Working to save lives on the slopes

Alaska has lost its first avalanche victim of the winter, and the fatality is adding urgency to a crusade that began in the Mat-Su Valley but is quickly becoming known around the state.

Backcountry Avalanche Awareness and Response Team, founded in 2000 by the family and friends of two Valley victims of avalanches, is making its message loud and clear -- Get educated. Get the right equipment. They could save your life.

"Please don't be a statistic," the group pleads. "Help make a difference. Take a class, read, watch a video, support BAART's activities."

While the group works year-round to raise avalanche awareness, November is the climax of its efforts, as Alaska observes Avalanche Awareness Month. BAART kicked off the month with a spaghetti feed, fund-raising auction and community appreciation reception Saturday at the Palmer Moose Lodge.

BAART raised more than $1,000 at the event. Also that day, the group recognized the many individuals, organizations and businesses that support its goal, and presented information packets and videos to local libraries and schools, in hopes of reaching even more Alaskans.

BAART's campaign continues this weekend, when it will offer an avalanche hazard recognition class at Wasilla High. World-renowned avalanche professional and author Jill Fredstone will teach the class, slated for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for students. Families of three or more can also attend, for $20 per person.

In the light of the death of an Anchorage woman who was snowshoeing in Hatcher Pass earlier this month, the significance of BAART's efforts is striking even closer to home for Alaskans.

Aedene Arthur, one of BAART's founding members, went to the hospital where the Anchorage woman was struggling to stay alive earlier this week. There, Arthur handed out small golden angels, the same mementos she distributed after she lost her own son to an avalanche in Turnagain Pass in March 1999.

"I ran out at 36 angels," Arthur said of her hospital visit last week. "They were very anguished about their friend."

Preventing the possibility of another family member or friend suffering this pain has become an all-consuming occupation for the retired school librarian. Along with a half-dozen other members of BAART, Arthur is traveling around the state, giving presentations and distributing educational materials designed to keep people alive in Alaska's dangerous mountains.

"Just this weekend was the classic situation," Arthur said of the Hatcher Pass avalanche. The 38-degree slope, snow conditions and terrain trap at the bottom of the slide, according to Arthur, were all too ideal for an avalanche.

"And all of that I didn't know about until Aaron died," she said of her son.

Getting that information to the skiers, snowboards, snowmachiners, snowshoers and hikers around the state about how to recognize avalanche hazards has proven a challenging endeavor, Arthur admits.

"We're this little group sitting in the Valley . . . basically six or seven people, and to get the news of avalanche awareness out over the whole state is really difficult," she said. But the end goal is too important to give up, and so BAART works to reach as many people as it can.

Arthur has coordinated an effort in the Mat-Su Valley to get a package of five videos and five books on avalanche safety into middle and high schools and public libraries.

"If a person can take out a video and take it home and watch it, they're going to know something, which is better than nothing," Arthur said.

BAART also gives presentations on avalanche safety to companies, community groups, clubs and anyone else who will listen. As Arthur pointed out, this month's tragedy proves the message shouldn't just be directed at snowmachiners.

"It's not necessarily the high-marking. It's the stability of the slope," she said. "If the slope is unstable, nobody should be on it or under it."

Educating the public on recognizing avalanche hazards is just the beginning, however. BAART is also encouraging outdoor enthusiasts to purchase beacons, probes and shovels to have with them while traveling on snowy slopes. According to the group, once people are buried in an avalanche, the rescuers on the scene are their best chance of survival. More than 25 percent of avalanche victims die immediately from trauma. Of those who survive, more than half who are completely buried do not survive after 20 minutes.

"If someone is caught in an avalanche, you don't have time to go for help -- you are the help," according to BAART.

Arthur said many local outdoors, snowmachine, ski and snowboard shops sell basic avalanche gear at discounted prices to encourage people to be safe. And with permanent fund dividends recently deposited in Alaskans' bank accounts, Arthur said she hopes November is a good month to remind people to spend their money on safety.

BAART's campaign doesn't end here, however. The group is also pushing for a statewide avalanche warning system, which people could call before heading to popular areas such as Turnagain Pass and Hatcher Pass. Arthur said she is hopeful that the governor and Legislature will consider funding such an effort.

In the meantime, this small group of volunteers will continue to work toward saving lives. And members are hoping Valley residents will join the cause. The group is looking for donations to pay for avalanche safety packages for Glacierview School, Trapper Creek and Willow elementary schools and Talkeetna Public Library.

More information about becoming involved or making donations to the group is available by calling Arthur at 745-5374 or Patsy Coyne at 373-6406. Information about Saturday's class is available by calling Bruce Hicks at 357-9339.

Characteristics of avalanche terrain:

Slopes covered with wind-deposited snow

Slopes steeper than 30 degrees

Slopes near or above tree line

Clearings and areas with few trees

Weather conditions that increase avalanche risk:

Recent and heavy snow or rain

High winds

Rapidly changing temperatures

Most avalanches happen during or right after storms

Warning signs of avalanche danger:

Previous avalanches in the area

Hollow sounds or cracks in the snow