Blackfoot Challenge Outreach Series Timely Reminder for Avalanche Awareness

SEELEY LAKE - In the wake of the Swede Creek Avalanche fatality that occurred Jan. 23 in the Whitefish Mountain Range in the Flathead National Forest, the Avalanche Awareness class taught to area junior high students was a timely reminder of the dangers in the backcountry. Avalanche instructor and Seeley Lake resident Steve Thompson taught the class at schools in Potomac, Lincoln and Seeley Lake. It is a part of a monthly outreach series to schools in the Blackfoot/Clearwater watershed funded by the Blackfoot Challenge (Challenge) and organized by Challenge board member and Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) junior high science teacher Patti Bartlett.

Thompson currently is on ski patrol at Snow Bowl and has been an avalanche instructor for the past 30 years.

"There are a lot of people here that play out in the snow [highlighting that avalanches can affect snowmobilers, backcountry skiers and snowshoers] and we just want to make sure [they] stay safe out there," said Thompson at the opening of his presentation.

Thompson shared data that the Colorado Avalanche Information Center has been collecting since the 1950s. They provide records and reports on any avalanche injuries or deaths in the country.

The statistics showed that since the 1950s, the activity of backcountry touring has resulted in 249 fatalities, the most of any other activity. Snowmobiling is a close second with 238 deaths reported. In the last 10 years, snowmobiling has surpassed the number of fatalities of backcountry touring by 13.

Thompson explained that snowmobiling, as an activity, has caught more people in avalanches in the past ten years because the technology has advanced snowmobiles to a point where they can be ridden "straight up the mountain. Sleds can take you higher, further, faster," said Thompson.

Montana is ranked the fifth state in the nation from 1950-2015 for number of fatalities with 108 deaths. Colorado is first with 270 deaths across all activities. Thompson said it is because of their weather and the number of people that recreate in Colorado.

Montana moves up to second in the past 10 years surpassing Alaska, Washington and Utah with 39 deaths.

Last year there were only 11 people killed in avalanches in the United States because Thompson said there was a horrible snowpack that was dangerous.

"People weren't going out and recreating," said Thompson.

As of Jan. 29, there have already been 15 fatalities caused by avalanches in the country, with three being in Montana: the Swede Creek fatality, a Yellowstone Club ski patroller was killed in a slide and another snowmobiler was caught early in the year.

"Avalanches happen right around Seeley Lake," said Thompson. "We've had a number of people caught in avalanches. Fortunately, we have not have anyone die but it is always out there."

Students watched the video "Know Before You Go" that showed students what to watch out for, what to think about and what to look for when out recreating in avalanche country.

Thompson demonstrated the use and importance of three essential rescue tools when recreating in the backcountry: a transceiver worn by backcountry recreationists, a shovel and probe. Students also had the opportunity to look at a snow pit showing the different layers of snow from the various weather events this winter.

"The worst time to go out skiing or snowmobiling is right after a big snow. Mother Nature can get cranky and doesn't like change," said Thompson. "This makes for very unstable conditions."

Thompson was just one presenter for the Naturalist Speaker Series sponsored by the Challenge for the past two years. The series was started when teachers in the watershed expressed an interest to the Challenge in having natural and cultural resource experts visit their classrooms to deliver place-based curriculum.

"There is such a wealth of educational resources like this in our area, so it's not difficult to find willing folks such as Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Missoula Weed District, Jack Gladstone, the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program, to name a few," wrote the Challenge's Outreach Coordinator Sara Schmidt in an email to the Pathfinder. "I see it as another extension of the Challenge's partnership-centered approach. We achieve more when we work together." 

The Challenge officially started the program last year. All schools in the watershed including Ovando, Potomac, Sunset, Bonner, Helmville, Elliston, Lincoln and Seeley Lake are invited to Potomac, Lincoln or Seeley Lake once a month to learn about a variety of topics.

The Challenge pays for the transportation and speakers to work with the students. Bartlett organizes the speakers.

"My end goal is making better stewards of the land," said Bartlett. "If students know more about their landscape, they will be better stewards."