Last time on Small Party Avalanche Rescue, right here on Biglines.com, we learned how the way avalanche beacons transmit and receive 457kHz radio pulses dictates the basic methodology one must use to search for buried avalanche victims....

Back in the backcountry skiing days of yore (when knickers, leather boots, wool socks, K-WaysTM, and genuine little strips of seal’s ass for skins were all the rage), it was hard to find someone buried in an avalanche. If they were hip to...

It has all gone wrong. The rumble dies off. You are standing all alone, straining to see downslope through a sky like a glass of milk, now dissipating into thick fog, then thinning into nothing. You call out to your friends. The answering...

I just finished reading Aleta Corbett's, Respecting Everyone's Space In The Busy Rogers Pass. In the first few lines, she refers to a troubling instance of uptrack snobbery as a shock, but then feels that she may have exaggerated and...

After the winter of 2002-2003, November rain crusts carry a heavy stigma that is hard for backcountry recreationists and professionals alike to shake off. The November rains came again this year, a rain crust was formed in the mountains of...

<b>DA GAGS - THE MENTAL CHECKLIST</b><br> Many avalanche accidents and nasty backcountry epics are caused by avoidable human errors in judgement. While out in the backcountry, going through a simple checklist can help to make you alert to...

A good day of backcountry shredding is the result of adding good people, good snow, good terrain, and good weather. Take any one of those away, and the good day is just not gonna happen. And because a good backcountry day is related to good...