Three years ago, I was pursuing a herd of elk down a steep gully into a remote mountain valley in southwest Montana when it began to snow. The storm was unexpected and hyper-local; it often is in the mountains. It was only the middle of September, so I wore thin base layers under soft-shell pants, a thin fleece jacket, and low-top hiking boots. I opted to leave my rain gear and insulation in my truck, six miles away, to travel as fast and light as possible.

As the snow turned heavier and wetter, it soaked through my layers and into my boots, leaving me totally drenched. I really began to worry when I stopped shivering.

Hypothermia is the cause of around 1,500 deaths a year in the United States, according to a published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Hypothermia begins to occur when your body鈥檚 core temperature falls below 95 degrees, according to Chris Adams, a flight nurse for the , a nonprofit transport network that takes high-risk patients to hospitals by helicopter, working out of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Adams says he treats hypothermia virtually every time he rescues a trauma victim.

The majority of hypothermia cases happen听in where emergency services may be unavailable or slow to respond. And in many colder places, hypothermia is the cause of unintentional death, after vehicle accidents.

Hypothermia is particularly dangerous because its occurrence often involves the unexpected. Just like during my elk hunt.

My ATV was waiting on a trail 1,000 feet above me, at least a 30-minute hike away. My efforts to reach the vehicle partially dried my torso and legs, but my hands and feet were still totally numb by the time I climbed the gully. Riding the ATV back to my truck was a challenge. The numbness in my fingers made it hard to operate the controls, and the urgency to reach safety had to be balanced with the additional windchill created by speed.

By the time I got to my truck and clumsily climbed into the driver鈥檚 seat, a glance in the rearview mirror revealed blue lips surrounded by my ghastly pale face. I cranked the heat, turned on my seat warmer, and sat in silence for half an hour while the shivers returned and stabbing pain crept into my extremities.

According to Adams, I was probably in a stage of mild severity while hiking up the mountain, then into moderate hypothermia by the time I鈥檇 reached the truck. Preparing to survive hypothermia is an essential skill for those of us who recreate outdoors in cold weather.

How Can You Tell If You Have Hypothermia?

Luckily, hypothermia has clear indicators. “Watch for the ‘umbles鈥攕tumbles, mumbles, fumbles, and grumbles which show changes in motor coordination and levels of consciousness,鈥� reads a white paper on hypothermia published by .

Medical professionals parse the stages of hypothermia by internal body temperature. But since you can’t get an accurate read of your body’s internal temperature with oral thermometers, according to a , you and I are better off looking at symptoms.

According to Adams, symptoms of hypothermia include:

• Feeling cold
• Loss of motor control, including both fine (operating zippers) and gross (the ability to walk)
• Impaired mental abilities impacting speech and consciousness
• The slowing of respiratory and heart rates

A mildly hypothermic person will still be shivering, but begin to lose fine motor control. A telltale sign of moderate hypothermia is when the victim stops shivering, and when walking and standing become difficult. In a severe stage of hypothermia a person may听be unable to stand or walk, and will likely lose consciousness altogether. Beyond that, the body approaches death as its heart rate slows to just a few beats per minute, breathing stops, and eventually the heart fails.

“Uncontrolled shivering, slurred speech, confusion, and reduced coordination can quickly spiral into unconsciousness,” John Barklow tells 黑料吃瓜网. After serving as a Navy diver, Barklow trained Navy SEALs in cold weather survival techniques (including self treatment of mild to moderate hypothermia), designed clothing systems intended to reduce the odds of Special Operations Forces experiencing hypothermia, and now works as the lead designer for Bozeman, Montana-based technical clothing brand , while still teaching survival classes and seminars.

How to Prevent Hypothermia

Beyond wearing enough insulation to remain warm in a given temperature, it’s important to consider the materials you’re wearing.

The worst of those is cotton. Because cotton fibers are hollow and carry a negative electrical charge,听. Cotton fabrics can hold up to 27 time their own weight in water, then refuse to dry out.

Wool is a lot better. It absorbs only 30 percent of its own weight in water, and the microscopic structure of its fibers can work to break the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen atoms, producing a tiny amount of heat.

Down, even varieties treated with hydrophobic coatings designed to repel water, loses its ability to loft (and keep you warm) when wet.

Best are synthetic fabrics and insulations like polyester and nylon, which only absorb around 0.4 to four percent of their weight in water, respectively. Because synthetic materials dry so much faster as a result, they鈥檙e a much safer option in cold, wet conditions, or when you run a risk of submersion. I鈥檝e recently transitioned to an all-synthetic clothing system for backcountry adventures, for that reason.

In what Barklow calls the “,” he submerges participants in freezing-cold water, then instructs those students to add layers of synthetic insulation, drink water, and consume easily-digested calories. Patients huddle inside breathable rain shells designed to keep out the weather and prevent convective heat loss. The warmth generated by their bodies, held in by warm-when-wet synthetic insulation, is able to force water first away from their skin. Moisture gets drawn out through the layers of clothing, enabling their bodies to return to safe temperatures.

鈥淲ith a great clothing system there鈥檚 no need to carry extra [equipment],鈥� Barklow says.

Adams backs this up. “This is a really good idea, if you have the right clothes,” he states. “Preparation is everything.”

The nurse also says that if you begin to experience hypothermia symptoms, and you’re alone in the backcountry, you should focus on creating body heat. “You can hike up a hill really fast,” he says.

How to Treat Hypothermia

Barklow鈥檚 method also tracks with survival advice given by the , which prescribes protecting yourself or a patient from the environment, drying them out, and then warming them up using a heat source. With Barklow鈥檚 method, which requires synthetic clothing layers, you 诲辞苍鈥檛 need to remove any clothing, or 鈥斕齛nd you 诲辞苍鈥檛 need a fire.

Should you lack such a clothing system, the approach becomes a little more complicated. You鈥檒l need shelter, dry insulation, and a heat source. In mild stages of hypothermia, you can use something as simple as a tent, a dry sleeping bag, and another person鈥檚 body heat, warm water bottle, or chemical heat packs. (Place the latter two items on the neck, arm pits, and groin where large arteries pass close to the skin). As you progress into moderate and severe cases, hypothermia will require more significant sources of heat,听like a heated structure or vehicle or a wood stove, and ultimately treatment by medical professionals.

Adams recommends paying close attention to preventing convective heat loss through contact with the cold ground, and suggests chemical heat blankets (like those sold by ) as a heat source. “I lay down a wool blanket, put a heated blanket on top of that, lay the patient down, then layer heated blankets and another wool blanket on top of that,” describes Adams. “Then we just crank the heat in the helicopter until the patient warms back up.”

Adams is careful to caution against shocking a hypothermia victim with too much heat,听though, saying you shouldn’t submerge them in a hot bath or shower. “It’s gotta be slow,” he says. “Just focus on getting the ambient temperature nice and high, and rewarming slowly.”

What about CPR? In severe stages of hypothermia, a person鈥檚 pulse may not be detectable at the wrist due to severely constricted blood vessels, and when checked at the carotid artery may be as slow as just a few beats-per-minute. Adams warns against chest compressions as a result, but says blowing warm air into an unconscious victim’s lungs may help increase their core temperature.

Barklow recommends that you don’t just leave survival skills up to chance. “You need to train in realistic conditions to ensure you and your gear perform as expected,” he says.

Ensuring your layers are a match for the conditions is something you should first try in a safe environment. “You 诲辞苍鈥檛 want to realize that you and your kit aren鈥檛 up to the task of saving your life after you swim a glacier-fed rapid while on a remote packraft trip in Alaska,” he says.

Adams offers one final piece of advice: 诲辞苍鈥檛 give up. Due to the protective effects of cold temperatures, complete recovery can be possible even in severe, prolonged hypothermia cases.

