Hiking in an Avalanche’s Path

Back country avalanche training reveals the true dangers of weak snow pack

"By doing a number of different strength tests on the snow pack, we were able to determine if there is any faceting, where it is, how it's going to react to pressure, etc."

Get the inside scoop on avalanche safety training in Breckenridge, from our blogger Ali Gingras. She shares her eye-opening experience as she hiked 4 1/2 hours up a snowy mountain side, through avalanche paths, and learned how to create mini-avalanches.

Ali learned how to dig snow pits to determine where the snow was the strongest, reactions of different snow layers to one another, and how a combination of these factors could cause a life threatening avalanche. Take a look through Ali’s eyes as she trudges her way through one of Colorado’s dangerous avalanche alleys: See What I See: Avalanche Safety Field Day 1