Maurice Kervin has spent 65 days snowboarding so far this season. Friday is a day he won't forget. On that day the snowboarder was caught in an avalanche.
Kervin had recently completed a Level 1 safety course through the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). Despite that, he did not avoid the recognized risk.
"I remember telling my buddy 'I don’t know man. I’m kind of nervous about this run, and if it goes it’s probably going to go big,'" said Kervin.
Nearly 40% of the people caught in an avalanche last season had taken a traditional style formal Level 1 avalanche class. About 70% had intermediate or advanced avalanche training. This mirrors previous research.
While the number of backcountry beginners involved in snow avalanches stayed similar before and after the pandemic and the number of intermediate users involved in avalanches actually decreased, the number of advanced skiers involved in avalanches spiked.
According to the avalanche study the results agree with previous research that has indicated that avalanche education does not reduce avalanche exposure.
