Learn avalanche survival tips at Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe

Avalanches have always been a danger on the mountain, but during this ski and snowboarding season, the risks have seemed heightened. Slides proved fatal last month to skiers within boundaries at three U.S. resorts, including Squaw Valley USA in Lake Tahoe, where an avalanche killed an experienced skier.

The number of fatalities at resorts this year is unprecedented, according to a Denver Post report that “only three skiers died in in-bounds avalanches in the 15 ski seasons between 1990 and 2005.”

So the annual Steep & Deep Free Avalanche Awareness Clinic at Squaw Valley, on Friday, Jan. 30, seems more apropos than ever. The free educational event, at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at the resort’s Plaza Bar, will feature multimedia presentations delivered by guides, extreme skiers and other experts. The safety information provided will be geared toward backcountry explorers as well as resort skiers and snowboarders who like to “venture off-piste and explore steep terrain,” according to the resort’s event announcement.

For those who would like to learn how to properly use a beacon (a device that should help rescuers find you in a search), the resort also offers beacon training classes on the 1st and 15th of every month. BYOB, but if you can’t, beacons will be available to lend out. Call the resort to register.

Contact: Squaw Valley Ski Patrol, (530) 452-7260

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Squaw Valley ski patroller Lel Tone securing a first aid toboggan. Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 12:49 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Lake Tahoe & Eastern Sierra, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Ski & Winter, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.