A lot of the land used for winter recreation is forest service land. So the forest service and avalanche forecast center put together this video, to inspire respect for mother nature.

These skiers survived...

(("I thought it was fun until I got in a big one, thats how naive I was." "Another guy traversed above me and all the snow started to slide" "So I went to self arrest and before I knew it, I couldnt arrest myself, I was in the air." "He floated over a 60 foot cliff" "I just figured I was dead."))

Inside the resorts, avalanche danger is controolled, teams blast slide areas to get the snow to slide, before the public arrives. control work is done on the slopes above the nearby highways as well. But if you venture out into the back country, you're on your own, you need to become your own avalanche expert.

Most victims of slides are highly skilled in their sport, but avalanche skills would have made the difference.

(("95 % of the time the avalanche is triggered by the victim, so we've met the enemy and the enemy is us, and thats good becuase we have a choice of whether we stay out of avalanches or not."))

Jill Fredston, Alaska Mtn Safety: (("The very first question you need to ask in the backcountry: Is this snow capable of producing an avalanche? If the answer is no, you don't have anything to worry about any of the rest of the stuff."))

To determine avalanche potential, you can attend classes, read books and learn from experienced back country guides.

Avalanches occur most frequently on a 38 degree slope, rarely on slopes much steeper or more flat. At ski areaaas, intermediate slopes are about 30 degrees, an expert or black diamond run is about 35 degrees and double bblack diamond slopes are 40 degrees.

If the avalanche danger is high on one slope, you can simply find a different slope and ski down safely. You'll also learn there are many other factors than just steepness. Wind, sun, & elevation play a role. Even anchors, like trees, that may prevent an avalanche from starting.

And then you can learn exactly how to test the snow. Snow stress evaluation is digging snow pits, doing shovel tests and block tests. While you're out skiing, you're constantly scrutinizing the conditions on each slope.

(("You're looking ahead, watching the wind, you're listening for hollow sounds, you're not taking a lot of time, just being constantly aware, looking for cludes, you're jumping on smaller hills, stress evaluation is just a fancy name for hammering on the snow to se how it wants to react."))

Our own Utah avalanche expert says there are some pretty simple golden rules.

(("The first one, one at a time, two is never ski above your partner, and three, always have an escape route plan."))

And, when you're off the beaten path, you may discover why year after year hundreds of thousands of people travel to ski at Park City.

(Susan) Well, here's your chance. Women's clinics are simple. You have a group of women, all the same ability, and a woman instructor, and you get together and learn how to tackle those typical female ski problems, like leaning back too far.

(Mark) Okay, I'm watching:

Kim Lee: (("I tend to sit back a lot more than I think guys do." ))

Kim Lee knows that women simply ski differently from men. And since we females have different skiing struggles. Sometimes, we need our own gender specific advice on fine tuning our form.

(("And you really have to make an effort to get forward on your skis and it almost looks like you're overcorrecting or it feels like that, where guys just kind of naturally stand in that position they stand up straighter."))

Enter, the women's clinics at all of Utah's Ski resorts. Barb Ross teaches this particular class.

(("I want to think about flexion our hips ahead of our feet centered over our feet. We don't let our hips drift behind, that's where we get in the most trouble."))

Barb Ross Brighton Ski School: (("Physiologically we are different, we have this quadracept tendon call the Q tendon which is at a different angle. We really need to get our feet alittle further apart, to give us more angles, to use our skis and work our skis more than a man would. And we are'nt quite as physcially strong as a man is, so we have to use a little more finesse to get down the mountain a little bit differently than a man."))

So for all of you guys who think women's clinics are just some sort of secret women's lib meetings... now you know. These clinics are actually very serious skill workshops.

(("What I see is the men think of skiing as this challenge, I think they want to conquer the mountain and be aggressive, where I think the women see it as a skill that they want to learn and share and enjoy."))

(("We treat it like a skill, we're tyring to learn some skills."))

And while this group is learning those skills, they are also building some new friendships.

(("My husband and I are the same level, but I'm new to Utah and its nice to meet some women who ski at my level. And we don't have anything to prove, we just get out there and there's a lot of support, we all ski at hte same level and we're all working toward one goal."))

This 79 year old says for her, women's workshops are just a great motivator.

Priscilla Mayden: (("First, it makes me go skiing, and second, I'm working on technique which makes skiing more fun, I ski with people better than me, so you try to ski up to them."))

And these skiers can ski better on more difficult terrain. They are learning how to gain control...so they will be able to ski anywhere.

(("Make a turn, bleed off that speed, assure yourself you are in control, it looks like this, make your turn, slow it down before you enter the nest turn, bleed it off."))

Like all skiers, men and women, they're getting the basics as well, like learning to use those edges in this sideslipping excercise. And then they can put it all together linking some good technique turns.

