There is an argument to be made that there is an over-reliance on stability testing. You can spend all day digging snow pits to measure snow stability. Once dug, novices often have a hard time knowing what they are seeing. To be exact you need to dig multiple pits, since one pit dug in the wrong place will only tell you about that location and not conditions at large. Do you want to spend all day digging r do you want to go skiing? We traveled 170 miles in winter across the Colorado Rockies (twice) without digging any pits. We just gave everything a High rating and used defensive terrain selection to route around hazardous areas.

Ski tourers, unlike resort skiers, must often venture up slopes before they go down them. This automatically puts them under a potential hazard rather than skiing down on top of it. Small avalanche also set off bigger slides. If you get into a sizeable avalanche, you will get hurt. You may not get killed, but a life changing injury like torn ligaments and broken bones can threaten your continuing the sport or being able to hold down a job. Skiers always have a choice. They can wait for more stable conditions. They can ski around a suspect slop – it’s that easy. One should remember the old climber’s maxim: follow the route of lease resistance.

Image captions (looking at small icons on the left):
Top left: BIG FRACTURE – Gee, I’m glad I missed that one! At the fracture line, Denny Hogan Photo, Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Top right: Even sparse trees can hold enough snow to start an avalanche. Hanging Valley Snowmass Resort, Colorado.

Middle left: The Rutschblock Test uses body weight to test deep snowpack strength. This snowpack failed. Photo Courtesy Denny Hogan, CAIC, Silverton.

Middle right: Avalanche beacons increase the chances of a body being found (the condition of the body is not guaranteed). They are not ipods and should be carried within the clothing and not exposed to the elements. Vivesphoto.

Bottom left: Doing a shovel shear test. Digging a snowpit with a long handled shovel is easier, since you have more leverage and can move more snow faster. And, the longer handle is great for digging your deep longitudinal trenches for the Rutschblock Test. Carter Photographics.