Wes Siler recently returned from a trip to Yellowknife, in northern Canada, where temperatures were as low as -38 degrees Fahrenheit. He was warm, comfortable, and safe throughout. You can ask him more detailed questions about outdoors gear and other topics on .听

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Seasonal reading鈥攖hat鈥檚 my boring-but-apt term for enriching the mood and meaning of a certain time of year with the addition of a certain text. Each April, I reach for the 鈥淪pring鈥� chapter in Walden. Every July, I take a lap in E.B. White鈥檚 鈥淥nce More to the Lake.鈥� And in November, when the brown ground freezes and the weatherman predicts five months of blizzard, I cozy up on the couch with a mug of chamomile tea and 鈥淭he Ascending Spiral,鈥� a short, dense essay by the legendary snow scientist Ed LaChappelle.

Lynne Wolfe, editor of The Avalanche Review, which published 鈥淭he Ascending Spiral鈥� in 2005, calls the essay a seminal work. I got turned on to it a decade ago by my friend Jerry Roberts, a retired avalanche forecaster for the Colorado Department of Transportation and self-described 鈥渟now-viewer.鈥� (Seventeenth-century haiku poet Matsuo Basho: 鈥淐ome, let鈥檚 go / snow-viewing / till we鈥檙e buried.鈥�) Roberts and LaChappelle were colleagues and pals. They worked together in the San Juan Mountains in the 1970s and shared a bottle of pisco a mere week before LaChapelle suffered a fatal heart attack at Monarch Pass鈥攕kiing, of course鈥攊n 2007. 鈥淩equired reading,鈥� I was told.

LaChappelle frames听his essay as a contribution to the never-ending discussion among snow-viewers, both professionals and hobbyists, regarding how best to 鈥渆valuate avalanche hazards, consider human factors, and communicate (or execute) decisions.鈥� There is much practical wisdom in these pages, actionable advice for telemarkers, splitboarders, snowmachiners, alpinists, and gonzo backcountry tobogganists. But the really special thing鈥攖he reason I鈥檓 drawn to 鈥淭he Ascending Spiral鈥� each November鈥攊s the brief and tantalizing treatment of rheology and the Deborah Number.

The what and the what?

My initial reaction, too.

Rheology is a branch of physics that deals with the deformation and fluidity of matter. For instance, gummy bears鈥攑op a few in the microwave and behold the freaky carnage. Snow is another fine example, defined by LaChappelle as 鈥渁 granular visco-elastic solid close to its melting point鈥� that subtly, constantly, and complicatedly responds to its environment, fluctuations in temperature and pressure in particular. He asks us to envision a peak in winter. 鈥淔rom the external perspective of a passing observer, snow on a mountainside is just sitting there, apparently dormant. The snow cover, however, is neither static nor dormant, but a positively seething mass of activity.鈥� Learning to see it as such鈥攖o see it as dynamic, as lively and perhaps even alive鈥攊s the challenge and the fun.

Enter the Deborah Number. Proposed in 1964 by the pioneering rheologist Markus Reiner, the concept (it does not refer to a specific, fixed number) takes its name from a Biblical prophetess who sang of the mountains 鈥渇lowing before the Lord.鈥� LaChappelle sums it up like this: 鈥淚n the limited time frame of human perception, the mountains are static and eternal, but for the Lord, whose time frame is infinite, they flow.鈥�

LaChappelle was a Professor of Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington and a co-inventor of the modern avalanche transceiver, whereas I flunked Algebra 2, confounded by the damn TI-82 graphing calculator. Nevertheless, this stuff greatly excites me. Per my layman鈥檚 understanding, the Deborah Number is an expression of the relationship between time spent observing natural phenomena and perception of flow鈥攈igh D equals scant time and we 诲辞苍鈥檛 see the flow, low D equals tons of time and we do see the flow. A hastily dug snowpit on an unfamiliar slope (high D) yields 鈥渁 static view of what actually is an active (鈥榝lowing鈥�) snow cover.鈥� LaChappelle continues: 鈥淚n other words, stability evaluation has to be an听ongoing process, the longer the better.鈥� Ideally, it starts on a given avalanche path with the first flakes of winter.

Meticulous and relentless monitoring of this sort is the hallmark of an avalanche听forecaster鈥檚 job. As Jerry Roberts told me in 2016, during an interview I conducted for the Buddhist magazine Tricycle about the Zen-like aspects of patrolling (meditating on?) the sketchy San Juans and their avalanche-prone high-mountain passes: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e afraid to go shopping at the supermarket an hour away because you might miss a wind event. You can鈥檛 be absent from your place. You have to be totally present.鈥� I recall him chuckling, shaking his head, seemingly amazed by the stamina and focus of his younger self. 鈥淵ou 诲辞苍鈥檛 think about Christmas or your wife鈥檚 birthday. You 诲辞苍鈥檛 go on vacation. A series of storms in 鈥�05 lasted ten days. I got very little sleep.鈥� Chuckle, shake. 鈥淔rom November through May, paying attention is what you do. It鈥檚 who you are. There鈥檚 no difference between on and off.鈥�

Indeed, for the snow-viewer whose entire existence is devoted to detecting and registering slow-motion transformations occurring at both micro and macro scales, whose sacred daily mantra is lower the D, lower the D, lower the D, lower the D, the on-versus-off question is moot. Case in point: After a career in the field researching glaciers, LaChappelle retired to a remote cabin in McCarthy, Alaska and busied himself tracking鈥攕urprise, surprise鈥攖he nuanced behavior of his local glaciers.

I鈥檓 sporadic and undisciplined when it comes to studying the ever-shifting details and ever-morphing character of Colorado鈥檚 Elk Mountains, my home range. Hence my need to sit with 鈥淭he Ascending Spiral鈥� each November as the thermometer鈥檚 mercury plunges and the touring gear beckons from my mudroom鈥檚 cobwebby corner. I skin up and float down a couple mildly dangerous peaks most winters鈥攂eacon, shovel,听probe, goofy buddies, and lots of laughs鈥攕o in part I read to humble myself: Pay attention, boy, or else! According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, one hundred and forty-nine people got caught in slides last ski season and, sadly, two didn鈥檛 survive. The or else is exceedingly real.

Ultimately, my enthusiasm for rheology and the Deborah Number is less utilitarian鈥攁 means to the end of protecting my vulnerable ass while poorly carving powder 8s鈥攖han it is aesthetic and spiritual. I like to poke around the valley floor and gaze at the intricacies of the snowscape. I like to sculpt a drift into a chair, crack a beer, and stare. I like to approach perception as a kind of basic yet mysterious adventure. I like to notice, and notice that I鈥檓 noticing, and keep on noticing, and keep on keeping on. So in part I read to be humbled, yes, and in part鈥攊n large part鈥擨 read to be inspired, encouraged, nudged toward a cool way of inhabiting my place: Pay attention, boy, because lowering your D is a worthy end in itself! An awesome pastime! A beautiful and demanding practice! A raison d’锚tre!

Do I aspire to godliness, an omniscient and infinite vantage? Nah, too grand for my earthly tastes. But looking through those eyes now and then, on occasion, is a huge thrill. Stealing a glimpse of the perpetually changing, fleeting, flowing planet. Feeling that glimpse, at my luckiest moments, as an electric tingle racing the length of my spine.

I felt the tingle recently, following my annual twenty-minute check-in with dear old Professor LaChappelle on the couch. Five or six inches of snow had fallen in the high country the evening prior and I suspected that, unlike the flurries of early autumn, which disappeared quickly from the summits, this coating of white would stick. Or maybe I hoped it would stick, eager for the schuss, the glide, the burn, and the turn.

The essay finished, at least until next year, I drained the dregs of my tea, stepped into the yard at sunset, lifted my binoculars, and scanned the wilderness of ridges and faces and bowls that rises abruptly to the west of town. Conditioned by my quasi-ritualistic re-reading of 鈥淭he Ascending Spiral,鈥� what I saw had the quality of epiphany. It was 鈥渁 granular visco-elastic solid close to its melting point.鈥� It was gummy bears in the microwave, a quintillion protean crystals. It was the foundational layer of a new winter鈥檚 breathing, pulsing, growling, tail-whipping snowpack鈥攁 snowpack guaranteed to spawn the avalanches that Jerry Roberts and other animistic snow-viewers call 鈥渄ragons.鈥� It was simple and complex, common and strange, mundane and magical.

