advised to check snow conditions on suspect slopes, but unless you've had instruction in how to assess the strength of the bonds between different snow layers that's often easier said than done.

Fortunately there are a number of excellent resources out there which can help you develop the basic knowledge you need to recognise and minimise avalanche risk, though ideally, professional instruction is the way to go.

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Scottish Avalanche Information Service - www.sais.gov.uk

Funded by SportScotland, the SAIS produces regular reports and forecasts for five main Scottish mountain areas which are posted both on line and in printed form at relevant shops, car parks and centres. If you're climbing or walking on Scottish winter hills, check the latest forecast before heading out and consider modifying your day accordingly.

In addition the site has a wealth of information about what causes avalanches, how to recognise risk factors and so on. It's well worth a browse. In particular, the SAIS's Top Six Factors make a handy checklist:

SAIS TOP SIX FACTORS

1. Visible avalanche activity. If you see avalanche activity on a slope where you intend to go, go somewhere else.

2. New snow build-up. More than 2 cm/hr may produce unstable conditions. More than 30cm continuous build-up is regarded as very hazardous. 90% OF ALL AVALANCHES OCCUR DURING SNOWSTORMS.

3. Slab lying on ice or neve, with or without aggravating factors such as thaw.

4. Discontinuity between layers, usually caused by loose graupel pellets or airspace.

5. Sudden temperature rise. The nearer this brings the snow temperature to 0 degrees C, the higher the hazard, even if thaw does not occur.

6. Feels unsafe. The "seat of the pants" feeling of the experienced observer deserves respect.

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MCofS Avalanche Safety Pages - www.mcofs.org.uk

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has some excellent avalanche information on its web site. Some of it duplicates the information on the SAIS site, but the council also runs its own one-day 'Avalanche Awareness' courses based in the Cairngorms. Unfortunately the 2009 courses have already taken place, but it's worth knowing if you want specialist avalanche awareness instruction.

MCofS Avalex Avalanche Card - www.mcofs.org.uk

The Avalex card is an excellent aide-memoir printed on tough plastic which includes lots of handy avalanche information, details of how to carry out a Rutcshblock Test and incorporates an Inclinometer to help you assess slope angle. Cost is £3.99.

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British Mountaineering Council - www.thebmc.co.uk

The BMC runs winter lectures every years which include information on avalanche awareness and also organises Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust Scottish winter mountaineering courses in the Cairngorms.

The site also has a good Hill Skills: Avalanche Awareness article which was previously published in the BMC magazine, Summit, and is well worth a read.

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BMC DVDs - www.thebmc.co.uk

A couple of the BMC's excellent instructional DVDs cover avalanche awareness. In particular, Winter Essentials includes an excellent technical chapter called 'Avalanche Awareness' with excellent basic advice on predicting avalanche dangers.

Where it scores over books and web site information is that you can actually see the process of assessing a snowpack being carried out instead of just reading about it. If you can't get onto a winter skills or avalanche awareness it's an excellent next step. Or even if you have done a course, it's a great refresher.

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Books

There are plenty of skills books out there, but the best known specialist avalanche book is 'A Chance In A Million' by Barton and Wright.

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Winter Skills Courses

There are plenty of winter courses out there, but two excellent options are the Scottish and Welsh National Mountain Centres.

Plas y Brenin - www.pyb.co.uk

The Welsh National Mountain Centre runs both Welsh and Scottish winter courses, which include avalanche awareness as a basic component as well as alpine walking and mountaineering. The centre is based in Snowdonia, but Scottish courses take place in the Highlands.

Glenmore Lodge - www.glenmorelodge.org.uk

Glenmore Lodge is the Scottish National Mountain Centre and, in addition to general winter walking, mountaineering and climbing courses, all of which cover avalanche dangers, it also runs specific Avalanche Avoidance two-day courses  with an emphasis on practical training on the hill.