Professional rescue workers spend hours practicing so that they can conduct searches quickly. A person caught in an avalanche can only survive for a few minutes. Williams explains that wearing a beacon increases the chances of finding an avalanche victim quickly, but the odds of survival are low. For some, he notes, they may provide a false sense of security. Throttle down your expectations.
Some people go into the back country with big plans for a day of skiing.
They want to climb a peak or travel far to an expanse of powder, and they forget to slow down and look for warning signs. Those are the people who usually get into trouble when conditions are bad. You've got to learn to throttle down that drive. In many popular back-country areas, certain slopes get a lot of traffic. As skiers travel over the snow they pack it down, and layers become bonded.