I pocketed the binos, zoomed out.

What I saw was a paradox, tingle-inducing for sure鈥攖he whole world perfectly still, not a bird, not a cloud, not a hint of a breeze, not a single trembling blade of grass, and there on the horizon, washed pink with alpenglow, something deep inside the stillness beginning, secretly, to move.

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for its Barryvox 2 and Barryvox S2 avalanche transceivers, introduced in the winter 2024/2025 season.

After extensive testing, Mammut identified a potential issue with the power switch on some Barryvox 2 and Barryvox S2 devices, which may result in unintentional switching from 鈥淪end鈥� to 鈥淪earch鈥� mode or, in some cases, complete power-off. This assembly issue could pose a safety risk, and Mammut is asking consumers to return affected units for inspection and repair or replacement.

Recall Details and Instructions

Affected Products:

• Model Names and Article Numbers:
  • 2620-00380: Barryvox S2
  • 2620-00350: Barryvox S2 in Peak 240 Package
  • 2620-00360: Barryvox S2 in Pro Light 280 Package
  • 2620-00370: Barryvox 2
  • 2620-00260: Barryvox 2 in Peak 240 Package
  • 2620-00320: Barryvox 2 in Tour 280 Package

Models NOT Affected: Previous seasons鈥� Barryvox and Barryvox S models are unaffected by this issue.

Steps for Customers to Take

1. Confirm Ownership: Check your device against the listed model names and numbers.
2. Submit a Return Form: Go to and select 鈥淎valanche Equipment.鈥�
   • Fill in customer details and device information.
   • Mention 鈥淏arryvox Recall 2024鈥� as the issue.
3. Return Shipping: After processing, you鈥檒l receive a return label by email.
4. Pack and Ship: Send your device for inspection and repair according to Customer Service instructions. If your device was part of a package, only the Barryvox device needs to be returned.
5. Receive Inspection/Replacement: Mammut will inspect and return your device or send a replacement within 7 business days (14 days for US & Canada). Alternatively, devices can be dropped off at Mammut stores.

Cost: All inspections, repairs, or replacements are free of charge.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the issue with the Barryvox 2 and S2?
Due to an assembly process issue, the main switch on some devices may be misaligned, causing unintended mode switching or power-off under pressure.

Can I inspect my device myself?
No, to ensure the safety of all users, Mammut requests that devices be returned for professional inspection.

Where should I send my device?
Upon submitting the return form, you will receive a return label with the appropriate address for your region.

When will I get my device back?
Mammut is committed to a 7-day turnaround (14 days for US & Canada) upon receiving your device.

Has any incident occurred due to this issue?
No incidents have been reported. This is a precautionary, voluntary recall to ensure maximum safety.

Why was this issue not identified earlier?
The Barryvox 2 and S2 are complex devices. This assembly error, now corrected, was an oversight in the initial process.

Will Mammut continue selling Barryvox 2 and S2?
Yes, Barryvox 2 and S2 are essential safety products that meet industry-leading standards. Mammut is dedicated to customer safety and will continue to innovate while reinforcing strict quality standards.

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Five miles deep in the backcountry west of Crested Butte, Jeff Banks stopped the group. The 49-year-old IFMGA guide was leading me and five other skiers around Kebler Pass. He had asked us to set the skin track, and we were aiming for a benign-looking rollover. But avalanche danger was 鈥渃onsiderable鈥� and the slope in front of us was roughly 36 degrees, in Banks鈥� estimation鈥攕teep enough to slide and large enough to carry a skier.

鈥淲e’re not going to cross under that,鈥� Banks said.

Instead, he gathered our group, pulled out his phone, and booted up AspectAvy, an app that he and a team of developers recently launched in hopes of simplifying users鈥� decision making and making backcountry travel safer. AspectAvy marked the hill as no-go听terrain, coloring it red. Banks was also able to use the app鈥檚 runout calculator to demonstrate that, if the snow on the hill above us broke loose, it could run far enough to catch our group.

Banks started developing AspectAvy over a decade ago, after a guiding accident in Europe. He and his clients were traversing a steep face near Sulden, Italy, that other guides and skiers had been crossing for days. But when he and his team crossed the slope, an avalanche broke and carried them nearly 1,800 feet and over three cliff bands. Fortunately, they walked away unscathed, but the experience underscored something Banks had long understood: backcountry skiers, even professionals, 诲辞苍鈥檛 make the right decisions 100 percent of the time.

鈥淚’ve been privileged to have the best training and mentorship and exams the country can provide,鈥� Banks says. 鈥淎nd it’s not good enough. The system just isn’t working. If all the pros who crossed the slope for days got it wrong, what are we doing?鈥�

Banks wanted a tool that could help change that. AspectAvy was his answer.

The app鈥檚 central feature is its identification of 鈥渘o-go鈥� terrain, which an algorithm colors red and overlays on topographic maps. The app scrapes data from regional forecast sites and uses it to estimate the safety of a slope on a given day using three variables: the forecasted avalanche danger, slope angle, and the presence of old snow problems, like persistent weak layers. After studying eleven years of avalanche fatality data, the app鈥檚 creators determined that these three factors could help them create buffers intended to keep skiers safe.

The app also has the aforementioned runout calculator, which is fixed based on slope angle and doesn鈥檛 change based on the forecast, as well as checklists for skiers to use at the trailhead and before dropping in, with reminders to check their beacons, ski one at a time, and always keep eyes on the person skiing. There鈥檚 a slope angle calculator, and a tool to help skiers verify the local forecast and elevate it if unexpected, dangerous conditions arise. Skiers can note recent activity like shooting cracks, whumpfs, rapid loading, or rapid warming, after which the app will raise the danger rating and shade a more conservative slice of terrain in 鈥渘o-go鈥� red.

Banks compares each app feature to a slice of Swiss cheese, where holes represent a margin of error. Add more Swiss and the subsequent slices should cover the prior holes. By itself, AspectAvy鈥檚 鈥渘o-go鈥� slope angle shading might not keep a skier from making a dangerous decision, Banks says. But he argues if you layer AspectAvy鈥檚 other tools on top, each additional layer should help prevent skiers from getting into trouble, or dying.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a risk treatment,鈥� Banks says of the app. 鈥淚t’s not a mapping app. It’s preventative avalanche safety gear. It’s designed to keep you out of avalanches and still provide good riding.鈥�

Not all avalanche professionals agree. And that鈥檚 made the app controversial in ongoing conversations about how to prevent avalanche deaths in the United States, where the COVID-19 pandemic drove about a million more skiers than usual into the backcountry,听and where an average of 27 people die in avalanches annually. For forecasters skeptical of AspectAvy, they have a metaphor of their own: One about pedestrians and their phones.

鈥淵ou can engineer your way into a million things but you still have to look both ways before you cross the street, otherwise you’ll get run over,鈥� says Simon Trautman, director of the National Avalanche Center.

Banks, for his part, thinks the app鈥檚 buffers are quite conservative. If forecasters have determined that avalanche danger is low in a given zone, users will be advised to keep it under 40 degrees. If the rating is moderate, the app recommends keeping it under 35. Moderate with an old snow problem in the forecast鈥攁 danger rating forecasters informally refer to as 鈥渟cary moderate鈥�? Keep it under 33. Considerable? Stay under 30. At high or extreme danger the app says to avoid the backcountry altogether. All of those thresholds are based on fatality data. In AspectAvy鈥檚 dataset, nobody has died skiing a slope under 40 degrees at low danger, or riding a slope under 30 degrees on a considerable day. Banks and his team also programmed the app to start shading no-go terrain a few degrees early. So, on a considerable day, it might shade terrain as shallow as 28 degrees as no-go.

At scary moderate and considerable, AspectAvy recommends that skiers and riders avoid runout zones because remote triggering is possible. The app also always shades terrain above 40 degrees as no-go, because skiing in terrain that steep is never 鈥渓ow-risk skiing,鈥� Banks says.

鈥淭hat doesn’t mean they can’t choose to do it,鈥� Banks says. 鈥淭hink of it as a speed limit. You may choose to go over the speed limit, but that’s on you.鈥�

The idea that a forecast combined with slope angle can give you a concrete yes-or-no answer about whether a slope is safe to ski may, however, oversimplifies听the process of navigating avalanche terrain, Trautman says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really one of the key problems,鈥� Trautman says of AspectAvy. 鈥淭he hazard is not based on slope angle. Some days it is, some days it isn’t. A lot of different things go into those hazard assessments. They’re a subjective bucketing of something that exists along a continuum.鈥�

Danger ratings give skiers and riders an idea of what terrain could be dangerous to ski and, inversely, what terrain could be safe. But they 诲辞苍鈥檛 give slope-specific advice鈥攁nd they 诲辞苍鈥檛 guarantee that slopes are safe. It鈥檚 up to backcountry skiers and riders to be educated, verify the forecast, and keep their heads on a swivel to identify not only unpredicted hazards like wind slabs, or surprise warming, but also the best skiing conditions.

鈥淎nybody that says that they can simplify something as complex as either the avalanche phenomenon or decision-making when you’re actually in avalanche terrain鈥擨 think we should be skeptical of claims like that,鈥� Trautman says. 鈥淏ecause it’s not simple. It’s incredibly complex. And like it or not, our own brains need to be part of it.鈥�

Beyond that, the in-app shading delineating safe and unsafe terrain could be misleading. Unlike Gaia and CalTopo, which can show users all avalanche terrain at all times, the shading in AspectAvy just delineates the terrain that the algorithm deems 鈥渘o-go鈥� that day. On a low-danger day, the app wouldn鈥檛 mark the 36-degree rollover on Kebler Pass as avalanche terrain. But a wind slab could still lurk on that slope.

Trautman also takes issue with the way the app gathers data to identify old snow problems. Since forecasters describe old snow problems differently, AspectAvy鈥檚 developers have identified key terms, like 鈥渇acets,鈥� that professionals typically used to identify those problems. If any are in the forecast, the old snow warning goes off.

Forecasters will occasionally identify only one avalanche problem, like a wet slab, but discuss other issues, like faceted weak layers. In that situation, the app would identify an old snow problem, even if it’s not in the forecast.

For example, on February 2, when I spoke with Trautman, AspectAvy was calling avalanche danger 鈥渟cary moderate鈥� in a forecast zone around Mount Baker, indicating there was an old snow problem. But the local forecasters at Northwest Avalanche Center hadn鈥檛 identified an old snow problem. They had identified a wet slab problem.

Trautman wasn鈥檛 sure how AspectAvy came to its conclusion, which made him question whether the team was 鈥渇ollowing a rigorous, transparent, or effective scientific process.鈥� Banks says the result that day was likely because of how AspectAvy scrapes forecast websites. On that day, however, the forecast didn鈥檛 obviously mention a faceted layer.

The same day, AspectAvy also told skiers to avoid runout zones. But the app typically doesn鈥檛 mark runout zones as 鈥渘o-go鈥� terrain if they鈥檙e not steep enough to slide by themselves. Trautman worries that not labeling runouts as closed terrain could falsely indicate that people can safely ski an area that鈥檚 not safe鈥攕ince the app鈥檚 runout calculator must be toggled on and off for each individual slope, and because the app鈥檚 core feature is identifying 鈥渘o-go鈥� terrain.

The app has a handful of other concrete limitations. For one, it鈥檚 only available on iPhones. It also only operates in places where there鈥檚 available LIDAR, highly accurate elevation data that鈥檚 collected from an airplane and used to calculate slope angle. In the Teton range, for example, AspectAvy works in Grand Teton National Park. It doesn鈥檛 work on Teton Pass, where LIDAR isn鈥檛 available. It only works in places with avalanche forecasts, too.

Despite his concerns, Trautman doesn鈥檛 want skiers to avoid the app altogether. Rather, he wants them to approach it cautiously. “Anyone using it should seriously question whether the tool is working the way they think it works,鈥� Trautman says. 鈥淚 do think it’s important to be very honest about it, because this thing is getting a lot of press.”

Other avalanche professionals simply see AspectAvy as just another helpful tool for skiers. Angela Hawse, former president of the American Mountain Guides Association, says she understands Trautman鈥檚 hesitation. 鈥淏ut I think that skepticism without a little bit of optimism and the potential utility of it is short-sighted,鈥� Hawse says. 鈥淚t’s a tool in the kit that helps with decision making. Especially when, as we know, in the field, things aren’t always straightforward.鈥�

Hawse thinks AspectAvy will make people more conservative, if anything, and sees the app as a digital equivalent of a morning guides鈥� meeting, where experts talk about conditions and identify open and closed terrain for the day. In some ways, Lynne Wolfe, editor of The Avalanche Review, about AspectAvy agrees. She thinks the app might help skiers and riders select an 鈥渁ppropriate mindset,鈥� providing a general indication of what terrain is safe to ski. 鈥淏ut on-the-ground terrain and conditions should trump,鈥� Wolfe says.

The app may be particularly useful in tour planning and checking yourself before you drop in, says Frank Carus, director of the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center. But Carus, who admitted that he鈥檚 old school and a fan of paper maps, was also concerned that the app could create a new heuristic trap, something akin to a digital expert halo, wherein skiers and riders become overconfident in the app.

鈥淚f the app makes some part of the process a little simpler, and that helps you devote more time to your surroundings, maybe that鈥檚 good,鈥� Carus says. 鈥淏ut any good driver鈥檚 ed instructor tells you to look both ways after the light turns green because somebody could be running a red light.鈥�

In Banks鈥� mind, that thinking is simplistic. He would argue that the app, with its slope angle meter, forecasts, and checklists are the reminders to look both ways before pulling into the intersection.

鈥淭he risk junkies who stand at the top of the bowl on a considerable day, they’re going to go anyway. But there are a lot of smart people who are not risk junkies and still get smoked,鈥� Banks says. 鈥淭his is going to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.鈥�

That鈥檚 a good pitch, but I do think forecasters’ concerns are legitimate. I’m an avid backcountry skier, based out of Jackson Hole, and I鈥檝e used the app to get an idea of what terrain should be off limits in Grand Teton National Park. But that doesn’t mean I take what it says at face value. The app鈥檚 recommendations, for me, are just that: Recommendations. Even when skiing terrain I鈥檓 familiar with, I toggle AspectAvy and Gaia, my app-of-choice, to double check avalanche terrain that AspectAvy doesn鈥檛 always identify.

I 诲辞苍鈥檛, however, rely completely on either app. Instead, I read the avalanche report every day and, in the field, check for surface instabilities, and dig pits to verify the forecast. Which is all to say鈥擨’ll take Aspect Avy up on the offer of extra Swiss cheese. But I’ll also make sure to look up from my phone.

The post Can an App Really Keep You Safe While Backcountry Skiing? appeared first on 黑料吃瓜网 Online.

Our gear editor goes up against her dad in this month’s debate: Is it better to buy new outdoor gear, or is it better to use old gear until it doesn’t work any longer?

Your Trustiest Stuff Deserves Loyalty

By Hugh Klein, former junior ski team parent

When it comes to gear, there鈥檚 a saying that will always resonate: 鈥淚f it ain鈥檛 broke, 诲辞苍鈥檛 fix it.鈥� Even better: 鈥淚f it is broke, fix it yourself!鈥� Why not duct-tape your ski gloves once they sustain a few tears? If nothing else, mine are more waterproof now. If you have a ski with anything short of a blown-out edge, it鈥檚 amazing what a good base grind and edge sharpening can do. When I freeheel away from lift-served terrain, I鈥檓 still using my ancient telemark gear: 20-year-old . They鈥檙e wet noodles on hardpack but work fine in backcountry snow.

