74 Human-Triggered Avalanches in Colorado in 6 Days | Extremely Weak Snowpack For Much of State Right Now View this post on Instagram A post shared by Friends of CAIC (@friendsofcaic) With much of the inter-mountain West being dry in regards to precipitation for the first part of this winter, snow instabilities have formed. The snowpack is weak in a lot of places—and dangerous. Especially in Colorado. Related: The SnowBrains Podcast – Episode #4 – What’s […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 16, 2020 1 Comment
New This Month: The SnowBrains Avalanche Forecast Tab New this month is our Avalanche Forecast tab, courtesy of Avalanche.org! Avalanche education/awareness is a HUGE component of SnowBrains and now you are only one click away from every avalanche forecast available in the United States. Related: The SnowBrains Podcast – Episode #4 – What’s The #1 Tool Available To Skiers & Riders in Avalanche Terrain? If planning on skiing […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 15, 2020 0 Comments
Avalanche Safety Class Signups Skyrocketing This Season, Likely Due to Pandemic 2020-2021: The season of the backcountry. COVID is still letting some resorts operate—for now. But like an uncomfortable truth that no one wants to admit, ski areas may shut down again this season if ‘Stay at Home’ orders are reenacted due to surging coronavirus infections. And the skiing world knows this, whether or not it’s openly discussed. Related: California Governor […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | December 3, 2020 0 Comments
Pro Skier Nick McNutt Shares Video Demonstrating Pieps DSP Avalanche Transceiver Concern That Almost Killed Him View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nick McNutt (@nickmcnutt) on Oct 31, 2020 at 1:11pm PDT In recent weeks a social-media firestorm has been set ablaze as several pro skiers and ski industry professionals have come out claiming that the Pieps DSP Pro and DSP sport avalanche transceivers have a fundamental design flaw that is inherently dangerous. […] Industry News SnowBrains | November 3, 2020 3 Comments
Canadian Personal Injury Law Firm Files Class-Action Lawsuit Against Pieps/Black Diamond Pieps DSP Sport and Pro model avalanche transceivers have been blowing up on social media as of late — and not necessarily for all the right reasons. Related: A Deeper Look into the Controversy Behind the Pieps DSP Avalanche Transceiver An ongoing controversy has professional skiers, industry professionals, and backcountry users claiming that the locking mechanism on some Pieps model […] Gear Review Martin Kuprianowicz | October 28, 2020 1 Comment
Origins: U.S. Avalanche Mitigation In this week’s edition of Origins, we will take a look into the history of how avalanches have been avoided in and out of ski resorts. If you missed last week’s Origins on the Freeride World Tour you can check it out here: Related: Origins: Freeride World Tour Avalanches are extremely dangerous and fatal events. Avoiding them at all costs is […] Avalanche Ryan Flynn | October 9, 2020 1 Comment
Utah Avalanche Center Podcast: “Shame and the Social Contract” Up to 90% of non-fatal avalanches do not get reported. But why? In America, there is a strong culture of shaming when it comes to avalanches. No one wants to admit that they messed up and triggered a dangerous avalanche. Related: What I Learned From Triggering an Avalanche in the Backcountry Last Season In this podcast, Utah Avalanche Center forecaster […] Backcountry AvyBrains | October 8, 2020 0 Comments
Dendrochronology: History From a Tree’s Perspective Dendrochronology is, most simply, the study of tree rings. But why should we care about the rings on a tree that you can usually only see after a tree has been cut down? Leonardo da Vinci was the first person to note that tree’s rings responded to their surrounding climate. After his observation in the early 14th-century dendrochronology progressed slowly as […] Brains Alex Camerino | June 26, 2020 0 Comments