Even though these skill workshops are quite technically serious there's one more important element that shines through.

Skiers spend the entire day off the beaten path... in search of double black diamond runs and untracked powder: If you're an expert you can ski with the group, if not, well, we went out with a camera so you could see what its like: Take a look.

These skiers are off the beaten track, playing in the powder, in a constant and serious search for the very best snow on the mountain and their lead guide is Eddie Jacobs. People pay 75 dollars in addition to their lift ticket, just to be able to follow this guy around.

Lars Nyman (("If you don't know the mountain very well, you get two guys to take you out and find the best snow. You hike around , go off piste, and find the best powder."))

(("I'm from Sweden and I live in the US now. I grew up skiing in Austria, we used to have a program like this."))

George Crown (("They lead you to the best stuff, they're out there everyday taking people around, they take you to a perfect spot, you float down the powder and have an incredible time."))

One skier, dean stone buys a lift ticket, the 75 dollar mountain experience ticket, and a plane ticket to ski with eddie! He flies here from Austrailia.

Dean Stone (("When you come this far, you want to find the best snow straight away you don't want to waste time. This is what I've done for 20 years, I come out, see Eddy, he shows me where to best now is."))

And what about those times when it hasn't snowed for 5 days, what are these skiers looking for when they cant find fresh powder?

(("On a non-powder day Eddy always has a few tricks up his sleeve he always know a few shots where hardly anybody's been so we get better than average skiing."))

And its always an adventure getting to the better snow. Here's one example: This is called rats nest, its very steep, and hard to find, but with Eddy leading the way, its a super short cut that takes you to some of the best snow on the mountain on a non powder day.. which is the double black diamond run called great scott. guide lowell yorke loves these treks.

Lowel York / Mtn. Experience (("Some of the places we go are such good skiing because not everyone goes there. When we challenge ourselves thru a tough spot we goet out to the sloped, there is definately a big reward."))

(("One of the things that makes mountain experience so fun for me, and the people, is theres a little adventure in their skiing and this is a good adventure thats so hard to find in our modern world."))

Eddie Jacobs, Mtn. Experience (("You're the master of finding the best snow on the mountain, How do you do it? After skiing so many years, alot of it is listening to avalanche reports, listening to the patrol to see what the snow is doing out there. When you're out there a lot you can tell when the wind hit the snow, when the sun hits the snow, which is dry, which is in the shade, where the powder is lighter."))

You get the idea, Eddie is definately a snow specialist. Locals and people all over the world are taking advantage of this Utahn's skills... and they're alking about him all over the world.

(("We give out these little mountain experience stickers their lefts and rights. And there have been people all over the world, all over Europe, they say we saw the sticker and we went to say hello to people and they say, "Wow. Did you ski with Eddie?"))

The most recent election goes to Utah skier, Junior Bounous:

(("Alright Helga, Go Jack go! Hang in there Herbie, hang in, ok."))

Those words of encouragement you hear come from Junior Bounous. After a life time of skiing... his name is one of some 200 nationwide in the official ski hall of fame. Junior has written manuals on ski insruction.. and has taught clinics around the US. One of his biggest claims to fame could be that some of the most prestigious insructors around the country actually learned from Junior when he was at Sugar Bowl and California. 7 out of the 10 under him there are now ski school directors themselves.

Junior Bounous Ski Hall of Fame (("Its been a lot of pleasure for me to watch them develope. So I probably taught thousands of ski instructors in my lifetime and training instructors alone."))

And these days, Junior is still teaching... now he focuses on skiers 60 years and older -- with a free clinic at Snowbird every Tuesday called Junior's Seniors. His fans are very proud of their hall of famer!

Junior's Seniors like their leader so much, because he's fun.. and he inspires them stay very active.. in spite of the fact that this group's average age is 70.

(("Round this way, round this one, boomp! Twist, twist, twist!")) (("Come right out this way, around, okay."))

This hall of famer says as skiers get older, they start to ski less often, ski the same easier runs, make the same conservative turns over and over.. He wants to blast right through the cycle and get them out of a rut.

(("We want to change your clock adn speed up. We want to gain miles per hour, we want to ski fast where its safe to ski fast."))

(("Turn quick, now a long one, another quick one, quick, quick."))

(("Our goal is to keep the platform broad, throught your skiing career, build on the skills you have to extend them further through the years.))

(("Its really fun, he finds all the powder, he's got a great sense of humor and you never know whats coming next when you're skiing with Junior. He's great, you have fun, enjoy it and have a good time."))

Thats right, if you want to ski where no one has skied before, then this may be the asnwer.

Here's a look at how much fun skiing the trees can be...

That's right, if you plan way ahead, and buy your tickets for the ski season before Labor Day, you can save up to 30 percent. If you miss those deals, even during the ski season you can still save quite a bit.

Here's the lowdown on some great deals and discounts you can find in Utah: