Mainstream Ski Magazines Contribute to Avy dangers?

[Micol]

I received a free subscription to SKIING magazine for buying a season pass for a local resort this year. In the October 2009 edition there is an article titled "Is Your Slope Safe" . The author tells his story of starting a slide near Breckenridge. The article then attempts to provide the reader with some basic and brief avalanche information. This consists of about 1/2 a page. The article commits another 1/2 page to "Where to Learn" and "Gear". Which I am assuming makes it responsible journalism.

Further along in the magazine their is a BC gear review and advertising of skis, bindings, boots, and packs spanning 8 pages. Now, in my opinion there are already niche magazines out there for AT and Tele. Does this information need to be circulated to those who may get 1 or 2 ski trips a year from points all over America and the World? (the SKIING magazine demographic) Will readers really commit to educating themselves by taking one of their two ski vacations at the "Where to Learn" spots. Or, will they just pull over on the side of I-70 in their rental car and hike up? Do you think injecting the idea into the head of the general ski population that skiing in the back country is a mainstream endeavor that only requires reading an article and buying some gear endanger others? e.g. skier induced slides sweeping skiers below or jeopardize SAR members executing a rescue in risky terrain?

Your thoughts?

[moose pit]

Meh...
First off avy danger is slope, aspect, topography, weather, and snowpack. I really doubt that a ski magazine influences any of those.

Risk being in a slide on the other hand might be influenced in a certain demographic - males that are half decent resort skiers, bought the gear, have little to no backcountry/avi knowledge or experience.

Do ski videos contribute?

Ads in all ski magazines?

The sale and promotion of touring gear for side/slackcountry?

I bet that if you put a bunch of guys in a room kit them out with some new gear (powder boards, touring boots and binders, skins, maybe some avi gear - a helmet cam ) then feed them the usual ski p0rn and some outta bounds propaganda you could count on a good number of them getting into some trouble, maybe even all of them.

Lots of OB incidence occur when some idiot just follows some tracks.

[Hacksaw]

Being in the avalanche safety education business, I often stand there and shake my head when I see what the mainstream ski magazines write about avalanche safety.

Recently POWDER magazine (October 09', page 52) has an article by Mike Hattrup (respected AMGA ski guide) about "Cutting and Navigating Cornices."

It's an interesting article, and apparently is one of the first in a series of backcountry travel tips. Hattrup talks about being careful around cornices and in cutting them, etc, etc....

But....

No where in the article does he say anything like, "Before you start cutting a cornice, make sure that there is no one below you in the avalanche run-out zone." Wouldn't you think that is kind of important?

He also doesn't mention that when you drop a huge chunk of cornice on a slope, you might get an avalanche and it turns out to be A LOT bigger then you anticipated. Example: there is a You-Tube video out there of some guys cutting a cornice and not only do they get the slope below them to go, but they get the rest of the bowl to go too...

I have no idea if these little omissions are Hattrup's fault or some POWDER editor's. I have the feeling that it was an editor, looking to cram an article into a single page. But, these kinds of omissions do make me seriously wonder if these magazine guys are trying to help or hurt...

[Micol]

MP
I guess I left out the most obvious risk. The to the person who I described, the article reader somewhere in Georgia or Arizona or something. With regard to films. I believe in the older days of movies it was not always so obvious to the lay watcher that the skier they are watching is not at a resort. But, now its like the tag. Its the "in" thing. I looked at a thread like 2 months ago on New Schoolers to get an idea of who they are and there was a thread on "if you had all the money" what would you want. They almost all said a helicopter with chicks and booze. Now, some might have been joking but many said seriously a "snowmobile". So, I think we are going to see an increase in "guests" out there. And, for the record, I like helis, chicks, and booze.

HS
I suppose in the end it becomes a numbers game. The article I read stated 54 deaths last year in US and Canada. I'm sure a decent percentage were sledders. But, the more mainstream press bc skiing gets, the more the numbers will increase. I also agree that the editors probably take out pieces of important information so the article or ads all fit on a page. I just think accidents are going to escalate due to the increased awareness that you don't have to buy a lift ticket to ski. As, for helping or hurting. I don't think their intent is to hurt, but the editors are requesting copy that sells, and I think that's a problem.

[LightRanger]

Hacksaw,

I'm pretty sure those "Hatt's Tricks" sections, or whatever they're called, are actually K2 ads and not Powder articles. I don't know who has control over that copy.

[QuikR12]

Coming in with the the perspective of a backcountry JONG, i'd say this type of journalism along with anything else that provides stoke for any risky activity increases that risk for everybody, but at the same time i think its a responsibility to educate the reader of the potential dangers that may lie ahead.

TGR for example, has provided a lot of motivation, and assistance for that matter to get me into the backcountry, but it was also the other members on here that gave me a good schooling on how to get prepared (let alone invited to tour with them) with avy education before i was ready. So i guess any responsible advertisement of a backcountry experience targeted at newbies would well caution the risk to themselves and others.

I too like heli's, chicks, and booze, in that order.

[Hacksaw]

Hacksaw,

I'm pretty sure those "Hatt's Tricks" sections, or whatever they're called, are actually K2 ads and not Powder articles.

If that is the case then I really am scared that folks may read this stuff and take it as gospel...

[CookieMonster]

Interesting questions. Do car magazines lead to car accidents? Do climbing magazines lead to climbing accidents? I don't believe product advertisements are responsible for backcountry idiocy. Perhaps manufacturers should not sell the product to people who cannot provide proof of competence. ( God help, me I'd never be allowed to buy another engagement ring again! )

[Ben C]

I agree- just cause you see something on a magazine page, doesn't mean you should go out and do it- the responsibility is the reader/skier's and his alone.

I think BC magazine does a good job of discussing out of bounds adventure but keeping you grounded with a healthy dose of avy awareness to help you understand and manage risk. Reading that mag convinced me to take an avy class before I ever went out of bounds unguided.

And yet, there are definitely certain ski industry media that do a disservice by being overly cavalier about avy danger. I think of (among many stoke films) the circa 2002-4 Warren Miller joints that show some guy triggering a gigantic hard slab avy. And the crack sound effect is only eclipsed by dialogue that doesn't do any kind of justice to the danger portrayed. Missed opportunity to teach the viewer a lesson.