Pre-Season Thoughts from Fritz Sperry 2020 COVID Edition

Around this time each year, for the past four decades or so, the stoke begins to build, usually with the release of the season’s first ski magazines. This is followed by the season’s new movie trailers and the hatching of ski vacations and mountain plans to come. For real skiers, the end of August is a time of childlike wonder, of dreams of face shots, first chairs, and whoops with the best of friends. What will the coming season bring was the question, in the year 2020 nobody knows for sure. Let us look at what has happened and try and learn from this to make better choices in the mountains.

The world and especially the United States is STILL in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States’ borders are essentially closed to most of the fun international skiing destinations and with close to 200,000 deaths we lead the world in fatalities. On March 14th Governor Polis closed the ski areas of Colorado for 10 days, most never reopened. In the ensuing weeks, there was an explosion of users in the backcountry as people had to get their glisse fix. People flooded easy to access destinations like Loveland, Vail, and Berthoud Passes and many were closed by state patrol and the Forest Service as well as Gilpin County closures and many others throughout the state, in an effort to alleviate parking violations around trailheads and even on the highways and roads. It seems overuse and misuse threatens all use. I really can’t fathom pass skiing, hitchhiking during a pandemic. Given this, how can we do better? And the most recent guidance from the state and Aspen Ski Areas.

As we get closer to the opening day of the 20-21 season we are starting to hear about ski areas opening plans. Winter Park and Loveland and Vail/Epic Resort have shared their thoughts on how they will try to mitigate the threats posed by COVID-19. One of the key elements is reduced users, along with keeping people outside more. A-Basin’s re-opening last spring will probably serve as a model for the many ski area’s new season plans. Fewer users at the ski areas means more users in the backcountry, because people’s need must be met. Arapahoe Basin Ski Area won’t require reservations this winter Ski area announces winter operating plan, targets mid-October opening. Jackson has also published guidance for their season and while not in Colorado they are nearby. It’s is interesting that they are limiting pass sales.

My friend Emilie Mock reminds us “that August and September are great months to get out on the trails and scout your potential BC zones. (Bonus training for those deep days.) It is incredibly helpful for route finding and overall familiarity to help mitigate risk when it really counts.”

There is little doubt that there is benefit from exercise but there are also potential issues for those returning from COVID infection as the virus seems to affect the heart. These are risks people should consider on exercise and especially backcountry skiing and split-boarding, as human-powered skiing is much more taxing than skiing at the ski area.

There is evidence that virus transmission is greatly reduced outside however I’m still going to wear a neck gaiter, for all of my interactions with other groups, I could be a carrier, they could be a carrier, it isn’t just about my freedom, it is about theirs as well. Freedom is about doing no harm. There is no harm wearing a mask while exercising despite what anti-maskers are claiming. 

So to all the newcomers, welcome to the backcountry, there may be boundless joy or ultimate sorrow. The powder can be the best of your life, but there is a very real risk to this sport that lies uncontrolled and it can be difficult to see the threats. Just because you dismiss a risk does not mean it won’t still kill you. You will need skills to ski what is most enticing. You must maintain control as the backcountry has no medical infrastructure or ski patrol performing avalanche mitigation. How do we learn these skills?

Avalanche education is a foundational element for the backcountry user. The American program is administered by guides, through the AIARE, check their website for classes in your zone. Colorado Adventure Guides recently shared their thoughts on skiing during a pandemic and some of the requisites for staying alive in a dangerous environment. 

Beyond the avalanche issue, there are other threats to consider. Knowing how to travel in the mountains is important. Learning the skills can be done through guides, the internet, or through reading some of the classics. Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills is a great place to start, though this book is more for mountaineering than skiing. Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper is my favorite avalanche book. Guidebooks can be a great resource for the threats posed by the lines you may be planning to visit. Many list avalanche hazards on the routes and classic threats posed by season. Check the guidebooks for less popular winter options to avoid the overcrowded passes, hitchhiking in a pandemic, really? IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide Mark Smile has “The Ultimate Guide to Backcountry Skiing & Ski Mountaineering” as an online class. This could be a great resource for people looking to expand their knowledge base.

Rob Coppolillo who is an IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide who grew up in the Denver Colorado area and currently lives in Chamonix, France, adds, “Consider adding Volken/Schell/Wheeler’s excellent book, “Backcountry Skiing,” to the reading list. Jimmy Oden’s “Freeskiing” is pretty good, too, if you can find it. He’s a Swedish IFMGA mountain guide living in Verbier.
My book, the Ski Guide Manual, a companion volume to the Mountain Guide Manual, comes out in November. It’s more geared towards an advanced user, but longtime skiers might dig it. Good post and nice to be thinking ahead….backcountry sounds like madness there in CO, so hopefully, people take a mellower approach to the season, compared to last spring…”

First aid knowledge and equipment are other important tools to have if you plan on stepping into the wild. Medical education can be as extensive as you’d like from simple first aid with CPR to a wilderness first responder to an EMT or a doctorate if you’re feeling motivated. Medical training isn’t for you, it’s for your group. So how educated are the people you plan to ski with?

With backcountry comes gear. The minimum is a beacon, shovel, and probe; along with a partner equally equipped and the knowledge of how to use them. AIARE has a class for this. There are also great internet demonstrations through your beacon’s manufacturer and the American Avalanche Institute. Speaking of technology, your phone may not work in the mountains, do you have the tools and the skills to navigate? Do you have the tools and skills to assess snow stability? Did you check the avalanche forecast? Do you know where you’re going?

With the increase in user density, we have an increased threat from the other groups around us. How we cope with the Human Factor can be a challenge. Groups dropping in on top of each other is the gravest danger. Communicating with other groups is of utmost importance. Be respectful and inquire about their destinations and work together to minimize overlap. Reduce your time under avalanche terrain to the bare minimum, utilizing non-threatening, low angled ascent routes. NEVER ascend avy paths in winter conditions. Your exposure and therefore hazard is exponentially increased, the more time in harm’s way the higher the likelihood of a bad outcome. Communication goes deeper than just other groups, group communication is also beyond important.

Should the worst happen and your party is involved in an accident remember that search and rescue groups and hospital beds may be in short supply due to COVID patients. Bringing more people into the COVID bubble of your group increases transmission risk. Going to hospital increases transmission risk. The backcountry is not a place for the novice or intermediate skier or snowboarder to learn the basics of turning. Have or learn the avalanche and mountain travel skills and let’s make every trip a round trip.

To the “experts,” this probably is not the season for pushing your personal limits. Time to dial it back and just enjoy the powder when it arrives. Here’s to another year of face shots, cold smoke, and laughs in the hills with the best friends I’ve ever known.

To the advanced users and pros out there, if you have anything to contribute please feel free as Rob did. We all benefit from a better-informed user population. And feel free to share this post to help get the word out, everyone’s access and safety are at stake.

This guidance is ever-evolving as our understanding of the restrictions that COVID-19 forces us to adopt. I will do my best to keep up with changes and add them as I see the need. I recently saw a question on the Colorado Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Forum on Facebook regarding backcountry huts. Here is the guidance from the 10th Mountain Hut System to help answer those questions of use and policy. The concept of sharing a hut with another party during a pandemic seems akin to hitchhiking and I’m glad they don’t allow it anymore.

For the beginner here is some advice written by Backcountry Babes AIARE Level 2 Scholarship Recipient, Emily Olsen.  Emily is an avid backcountry skier based in Leadville, CO, “Ten Tips for Getting Into Backcountry Skiing”

Let’s close with a link to the Know Before You Go video from Trent Meisenheimer and the rest of the team from Utah Avalanche.