The National Weather Service Forecasts-

TODAY...SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 32. NORTHEAST WIND TO 10 MPH BECOMING SOUTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 14. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO
15 MPH.

FRIDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 31. NORTHEAST WIND 10 TO
20 MPH.

The snowpack in the region continues to remain stable. The current cold weather and dry conditions in the region are keeping conditions fairly constant.

Avalanche danger will remain low until there is a significant change in the weather.

We will continue to see moderate TAKU wind activity but with essentially no snow available for transport avalanche danger will remain low.

How to Dig for an Avalanche Victim

When you picture yourself trying to rescue your friend from an avalanche, chances are you imagine frantically looking for where he is buried. But locating a victim with a transceiver and probe is the easy part; it?s the digging that takes the longest. In uncovering an avalanche victim, you?re going to have to move 1-2 tons of snow?that?s no easy task.

Thus, understanding how to dig efficiently and effectively is one of the most important keys of avalanche victim rescue.

If the victim is buried under a meter or less of snow, just start digging like a mad man. But if they?re buried in snow that?s over a meter deep, you should employ one of two different digging strategies, depending on how many people you have with you.

If you have a big group of available diggers, use the ?V-shaped conveyer belt? method. The rescuers line up like a flock of geese in a ?V.? The front person does the digging, and moves the displaced snow just a little ways behind him. The two people behind the digger then push the snow to the people behind them, and on down the line. The front person is rotated every minute or so, so that the digger remains fresh.

If it?s just you and the buried victim, you?ll want to employ the ?strategic digging? method.

When you locate someone with a probe and know exactly where they are in the snow, you don?t want to dig straight down into where the probe is sticking out of the snow. The probe might be at their legs, and when you dig down, you may shovel snow behind you and onto their air pocket, collapsing it. And you?ll end up with a cone-shaped hole that?s not at their airway.

Instead, shift downhill from the probe, about 1.5 times the length of the depth the victim is buried, and start digging into the side of the slope, straight into the buried person. To save more time and energy, shovel the snow out to the side instead of behind you, until the snow rises to your waist?then start moving it downhill. Uncover their face and clear an airway as soon as you can.

If there are two available shovelers, position one just downhill of the probe, and the other downhill 1.5 times the depth of the buried victim. You should both start digging the hole, moving the snow to the side. When you have to lift the snow above your waist, start shoveling it downhill?the digger furthest downhill works on keeping the hole clear as the front digger keeps shoveling into the victim.

Another advantage of strategic digging is that you can create a platform onto which you can pull out and then work on the victim. From this position, it will be easier to clear their airway, perform CPR, and administer first aid, if needs be.