This video is of a skier riding a small wet avalanche on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, CA a long way while wearing a helmet cam yesterday, March 20th, 2012.

Look how fast he gets going.  It was very fortunate that he did not encounter one of those trees.

Can you feel the sense of helplessness that he is experiencing?  Avalanches are no joke at any size.  This avy was small, but it could have thrown him off a cliff, slammed him into rocks or trees.

*We are very very happy that this skier ended up safe and sound.  We also appreciate the guts it takes to share this sort of video experience.  We’d love to see constructive comments from you all as we learn from this experience.*

Today’s avalanche danger is still MODERATE.

Let’s be very careful out there in the Tahoe Backcountry today and please don’t forget to use this resource:

SIERRA AVALANCHE CENTER

Two  important take aways from this are the Red Flags of temperature rise and snow saturation.  

1 – If you are seeing roller balls or snow snails in the backcountry, that is telling you that the snow is being saturated for the first time which means that it is going thru an unstable phase and should be avoided.

2 – When temperature goes up rapidly, that is another Red Flag that the snow is changing and becoming less stable.

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