You can save a ton of money rescuing old gear from local shops. And someone please tell me why my poles need to match. As long as they鈥檙e about the same weight, who cares? The last time I snapped a pole, I went to the closest ski shop, fished one out of the trash, cut it to size with a hacksaw, and kept that $100 in my pocket. Hand-me-downs for your kids are a no-brainer, too. Younger siblings will be stoked to have their older sibs鈥� stuff, especially if you con them into it. 鈥淜elly, remember how fast Charlie was in this speed suit?鈥�

Everyone knows how dorky brand-new kit looks鈥攁nd how cool the worn-in stuff makes you. I love breaking out my leather Merrell tele boots with the white plastic shell around the ankles. And while keeping that weathered ski jacket yet another year puts you out of fashion, the planet will thank you. There鈥檚 a pretty cool dude named Yvon Chouinard who鈥檒l tell you the same thing.

I鈥檒l Take Safety and Comfort, Thank You Very Much

By Kelly Klein, 黑料吃瓜网 associate gear editor

First things first: I鈥檓 not a proponent of new crap for the sake of new crap. I鈥檝e written on the merits of used outdoor gear, and hitting thrift shops is one of my favorite leisure activities. But there comes a time when using the same old gear is a safety hazard that could be detrimental to my time outdoors.

Take touring bindings. My dad is a really good tele skier, and he uses that gear鈥攎uch of it made in the previous century鈥攖o ski with me in the backcountry. I have no beef with tele skiing, but because he refuses to spring for a touring setup, he does not have the option to ski with his heels locked down the way I can with my hybrid Shifts. The latter offer better versatility and control, and I believe I鈥檓 a safer skier for it. And those duct-taped gloves? They look pretty badass, I will admit, but my Hestras keep my fingers much warmer.

I鈥檒l readily concede that my dad looks cooler than me in his vintage gear, regardless of what shape it鈥檚 in. (Though, if you鈥檇 asked me who came out ahead when I was a teenager on the free-ride team, you would鈥檝e gotten a very different answer.) And no, I 诲辞苍鈥檛 think you need to buy new stuff every season鈥攖hat鈥檚 just wasteful. But if old gear is going to hold me back or jeopardize my safety, that鈥檚 not a trade-off I鈥檓 willing to make. And while we鈥檙e at it, Dad: I didn鈥檛 hear any complaints when you unwrapped those sweet Smith sunglasses last Christmas.

The post Is Buying New Gear Better than Using Old Gear Until It Falls Apart? appeared first on 黑料吃瓜网 Online.

Avalanche safety, like sex ed, isn鈥檛 really about abstinence. People are going to venture into the mountains, so the challenge is to minimize risk, take appropriate countermeasures, and understand when conditions are too dangerous to proceed. Still, things sometimes go wrong even if you鈥檙e following best practices, at which point the objective shifts to maximizing your odds of surviving and being rescued. It鈥檚 this last topic that鈥檚 the focus of the Wilderness Medical Society鈥檚 newly revised avalanche guidelines, published by an international team of experts .

An estimated 300 to 500 people die each year in avalanches. The average figures in Europe and North America are about 130 and 36, respectively; numbers in the rest of the world are rough estimates. Three-quarters of those people asphyxiate; the other quarter succumb to traumatic injuries. Not many people die of hypothermia, because they 诲辞苍鈥檛 last that long. Time is of the essence: you鈥檝e got a 90 percent chance of surviving if you鈥檙e extricated within 15 minutes, but that drops to 30 percent after half an hour. The deeper you鈥檙e buried, the worse your odds.

The new guidelines (which are free to read online) delve into the minutiae of the factors that can affect survival in an avalanche. You want a metal rather than composite shovel, for example; a curved blade will allow you to clear snow 47 percent more quickly than a flat blade. But the most surprising details are found in a never-before-published case report from more than two decades ago, by some of the same authors, that illustrates the limitations of the averages reported in the guidelines.

In January 2000, three friends were snowboarding in the Western Austrian Alps. It was 14 degrees Fahrenheit and had been snowing heavily for three days. At 2:45 P.M., two of the friends decided to descend off-piste from the summit in deep powder, some 6,500 feet above sea level. Three hours later, the third friend, who had descended on the groomed slopes, reported them missing. Rescuers soon realized that the pair had been buried by a spontaneous slab avalanche. (There are some aerial pictures of the terrain .) As night fell, visibility was poor and avalanche risk remained high. The search and rescue operation was suspended at 11:30 P.M., and another two and half feet of snow fell overnight.

The next morning, rescuers resumed searching at 7:30 A.M. Three hours later, an avalanche dog located the first snowboarder; his airway was blocked by snow and he had likely died within less than half an hour of being buried. The second victim, a 24-year-old male, was found ten minutes later, buried under 7.5 feet of snow. His ski goggles had slipped over his mouth and nose when he fell, creating a small air pocket. There was an air connection to a larger pocket around a nearby rock at ground level. He had been buried for 20 hours and the temperature measured in his ear was 72.5 degrees Fahrenheit, but he was alive and responsive.

After being helicoptered to hospital, his core temperature was measured at 75.4 Fahrenheit. In addition to warming him up, the doctors needed to deal with other issues like low blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbances. They figured he was dehydrated, so they gave him nine liters of fluid. That turned out to be a mistake, and when fluid started accumulating in his lungs, they stopped the rehydration protocol. He had some 鈥渘onfreezing cold injuries鈥濃�攖he modern term for trench foot鈥� which mostly resolved after a few days, but no frostbite. There was no sign of brain damage, and after four days he was released from the ICU.

In the case report, the authors鈥攑hysicians in Austria and Switzerland, led by Bernd Wallner of the Medical University of Innsbruck鈥攅xtract some lessons for the care of avalanche victims. There are some differences in the current guidelines compared to what was standard in 2000 in the details of how such patients should be rewarmed, where needles should be inserted, and so on. But the main point of interest is the extraordinarily long burial time.

贬别谤别鈥檚 a graph from the new WMS avalanche guidelines (adapted from in the Canadian Medical Association Journal), showing survival probability as a function of burial duration:

It鈥檚 a pretty steep curve, and the odds are grim after half an hour. And this graph only extends to three hours. The Austrian snowboarder was buried for 20 hours! In fact, according to the authors, there are only two known cases with longer burial times in comparable conditions. In 1960, a 59-year-old man in Canada survived after 25 and a half hours under the snow; and in 1972, a woman in Italy survived for 43 hours and 45 minutes.

By far the best way to survive an avalanche is not to get caught in it. Don鈥檛 venture into avalanche territory without adequate knowledge, training, and equipment. Even if you have all those things, err on the side of caution. If you do get caught in one, the WMS guidelines weigh the relative merits of a long list of countermeasures that might raise your odds of survival, ranging from airbags to avalanche transceivers to covering your mouth with your elbow to create an air pocket. After that, it鈥檚 a question of how quickly rescuers find you. Time is of the essence. But if there鈥檚 one lesson for anyone who finds themselves part of a search-and-rescue effort to draw from this case report, it鈥檚 that even as time passes and the odds get longer and longer, they鈥檙e not zero. Keep digging.

For more Sweat Science, join me on and , sign up for the , and check out my book .

The post How a Snowboarder Survived for 20 Hours After Being Buried in an Avalanche appeared first on 黑料吃瓜网 Online.

I spent my first full ski season at Alta, Utah, waiting tables and skiing the deepest snow of my life. I arrived late in January, but by working breakfasts and dinners I managed to clock 80 days on snow skiing between my shifts. In a twist of irony, the deep powder snow was so good that it wasn鈥檛 until I left Alta that I realized I鈥檇 never really learned how to ski.

Moving to Mammoth Lakes, California turned out to be an exercise in learning to use my edges. The next three years produced pitiable snowfall totals and some of the strangest surface conditions I鈥檝e ever encountered. I skied knife-hard planar snow, buffeted firm by the wind. When it switched directions, the gales created a wildly uneven wave texture called sastrugi that is extraordinarily difficult to navigate. Rains and freeze-thaw cycles created strange frozen nodules on the surface that we called chicken heads.

