Three Acronyms for Backcountry Skiers

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Oh lord - please no more acronyms. These silly phonetic tools are pervasive in our lives. From internet jargon to the corporate world, our society LOVES acronyms. So, they are overused, over relied on, and generally annoying in our everyday lexicons. When I started my own avalanche education years ago I rolled my eyes when I realized that some of the most important concepts we have in understanding avalanches were presented in acronym form.

But, I have come around. Over the years, they have been very convenient tools to help form my own understanding of snow, terrain, and avalanche hazard. And, in the spirit of Intro to Backcountry Month - Presented by BCA, it's worth digging a little deeper into three of the most important ones. Find the acronyms below – read them, memorize them, and understand how to work them into your own travel practice.

FACETS

I’ll start with perhaps the most important of the avalanche acronyms. FACETS is a term to help us remember the subjective social factors that we slide into that get us caught off guard. These are the “heuristic traps” that we subconsciously fall into and get us into trouble. In his pivotal 2004 paper, Ian McCammon identifies six of these heuristics that have led to avalanche accidents in his research.

Fortunately too, the acronym itself serves as a double entendre, as facets are one of our least favorite persistent grain types when dealing with avalanche problems. So, let’s take a look at each of our social factors.

F: Familiarity. If you are in a place that you have skied many times before, you are likely to let your guard down and get caught.

A: Acceptance. People do not want to speak out against the group - we want to be accepted. So, we often let the groupthink dictate the outcome and it can get us in trouble.

C: Commitment. Similar to acceptance, we don’t want to pivot from a plan. You have hiked all the way to this line, you have to ski it. Or, you traveled all this way to climb this peak, so you’re obligated to follow through.

E: Expert Halo. This is a very common one for me. If you’re out with a guide or educator, or simply a more experienced partner you rely more on them to make decisions. They’re super dialed, so we’re going to be okay.

T: Tracks. Another common one for where I live here in the Wasatch. That slope has 10 tracks down it, so it must be safe! Right? Maybe… but also very likely not.

S: Scarcity. The opposite of tracks, we often want to go where people are not, so we can ski fresh snow. This lust for a blank canvas can easily get us into trouble.

Fortunately, by knowing and realizing when we are being influenced by these six traps, we can work to change our perspectives on the hill and stay out of harm's way.

I highly recommend reading this AAI blog post about FACETS, The Seven Dragons, Personal Disaster Flags, and how choosing the right partner can also be a phenomenal tool to combating the social factors.

ALPTRUTh

The next important acronym is ALPTRUTh and it is our easy way to remember the avalanche “red flags.” Each letter corresponds to a signal that tells us we might be in a dangerous situation, you stack up enough of these on a given day, and it is more likely that you will be caught. If you notice three of these red flags, it might be worth changing plans.

A: Avalanches! Perhaps it is too obvious but… if you see any avalanches in or near the terrain you are going to ski, that should set off all sorts of alarm bells. It is the easiest thing to see, process, and change your plan to something less consequential.

L: Loading. A loading event can happen with heavy snowfall or wind transport. If there is a foot or more of snow in 24 hours, you should rethink your plans for skiing something steep or with terrain hazards. Similarly, wind can move snow faster than it can fall out of the sky. So, if the recent weather history has sustained moderate or strong winds, you should be heads up.

P: Path. An avalanche path is a place where avalanches have occurred in the past. These can be obvious: a couloir or steep drainage with overhead hazard. Sometimes you have to look for clues like flagged trees or debris to know you’re in a path. Terrain mapping tools can help you identify slide paths before you enter the field.

T: Terrain traps. We’ll get more into terrain traps in our third acronym, but a terrain trap is broadly defined as a feature on the slope that increases the severity of being caught in an avalanche. Think: cliffs, trees, or steep gullies.

R: Rating. An avalanche bulletin is full of great information, and if you are dealing with a “considerable” hazard or higher, you should use caution. Even when they drop that rating from considerable to moderate, there could be isolated terrain that still carries the potential for dangerous avalanches. If there is a persistent weak layer in the forecast, it should be an obvious signal to choose conservative terrain.

U: Signs of Unstable snow. You will often hear people talking about “shooting cracks” or “wumphing” noises in the snowpack. You can also feel the snow surface, if it is hollow or firm, there is likely a slab. These are obvious signals that the snow is unstable or there is a weak layer in the snowpack that can create an avalanche, and you should reassess your terrain choice.

Th: Thaw. If there has been any rain or if temperatures have not gone below freezing at night, you could be dealing with a dangerous spring snowpack.

SEATTL

My final acronym is one you might not hear as often as the other two, but I think it is very helpful when put in the context of the Avalanche Triangle. SEATTL is a tool to help us remember terrain features that can be either trigger points, or terrain trap features that make getting caught in an avalanche more consequential.

S: Slope angle. This might be one of the most important parts of understanding terrain when you’re out for a ski tour. If your slope angle is between 30 and 45, you are in avalanche terrain. Simply, if you manage your slope angle, you can manage your exposure risk. I carry an inclinometer to test myself on how steep a slope I’m skiing is.

E: Elevation. What elevation are you traveling through? Different elevation bands might carry different avalanche hazard.

A: Aspect. The aspect of a slope, which direction it faces, can produce different hazards. Think about your terrain selection aspect in relation to wind and sun. It’s really important to stay oriented when you are traveling through even familiar terrain.

T: Terrain Traps. These are features on the hill that make an avalanche more consequential. Think: gullies, dense trees, cliffs, lakes.

T: Trigger Points. A trigger point is, you guessed it, somewhere that an avalanche can start. Sometimes these are obvious, other times not so much. The most common trigger points will be convex rollovers (where the slope steepens suddenly), widely spaced trees, at cliff bands or between rocks, and on ridges or at cornices. Less obvious trigger points would be buried rocks, or features under the snow that connect a weak layer.

L: Location in Range. How does your location vary spatially from other places in your home range? Like with aspect, you need to be adaptable in your understanding of how specific zones may have been affected by weather differently.

There you have it! FACETS, ALPTRUTh, and SEATTL. With these tools, we can understand and mitigate many factors that can create an avalanche. Learn them, and apply them each day you are out in the backcountry.