Page 59 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2021

HOPE

TO SEE

YOU IN THE

BACKCOUNTRY…

by bryant helgeland

he winter backcountry is awesome, but please, for the
love of all things holy get an education about it before
heading out there! The backcountry (especially dur-
Ting the winter) deserves a healthy dose of respect.

Steep slopes the rest of the year can be dangerous, but generally
don’t move. Over the winter you need to know how to evaluate
the terrain and know which slopes are avalanche prone. There is
a pretty deep rabbit hole you can go down studying avalanches
that ends with a college degree, but you definitely don’t need to
go that far to learn the basics. A weekend worth of training can
get you the basic knowledge you need to be safe travelling in
avalanche terrain. Get that training! Look for “know before you
go” training. Local organizations like Friends of the Mount Shasta
Avalanche Center offer this training multiple times throughout
the winter for free. The next dates are 2/5/21, and 3/2/21.
Check out their website for more info at www.shastaavalanche.
org. Mount Ashland may offer some of these training sessions
this winter as well, but doesn’t have anything scheduled yet.
Please check back with them on this front. Mount Ashland does,
however, have an avalanche transceiver training area to practice
your skills. It is on the ski area, but you don’t need a lift ticket
to access it and it’s free to use. Please take advantage of this awe-
some resource for your own and everyone’s safety. Make sure
your adventure buddies have the same training and education,
too. All of your lives literally may depend on it.

All that said though, don’t overthink it. Being in the back-
country during the winter really isn’t really that much more
challenging than the other seasons, but the consequences
of screwing up can be much more severe and potentially life
threatening! Getting caught out for the night during the rest of
the year will probably be uncomfortable, but over the winter
it could kill you if you aren’t prepared. I keep an “Oh s**t kit”
in the bottom of my ski pack for just this reason. It is roughly
the size of a Nalgene water bottle and weighs only 17-oz. It
is all contained within a small cook kit and contains a stove,
solid fuel tabs that double as fire starters, an energy bar, some

winter 2021 | www.southernoregonmagazine.com 57