The crucible of shitty conditions forged me into a much better skier,听and I developed a taxonomy of snow textures both strange and sublime. Years in the Sierra prepared me for this moment: Publishing the definitive ranking of snow conditions for skiers and riders everywhere. I will not be taking any questions at this time.

Blower Powder Reigns Supreme

Surprising absolutely no one, sitting atop the throne of skiable conditions is that sweet, low-density powder. It鈥檚 called 鈥渂lower鈥� because when you pick it up in your palms and blow it like a dandelion, it scatters into the crystalline ether. Skiing real cold smoke is the closest we have to oblivion, in the Buddhist sense of the word. As they say on TikTok: No thoughts. Just vibes.

Wind Buff: A Surprise Runner-Up

Many skiers may be unfamiliar with this runner up, but Mammoth is known for this recycled powder that coats our faces and chutes with an ultra-fine magical carpet. When the wind picks up snow on the windward sides of mountains and tumbles it through the air, the crystals break apart, resulting in snow far finer than powder flakes. When the wind-tossed grains of snow settle on the leeward sides, they form a thin layer atop the snow surface that you can carve on steep terrain as if it were groomed. The best part? The more people ski it, the better it typically gets.

Corn: The Crown Jewel of Spring Skiing

Spring in the Sierra is all about chasing the corn cycle鈥攁n elusive window when the sun and听air warm the firm morning ice and softens it to a perfect texture. Arrive too early, and you鈥檒l have to sit and wait, or brave the firm snow. Arrive too late, and the sun cooks the surface into isothermic slop. But when you nail the timing, the rock-solid snow softens into crystals that look very much like kernels of corn. When the corn is just right over a firm base, you can rip Super-G turns down large backcountry faces with remarkable consistency. It鈥檚 one of the greatest feelings I know, and it was hard not to put at the very top in this ranking on ski conditions.

Chalk: Synonymous with Stability and Confidence

Rare where I live, chalk is the result of consistent cold temperatures without precipitation combined with mild winds that dry out and soften leftover snow. The best part of skiing chalk is the energy you can generate by pressuring it with a ski at a high edge angle. You can rail very fast turns on chalk because of its easy and consistent nature, and it sticks around as long as the weather does. In California that can be a very long time.

Slush: Powder You Can Ski in a T-Shirt

We can ride chairlifts into July at Mammoth, and recently, even August. The low sun angles and higher temperatures create ideal conditions high on the mountain. While the lower elevations go to hell, the upper reaches turn into a playground of soft snow. Lots of die-hard skiers will tell you that the best part of their season is weaving through听slushy moguls in Hawaiian shirts and bikinis in the spring.

Sierra Cement: We Ski It Because We Have It, Not Because We Love It

In a mountain range听not far from the Pacific, our snow rarely comes in as Wasatch blower. Our snow-water ratio (a determinant of how wet, and therefore heavy, the snowpack is) is usually about half of the Rockies, if not even lower. All this is to say that when Mammoth gets ten feet of snow, it comes in so dense that our skis only sink down into the top six inches. This kind of snow can be difficult to push around and is more likely to knock you off balance. It鈥檚 often a source of the dreaded shin bang鈥攁n overuse injury caused by the front of your lower leg slamming into your boots, and exacerbated by uneven snow. It鈥檚 not the best, but hell, it鈥檚 fresh snow.

Sastrugi: When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Go Pro

It should be evident by now that we鈥檝e skipped a few snow conditions for concision, but fret not! See the bottom of the article for the exhaustive list. Getting into conditions that are objectively bad, we have sastrugi. This snow texture forms when wind direction shifts back and forth across the snow, creating beautiful and bizarre wave-like patterns that are reminiscent of seafloor sand. Soft sastrugi isn鈥檛 the worst, because your skis or board usually crush the crests of the ridge. But when the temperatures shift and sastrugi ossifies, it can be a terrifying firm and uneven surface to navigate鈥攅specially in steep terrain.

Breakable Crust: The Skier鈥檚 Trap Door

A good friend and great skier once told me that breakable crust is an immediate threat to his health and safety. In the ranking of snow conditions, it鈥檚 worse than sastrugi chiefly because it is deceptive. A slope of breakable crust often looks like smooth powder before you drop into it. But once you do, the firm skin of wind-affected snow on top gives way听like a trap door to a softer layer, and locks your ski and board tips听underneath the surface. I鈥檝e never fallen more times on a single backcountry run than on a face of pure breakable crust.

Chicken Heads and Coral Reef: The Worst. The Devil.

God help you if you decide to ski in these conditions. In serious terrain, they have killed great skiers. Known as 鈥渄eath cookies鈥� or 鈥渃hicken heads,鈥� these surface conditions occur when slush gets pushed around by skis or by wind and then freezes in place overnight. The Messner Couloir on Denali is infamous for these terrifying formations when warm fog freezes on the snow surface and creates chicken heads out of rime ice. The best strategy for skiing the reef is simply this: Don鈥檛.

The Definitive Ranking of Snow Conditions:

1. Blower Powder
2. Wind buff
3. Corn
4. Chalk
5. Slush
6. Heavy Powder
7. Soft Western Corduroy
8. Hardpack/Windboard
9. East Coast Corduroy
10. Ice
11. Soft Sastrugi
12. Bulletproof Sastrugi
13. Breakable Crust
14. Frozen Chicken Heads/Coral Reef

The post The Definitive Ranking of the Best and Worst Snow Conditions appeared first on 黑料吃瓜网 Online.

No traction system in your car or truck can operate except through your tires. But here in North America, it can be hard, if not impossible, to tell if a tire is safe to use in winter conditions. And that鈥檚 what a new Ice Grip symbol aims to fix. Already rolling out on tire sidewalls, it indicates a tire has undergone testing to demonstrate safe levels of traction on bare ice.

I talked to two of the engineers behind the symbol to find out more.

Why do we need a new sidewall stamp? Well, last winter鈥檚 record snowfall in Tahoe provided the perfect example. Drivers visiting the area to ski were filmed pirouetting down hills, piling up in multi-car crashes, and generally exhibiting poor behavior. Why? Because every one of the cars filmed struggling was wearing inappropriate tires.

Tahoe indicates a larger problem. Like we explored at the time, existing sidewall symbols, tire categories, and government regulations are colliding to dangerously mislead consumers. Let鈥檚 briefly recap some tire terminology:

All-Season: A type of tire drivers understandably assume is safe to use through all four seasons, but is in fact simply the cheapest possible option. All-season tires begin losing grip even on dry pavement as temperatures fall below 45 degrees.

All-Terrain: A type of off-road capable tire that prioritizes on-road safety and efficiency. While an all-terrain may wear sidewall stamps that indicate winter capability, many 诲辞苍鈥檛. And even though many drivers assume all-terrains make a good option for tackling winter conditions, none match the safety provided by a true winter tire.

M+S: Like the topic of this article, a sidewall stamp. This one claims to indicate capability in mud and snow, but is actually obtained through a two-dimensional analysis of the tread pattern indicating a ratio of at least 25 percent void to lug. California regulations refer to tires wearing the M+S stamp as 鈥渟now tires,鈥� and allow any all- or four-wheel drive vehicle fitted with them to drive over snowy mountain passes without first fitting chains (you must still carry those). It鈥檚 easy to see why drivers assume M+S tires are safe to use in snow, but no test of any kind is required to earn the stamp, and it indicates no designed, intended, or incidental capability in winter weather.

Three Peak Mountain Snowflake: Commonly abbreviated to 3PMSF in North America, or 鈥渁lpine tire鈥� in Europe, tires which earn this stamp have completed an actual test. The procedure requires that a tire must demonstrate acceleration traction at least 10 percent superior to that of the , which is manufactured for that express purpose by Michelin and has characteristics similar to those of a typical all-season. That test is performed on medium-packed snow only, and while tires wearing the 3PMSF may perform better than that 10 percent baseline, there is no way for consumers to learn that information. As a result, 3PMSF also ends up being effectively meaningless in the real world. A tire wearing it may perform better in winter conditions than a standard all-season, but how much better can vary from that 10 percent minimum, to something that genuinely feels safe and reassuring.

