In response to Laurel Brauns’ Volume 14 Issue 52 article, “Do Your Homework,” first and foremost I applaud the Source for highlighting some of the intrinsic dangers associated with backcountry riding in avalanche terrain and the true necessity of becoming properly educated and practiced in hazard assessment, snowpack evaluation, and companion rescue if your winter recreation (whether on ski, board, snowmo, or snowshoe) takes you into avalanche terrain. However, I do feel there is further clarification necessary associated with the mentioned website, www.coavalanche.org.
The wording within the article and the associated note by Gabe Chladek may leave the reader with a false impression that this site, which belongs to The Central Oregon Avalanche Association (COAA), is simply another addition to a vast array of informal web-based “blogs.” In actuality, COAA is a 501c3 non-profit that was established as a result of an identified need to promote increased avalanche awareness and bolster local forecasting opportunities in the Central Oregon vicinity. Our website is one small piece of a much larger effort that includes community avalanche awareness events (for both motorized and non-motorized users) that includes increased distribution of relevant mountain snow and weather data, coordination with entities such as National Weather Service, Forest Service, and National Avalanche organizations to identify the purpose and path to increased forecasting in Central Oregon. COAA is also active in the organization of local for-profit entities to best serve the local community and scholarship opportunities for identified persons to assist in attaining certified avalanche instruction.
COAA operations and efforts are 100 percent nonprofit. Our directors have spent countless volunteer hours in hopes of bolstering awareness, education, and eventually forecasting in Central Oregon. Much as Laurel requests of her readers, COAA has been working since our incorporation to strengthen the backcountry community here in Central Oregon.
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2011.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Dear The Source,
In response to Trevor Miller’s “Local Avalanche Group is More Than Just a Website.”
As a local backcountry user that has visited the Central Oregon Avalanche Assoc. website several times, I feel that Chladek has a point when he says to be cautious when viewing user data on the COAA website. I was hopeful that with this new avalanche association in our area, this group would be taking its first steps in building reliable weather and snowpack information. Instead it is taking the direction of any other internet blog with its unreliable sources. With the amount of misinformation I have seen on the site I have begun to take the website with a grain of salt. Moderating a site dedicated to sharing information about avalanches comes with a great deal of responsibility. One suggestion is to provide transparency on the site as to experience and qualifications of both the moderator and the users. This goes back to the web credibility thing. What are the qualifications of the moderator to comment on the data presented?
I also have issue with the frequent use of the word “forecasting” in Trevor’s response. Forecasting avalanches is a field that requires years of training and experience, one might assume that the president of COAA is qualified to forecast avalanches by his statements. Is he qualified? And does he have the resources? I only question this out of respect for those who have dedicated their lives to obtaining this difficult position. I will reiterate that web credibility and non profit status is just not enough when it comes to the safety of others.
Jeff Newman
So many morons in this area are clueless to the real dangers of avalanches. A beacon ( which most have no idea how to use becomes a corpse finder) for search and rescue. Further the clueless also become the trigger for the avalanche which may hurt or kill others due to their ignorance and utter arrogance. The truth about avalanches is not whether or not your party can dig you out as that is the easy part, the real danger is surviving the trauma and impact of the avalanche itself as it is like being hit by a moving train or truck. Most who die in avalanches die from the broken necks and massive physical trauma of the large masses of snow which turn into an almost liquid substance that can reach 100 miles an hour in less than 3 seconds. A guide at Mt. Bailey, a man by the name of OZ says it best. ” all of the real avalanche experts are dead” cause they got buried and killed in avalanches. This idea of forecasting an avalanche or utter ignorant lack of forecasting and heading into serious avalanche areas is even scarier. What makes avalanches to serious and dangerous is that even with years of experience, cutting out a cross section of the snow to test the layers, you are still dealing with a lot of inconsistencies such as the cut out may be in the area where the driest snow is and missing the snow where it is very dense and heavy. Further the laws of physics and mother nature are extremely unpredictable and to guess when it comes to peoples lives, well no one has that right. Tumalo across from Mt. Bachelor is rated one of the most dangerous slide areas in the NW. People who go to one or more avalanche course are smart in doing so, but then going in and calling themselves experts becomes incredibly scary. As an avid skier and mountaineer, having dug out people out of two major avalanches I can speak from experience, the avalanches started by novice or hobby mountaineers that there is no scarier or more adrenaline inducing activity. then to want to slap or punch these idiots in the nose for having put a lot of peoples lives in danger due to their solid expertise. snow density, area of mass of snow, moisture, slope, air temp, wind, sun, human impact, controlled or not, so many factors. Taking one outdoor course in avalanche rescue and being an expert is the same as taking an EMT class and calling yourself a brain surgeon. Lets be real folks.