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December
19, 2002
News Specialist John Hollenhorst reporting
Snowmobilers are facing up to a new reality. When avalanches
happen, they are the likely victims.
Experts say they need to get smarter, and better prepared.
"All
you have to do is look at the statistics on paper. Snowmobilers
are the key group to get killed now," says Curt Smith
of Pleasant View.
"There's just a lot of friends that we know, that we
had, that have died," says Shane Walton of Mountain Green.
There's finally a pretty good blanket of snow in the higher
mountains, so this weekend is likely to bring out large numbers
of snowmobilers.
And avalanche danger in some places is high.
Here's something that should cause a snowmobiler to stop and
think before he cranks the throttle and heads into steep terrain.
A few years ago, avalanche deaths of those riding on snowmobiles
were rare.
Last winter, avalanches killed 35 in the United States. More
than half were on snowmobiles.
It used to be mainly cross-country skiers who got into trouble
in the back-country -- sometimes big trouble -- getting swallowed
up by one of nature's most frightening phenomena.
But more and more, it's snowmobilers. New, powerful machines
put them in harm's way, and they sometimes wind up fleeing
for their lives.
Craig Gordon is a government avalanche forecaster. His job
is to help people stay alive. This year for the first time,
he's doing forecasts in the Uinta Mountains.
"The technology is way out here, and the avalanche-knowledged
still have trouble catching up with technology," Gordon
says.
He says he's forecasting in the Uintas this year because of
all the snowmobile traffic. "This area gets a tremendous
amount of traffic."
Some snowmobilers learned lessons the hard way.
"We've had quite a few friends get killed," Smith
says.
After more than 30 years of snowmobiling, Shane Walton finally
started carrying avalanche gear a couple of years ago and
learning how to use it.
"Our third year that we've really got into it and decided
that our lives are a little bit more important. Coming home's
more important than having a good day," Walton says.
The basic equipment: extendable poles to find buried victims,
radio transmitter beacons to locate them, and extendable shovels
to dig them out.
Curt Smith has started teaching classes to his friends.
"I wanted them to live, and more importantly, I wanted
them to find me," Smith says.
The cross-country skiing community has spent decades developing
the lore of avalanches and learning to stay alive. The snowmobiling
community is just starting to catch up.
"We're getting dumber as riders. We want to go higher.
Our machines are letting us go higher," Smith says.
But responsible riders are letting the tough lessons sink
in, playing it safe and learning what they need to know.
"Five or six years ago we were going places that we think
back now and go, 'What? Why are we doing that? There's no
way!'"
The state offers free classes to snowmobilers. And there's
a lot of safety information available. Follow the links above
for more information.
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