And that鈥檚 it. That鈥檚 the extent of officialdom surrounding what defines a winter-capable tire in North America. As a result drivers are left to parse consumer reviews, tire maker marketing, and my advice if they want to run a tire that will actually make them safer in winter. A situation that鈥檚 far from ideal, even if judged only from the perspective of the number of unread emails in my inbox.

Enter Mikko Liukkula and Jarmo Sunnari, respectively the development manager and global product manager for Finland鈥檚 .

鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 understand that wet grip and winter grip and snow grip and ice grip were different things,鈥� explains Sunnari. In Europe, there鈥檚 actually two categories of winter tires: those designed for central European conditions鈥攚here the challenges are rain and slush鈥攁nd听 the ones necessary to drive safely in nordic countries. Not only are temperatures far colder in those countries, but roads at northern latitudes remain snow-covered all winter long. Since you can drive on frozen lakes, the amount of drivable terrain is much larger in the wintertime. So, while a 3PMSF tire , that standard isn鈥檛 stringent enough for Lule氓.

鈥淲e tire manufactures realized this dilemma that we have two types of winter tires in Europe,鈥� Sunnari continues. 鈥淲e have the nordic winter tires with terrific ice grip, and we have central European winter tires with terrific wet performance and high speed performance. And we wanted to have this element somehow visible in the tire labeling, so that the consumers would not be misled by the label and the criteria, and the performance that it shows.鈥�

So, about a decade ago, Sunnari and Liukkula worked with their colleagues at other European tire makers to establish a winter tire working group within the European Tire and Rim Technical Organization, which promotes safety through mutually agreed standards and testing.

鈥淎nd so we started there, together, to create a test method,鈥� says Liukkula. 鈥淲e selected some tires and we tested together in various conditions and, little by little, we restricted the conditions and the methodology. I think we did two or three years of testing together. And then we restricted the parameters, the temperatures, the temperature window. For example, for ice and snow, how the tire load conditions should be, how different sizes could be tested, and so on.鈥�

The challenge in establishing a test standard is to eliminate variables while staying relevant to real world conditions. Winter driving is unpredictable. Drivers encounter many different types of snow, for example, and driving along a road through varying altitudes, sun exposure, wind conditions, and human activity vary snow from loose powder to hard pack to bare pavement and back again, constantly. But the most difficult challenge a tire will encounter is ice, which is pretty straightforward for humans to create and control. So, the ETRTO working group decided to focus on icy surfaces.

First published in 2021, the resulting specifies a course that, 鈥渟hall be flat, smooth, polished ice and watered at least 1 hour before testing.鈥� Air temperatures measured 3.3 feet above the surface must be between 5 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit, while the surface of the ice itself must be between 5 and 23 degrees. The standard also instructs that weather conditions like precipitation, blowing snow, and direct sunlight must be avoided. Brand new tires are used, but each is broken in for 62 miles on bare pavement before initial testing, and 3 to 6 miles between each test run. Michelin鈥檚 Standard Reference Test Tire is used as the control, and must be the same size and load rating as that which comes standard on the test vehicle, and as the tire being evaluated, and both must be inflated to pressures specified by the vehicle manufacturer. Test runs are then conducted while braking from 15.5 miles per hour to a dead stop.

I asked Sunnari why the braking test was chosen rather than, or in addition to, acceleration or lateral grip. 鈥淲hat we decided in the very beginning of the development of this method was that we need the simplest possible way to segregate the tires upon the ice grip,鈥� he explains. 鈥淪o the easiest way was ice braking. And that is also creating the most safety. Acceleration is of course important from a mobility point of view, but it is not as important from the safety point of view. And when you have good ice braking properties on the tire, you probably also have good acceleration and good side grip.鈥�

鈥淭he short answer is we use the ice braking test because it鈥檚 the simplest way,鈥� continues Liukkula. He explains that Nokian uses a 2,300-foot long tent to cover its test course to eliminate environmental variables, and that the test must also be repeated three times on three subsequent days, with the control tire running both before and after the test tire. All runs are averaged at the end, and to earn the ice grip symbol, a tire must demonstrate an average stopping distance at least 18 percent shorter than the reference tire.

Is an 18 percent difference at 15 MPH really a significant advantage? 鈥淭he relative performance between the tires is not changing if you change the starting speed,鈥� says Liukkula, going on to say that you can continue to extrapolate that same percentage difference as speeds increase.

That鈥檚 something demonstrated in this video Nokian put together. 40 kilometers per hour is just about 25 miles per hour, and we can easily see here that the difference between an all-season (what Nokian labels a summer tire), and a winter tire wearing the ice grip symbol (nordic non-studded) is a full 197 feet. The ice grip symbol tire also stops 65 feet shorter than a 3PMSF tire (what Nokian labels a Central European winter tire). That could be life or death, even at such a low speed. Or the difference between a ski day, and a very expensive tow to a body shop.

What about the performance of the studded tire? Nordic countries 诲辞苍鈥檛 plow their roads clear of snow like we do in North America. Studs wear to the point of uselessness in as little as 1,000 miles when driven on bare pavement. While studded tires may offer some benefits over standard winter tires when new, the studs wear out so rapidly in North American conditions that they aren鈥檛 a great choice here.

Nokian currently sells one tire without studs in North America fitted with the ice grip symbol鈥�. But more should be on the way, both from Nokian and other brands. 鈥淚鈥檓 quite sure they will come in the very close future,鈥� says Sunnari. 鈥淧robably the next products they will launch they will also have the ice grip mark. We have developed this method together with Continental, Michelin, Pirelli, and Bridgestone.鈥�

One of the great tragedies associated with winter tires is that, even if you and I go through all the expense and effort of swapping onto them each season, we鈥檙e still only as safe as the drivers around us. Without incentives like reduced insurance rates or government mandates, there鈥檚 no way to improve that situation. But that鈥檚 actually the most exciting thing about the ice grip symbol. Since it finally gives us a standardized ability to define true winter capability beyond 3PMSF, it opens the door to official recognition of what a true winter tire is, and the benefits that tire can bring not just to individual consumers, but to all road users in areas that experience winter weather. Right now, winters are only required in a handful of European countries, some areas of Japan, and Quebec. A little sidewall stamp with three icicles hanging from the peak of a mountain could be what finally changes that.

How to Use Winter Tires

Since winter tires are such a novel concept to American drivers, I think it鈥檚 a good idea to include some basics in any article about them. I鈥檒l keep this as brief as possible, linking to more information.

• This article provides a more detailed explanation of why studs aren鈥檛 applicable to North American roads.
• This article explains why all-wheel drive is not a replacement for winter tires.
• This article includes many fun examples of people driving badly on the wrong tires, as well as an explanation of why you 诲辞苍鈥檛 want to rely on chains.
• This article contains my current recommendations for winter tires for 4x4s, trucks, and crossovers.
• 贬别谤别鈥檚 an article about all-terrain tires.
• How do you afford winter tires? In the five years that most car purchasers own their vehicle, you鈥檒l need two sets of tires anyways. Moving that purchase up, to buy a set of winters, doesn鈥檛 add any money to that total, while potentially saving you all the costs associated with a crash.
• Winter tires are safe to use in warmer weather, but wear out quickly in temperatures above 45 degrees. Either pay a tire shop to remove and store your summer tires every October, then refit them and store your winters every April, or purchase an additional set of wheels, mount your winters to those, and mount/dismount them yourself whenever needs dictate.
• What should you do if you live somewhere warm, and only visit winter? You鈥檙e spending a ton of money on that hobby already. Delay the purchase of the latest set of skis until next year, and instead spend that money on a set of winter tires mounted to a spare set of wheels. Put them on before every trip, then take them off after. Driving in winter is too dangerous to go unprepared.

The post Recognizing This Tire Symbol Might Save Your Life This Winter appeared first on 黑料吃瓜网 Online.

