onX Backcountry Releases 18 New Avalanche Terrain (ATES) Zones, Mapping 15 Million More Acres of U.S. Backcountry Ski Terrain New zones can be found in Washington, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, California, Oregon. onX Backcountry, a navigation and discovery app for outdoor adventurers, today released 18 new Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) zones, expanding ATES coverage across nearly 15 million additional acres of the United States, providing backcountry skiers, splitboarders, fat bikers, nordic skiers and other snowsports enthusiasts with a new […] Avalanche AvyBrains | November 12, 2025 0 Comments
[PHOTOS] Skier Carried Over Steep, Rocky Cliff After 2 Separate Skier-Triggered Avalanches in British Columbia Backcountry skiers triggered two separate early-season avalanches in British Columbia on November 8, just before the official winter permit season opening at Rogers Pass. Related: The Dangers of Early Season Backcountry Skiing The more severe incident occurred at Balu Pass, where a Size 2 avalanche swept a skier over a steep rocky cliff for 165 to 330 feet (50 to […] Avalanche AvyBrains | November 11, 2025 0 Comments
Skier Carried in Avalanche on Tuckerman Ravine, NH A group of four skiers was involved in a dangerous natural-trigger avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine yesterday, Thursday, November, 6, with a detailed observation from the Mount Washington Avalanche Center (MWAC) painting a sharp picture of how rapidly steep terrain can go from manageable to hazardous. According to the MWAC observation, the party of four met at the base of “Open […] Avalanche Martin Kuprianowicz | November 7, 2025 0 Comments
3 Confirmed Dead & 4 Missing After Avalanche at Yalung Ri, Nepal This article serves as an update of a previous article on the avalanche. Reports coming from Nepal are still muddled, and the total number of those deceased or even those in the area is still unclear. An avalanche hit several hiking groups on Monday, November 3, in the vicinity of the base camp at Mount Yalung Ri, located at 4,900 […] Climbing Julia Schneemann | November 4, 2025 0 Comments
7 Dead, 4 Missing & 4 Injured After Avalanche Rips Through Base Camp in Nepal [UPDATE: Please see updated article on the evolving situation in Nepal. Currently only three are confirmed dead, while four are missing.] 3 Confirmed Dead & 4 Missing After Avlanche at Yalung Ri, Nepal Seven climbers—five foreigners and two Nepali guides—were killed after an avalanche swept through a camp on Mount Yalung Ri in Nepal’s Dolakha district on Monday […] Climbing Julia Schneemann | November 3, 2025 0 Comments
5 Confirmed Dead in Italian Avalanche as Bodies of Missing Father and Daughter Found The search for the two missing people from Saturday’s avalanche in the Ortler Massif in Italy continued on Sunday morning, November 2. 25 search and rescue workers, as well as a canine unit, were deployed to the area in the early morning hours. Sadly, the missing father and his 17-year-old daughter were found deceased by the mountain rescue teams. Related: […] Avalanche Julia Schneemann | November 3, 2025 0 Comments
5 Feared Dead in Tragic Early-Season Avalanche Near Sulden/Solda, Italy [UPDATE CAN BE FOUND HERE: 5 Confirmed Dead in Italian Avalanche as Bodies of Missing Father and Daughter Found] Tragedy struck in the Italian Alps on Saturday afternoon, November 1, when two groups of in total seven alpinists were swept away by an avalanche beneath the Vertain peak, near the resort village of Sulden (Solda) in South Tyrol. The two […] Climbing Julia Schneemann | November 1, 2025 0 Comments
AIARE Launches Free Avalanche Aware Online Program to Make Backcountry Safety Education Accessible to Everyone New online resource developed with CAIC and NWAC helps outdoor enthusiasts learn the fundamentals of avalanche awareness before heading into the mountains. The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), in collaboration with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) and the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC), today announced the launch of Avalanche Aware, a free, online educational program designed to […] Avalanche AvyBrains | October 28, 2025 1 Comment
First Skier-Triggered Avalanche of the Utah Season Highlights Danger of Early Season Skiing Recent early-season storms have brought everything from light dustings of snow pretty enough for Instagram, to accumulations deep enough for some rare October turns. Along with temperatures cold enough to support sustained snowmaking, these early-season storms have allowed several ski areas to open up limited terrain. Arapahoe Basin was all set to be the first to open on Sunday, October […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | October 27, 2025 0 Comments
[PHOTOS] 1st Skier-Triggered Avalanche of the Season Reported in Colorado A skier triggered the first avalanche of Colorado’s 2025-26 winter season near Treasury Mountain in the Elk Mountains on Friday, October 24, following an overnight storm that delivered more than eight inches of fresh snow to the area. Treasury Mountain is roughly seven miles southwest of Aspen’s Snowmass Mountain. Related: The Dangers of Early Season Backcountry Skiing According to a […] Avalanche AvyBrains | October 27, 2025 0 Comments
Arcade Teams Up With RECCO To Launch Belt Equipped With Avalanche Rescue Technology RECCO, the global leader in rescue technology, announces its first product collaboration with Arcade, founded on the belief that belts could function better, last longer, and be more comfortable. Arcade joins a family of 150-plus brands that integrate RECCO reflectors to make users more searchable in the outdoors. Arcade designs and builds high-performance belts for utility, lifestyle, and outdoor adventure. […] Avalanche Press Release | October 21, 2025 1 Comment
Rod Newcomb, Wyoming Avalanche Legend, Dies At 91 Rod Newcomb, founder of the American Avalanche Institute and former co-owner of Exum Mountain Guides, passed away in his Jackson Hole home surrounded by family at the age of 91 earlier last week. Over the course of his nearly eight decade career in the mountains, Newcomb brought about profound changes in avalanche science, forecasting, and education, alongside an impressive skiing […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | October 20, 2025 0 Comments
[PHOTOS] 3 Tourists Die in Tragic Early-Season Avalanche in Slovenian Mountains Three climbers were killed in an avalanche on Sunday, October 5, beneath Mount Tosc in Slovenia’s Julian Alps, a few kilometers south of the Austrian border. The group was part of a seven-member team making their descent when a massive slide struck shortly after 9 a.m., according to Slovenian mountain rescue services. Despite an extensive multi-agency search and rescue effort, […] Avalanche Julia Schneemann | October 10, 2025 0 Comments
Months After Avalanche in Alaska’s Chugach, Recovery of 3 Heli-Skiers Remains Impossible More than six months after a devastating avalanche in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains claimed the lives of three heli-skiers, recovery teams have been unable to bring their bodies home. The slide struck March 4 near the west fork of the Twentymile River outside Girdwood, burying three longtime friends beneath an estimated 40 to 100 feet of snow. The victims were identified […] Avalanche Martin Kuprianowicz | September 19, 2025 1 Comment
History with SnowBrains: The Incredible Notes from a Swiss Avalanche Researcher’s Travels to Western USA in 1949 In 1949, the ski industry in the United States was just beginning to emerge. The first chairlift in the U.S. started spinning at Sun Valley in 1936 as a way of boosting railroad tourism and a handful of other ski areas had been established with rope tows and T-bars. The Forest Service issued the first Special Use Permit for a […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | September 11, 2025 0 Comments
Recently Digitized Historic Reports Give Glimpses Into the Early Days of Avalanche Research If you’ve ever taken an avalanche class in the United States, then it’s likely that your instructor has at least a tenuous connection to Ed LaChapelle. As a snow and avalanche researcher and educator for more than thirty years, LaChapelle had a hand in developing most aspects of modern avalanche safety, from the invention of the avalanche transceiver to forecasting […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | September 8, 2025 0 Comments
[VIDEO] 3 Skiers Carried and 1 Partially Buried Following Avalanche in Treble Cone, New Zealand, Backcountry A group of four backcountry skiers narrowly escaped serious injury, or worse, after triggering an avalanche in the Treble Cone backcountry near Wānaka, New Zealand, on Saturday afternoon. The incident, approximately two kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Treble Cone Ski Field boundary, resulted in three members of the party being swept down the slope, including one buried up to […] Avalanche AvyBrains | September 8, 2025 1 Comment
Canada Approves Drone Based Avalanche Mitigation Technology For nearly 80 years, avalanche crews in Canada have relied on risky and expensive methods to keep mountain slopes safe. These include firing World War II artillery, dropping explosives from helicopters, and sending technicians into dangerous terrain. While effective, these approaches put people at risk and cost a lot to run. A Canadian drone company, AVSS, believes it has a […] Avalanche Brent Glogau | August 13, 2025 1 Comment
Solo Climber Suffers Serious Injuries After Falling in Avalanche Gulch on 14,179′ Mount Shasta, CA On August 10, a solo climber was seriously injured in a fall on Mount Shasta, California’s upper Avalanche Gulch, a notoriously steep section near Redbanks at approximately 13,000 feet, according to a social post from the United States Forest Service (USFS). While descending, the man lost control during a glissade (a rapid snow slide technique) and his ice axe was […] Climbing CragBrains | August 13, 2025 0 Comments
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, CO, Adds Labrador Puppy to Avalanche Dog Team Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is adding a new member to its avalanche safety team this winter: a 4‑month‑old Labrador retriever named Walker—and ain’t he adorable? Walker, adopted in May by fifth-year ski patroller Darcy Forsythe, will train alongside four other avalanche dogs at the resort, two of which are already certified, Post Independent reports. Forsythe said she was inspired to […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | August 6, 2025 0 Comments
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