Meet AspectAvy, an app made exclusively for skiing and riding in the backcountry using avalanche data to help users better predict when and where catastrophic events will occur in real time.听

鈥淭his one app has the ability to save hundreds of lives in the backcountry every year,鈥� Co-founder Jeff Banks explains.

鈥淪tatistics on avalanches show a clear relationship between the stability of the snowpack and the slope angle in which avalanches occur,鈥� 鈥淲e use this information to provide recommendations that take the guesswork out of determining where the safe slopes are.鈥�

Since the 2020 through 2021 season, there have been approximately 84 U.S. deaths in the backcountry due to avalanches, according to the . The vast majority of deaths are skiers which almost always double than any other activity including hiking, or snowboarding.听

The team behind AspectAvy, a tech designer and an American Mountain Guide Association trainer and test administrator believe that all of these deaths could have been prevented, and that if users had been closely following the app they may still be here today. The app will take into account live data from the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, which works much like a fire safety danger sign that you may see outside of a campground or state park and rates avalanche conditions based on a variety of factors. The scale also notes that there are different danger levels depending on the elevation a skier is traversing through.听

The app will also take into consideration which are generated through four different factors including the type or description of the avalanche, the location, the likelihood of an avalanche occurring, and the potential size. While it is nearly impossible to predict exactly what type of avalanche will occur, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center notes that avalanches have myriad personalities and the four factors will help predict as closely as possible.听

In addition to the data from the avalanche danger scale, and avalanche problems the app will offer a map feature that will give users the safest possible route through the backcountry based on the information available. Using , the same technology used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration AspectAvy will help users find the path of least danger for a backcountry tour.听

鈥淟idar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth,鈥� according to the NOAA. 鈥淭hese light pulses鈥攃ombined with other data recorded by the airborne system 鈥� generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.鈥�

Finally, the app will offer coaching to help users find their 鈥渂lind spot鈥� and address what might be keeping them in harm鈥檚 way, 鈥淲e help riders identify their blind spots by coaching them to avoid their biases, improve their planning and execute on processes that will effectively manage their risk,鈥� according to the app.听

The app launches in the app store for iPhone today, and you can . The creators note that the app is not a substitute for formal avalanche training.听

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Are you ready to drive safely this winter? Long nights, cold temperatures, slippery surfaces, and airborne precipitation all combine to make the coming season uniquely challenging. Taking care of some basic maintenance tasks before those conditions set in can boost safety, and help keep you comfortable. Just a few simple tweaks can prepare your car for winter. Most of this stuff is easier than you鈥檇 think.

Traction

Tires, not all- or four-wheel drive features, provide traction in winter weather. Unfortunately, the tires that come with new vehicles鈥攏o matter if they鈥檙e crossovers, 4x4s, or whatever鈥攁re incapable of providing that winter traction. So, if you live or visit places that experience below-freezing temperatures, you need to swap on a set of winter tires.

There is no official standard, stamp, or guidance defining what a winter tire actually is. The Three Peak Mountain Snowflake and Mud and Snow stamps you find on tire sidewalls are meaningless. Instead, rely on tire manufacturer marketing materials to tell you whether or not a tire is designed for winter use. And it can be hard to distinguish realistic claims from outright lies. In the absence of that information, my best advice is simply to select a tire from Bridgestone鈥檚 Blizzak or Nokian鈥檚 Hakkapeliitta ranges. The Blizzaks can be found at most large tire shops or even at Costco, and provide reassuring confidence in cold temperatures and winter surfaces. Hakkapeliitta鈥檚 can be harder to find (especially right now, as the war in Ukraine has shut down some of the Finnish brand鈥檚 plants and shipping routes), but are also higher performance. I鈥檝e already got mounted to both my trucks this season.

I get a lot of questions from readers who want to start using winter tires for the first time, but are confused by all the ins and outs of buying and fitting them. A quick explanation is that in the five years or so most new car buyers keep their vehicles, you鈥檒l need to purchase a second set of tires anyways. Bringing that purchase forwards to include a set of winters uses money you were going to have to spend, and potentially saves you the costs associated with a crash. Find a tire installer in your area who can swap your tires around during the fall and spring, use one of , or purchase a second set of wheels, mount your winters to those, and swap the wheels/tires yourself. That last option is what enables residents of warm places to safely visit mountain towns and ski resorts.

Every 10-degree change in ambient temperature will reduce or increase tire pressure by 1 pound per square inch. Check tire pressures regularly, especially while traveling.

Charge

Cold temperatures can quickly deplete a battery鈥檚 charge, or even permanently destroy it. Clipping a $70 to the terminals and plugging it into a standard home outlet will maintain a battery鈥檚 charge, and prevent it from freezing.

Car batteries have a useful life of three to five years. If your battery is approaching that age now, or you鈥檙e unsure, then replacing it now will ensure your car is able to start this winter. is designed to continue working as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cold temperatures can also damage the batteries in portable jump starters. Carrying one of those is a good idea, but you should transport it in the heated passenger compartment, and store it inside a temperature controlled home or garage when your vehicle is parked.

Lubrication

Changing your engine oil at least twice a year is the easiest thing you can do to extend your vehicle鈥檚 useful life. And oil flows slowly in cold temperatures, stressing your engine. Consult your owner鈥檚 manual, and choose an oil viscosity appropriate for cold weather, then change it and the filter while your driveway is still warm and dry.

While you鈥檝e got the engine bay open, check the coolant and transmission fluid levels too. Your owner鈥檚 manual will give you maintenance intervals for both.

Also examine the condition of hoses and belts. Cold weather will put additional stress on those components too.

Vision

If your vehicle uses reflector headlamps fitted with halogen bulbs, those bulbs will grow dimmer over time, and should be replaced once a year as a result. Despite ample online claims to the contrary, LED bulbs are unable to match the even light distribution of halogen bulbs, and will decrease vision if installed in a reflector housing, even if they do appear brighter.

Consult your owner鈥檚 manual and follow the prescribed procedure for checking the alignment of your headlamps. New vehicles are often sold to customers without ever having their lights adjusted, and lights can move out of adjustment over time. Misaligned headlights will limit the distance you鈥檙e able to see at night, and can blind other drivers.

Hydrophobic glass coatings like can prevent precipitation from sticking to windshields and headlights, but must be applied in above-freezing temperatures, so now鈥檚 the time to re-apply those as well.

Ice can quickly accumulate on standard windshield wipers. Winter wiper blades feature a shielded blade that prevents ice build up.

Heat

Most new vehicles are now fitted with cabin air filters that require regular replacement. These are typically located behind your glovebox. Accessing them can involve a complicated procedure; putting your vehicle鈥檚 year, make, and model, plus 鈥渃abin air filter replacement鈥� into YouTube is the easiest way to figure it out. A clogged filter can slow the rate at which your cabin heats up while putting stress on your climate control system.

On older cars, ensuring the coolant system and belts are in good condition, and have been changed as the vehicle鈥檚 maintenance schedule dictates will help ensure your heater works when you need it.

If your car has been exposed to road salt for several winters, it may also be a good idea to crawl under it and examine the exhaust system. Those rust easily, and any holes or cracks may allow carbon monoxide to enter your cabin while idling.

Preparedness

Even with winter tires, a steep, icy hill or very deep snow can still cause your vehicle to become stuck. The easiest, safest, and most effective way to get unstuck is with a set of . DIY alternatives like kitty litter or floor mats cannot come close to the reliable efficacy of Maxtrax.

Snow accumulation can also hide road hazards like potholes or debris, and the lubrication water provides makes it easier for for sharp objects to penetrate the rubber carcass of your tire. Make sure your jack and spare tire are in good condition, are actually in the vehicle, and that you know how to use them. Carrying a can of can remove the need to try and change a tire in the dark, on a roadway narrowed by snow accumulation.

Throwing spare jackets and boots, a blanket, and other items you already own in your vehicle can give you not only the ability to respond to an emergency, but also give you flexibility to respond to changing weather conditions in your normal life. Storing water and even non-perishable food items in a cooler may help prevent them from freezing.

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