Last week was Safety Week in Jackson Hole. Put together by Teton Gravity Research, the seven day event featured Avatech, Ortovox, FATMAP, Atomic, Brooks Range, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort along with a host of athletes, all aiming to get the word out about backcountry safety.
Designed with skiers, riders, and travelers of every ability and experience level in mind, the week long assembly of industry leaders aimed to provide some insight into the world of backcountry travel. Along with input from athletes, like Angel Collinson discussing a crash in the newest piece of content put up by Safety Week organizers, TGR put together a comprehensive video feed of content covered from the event for tips and advice when heading out of bounds.
Co-founder and CEO of TGR, Todd Jones, explains that the idea behind developing a comprehensive week of information with a number of players in the ski and snowboard industry was aimed at more and more enthusiasts getting into the backcountry.
“Our films depict the beautiful allure of backcountry skiing and we feel a need to educate our fans that backcountry travel is not something you can just go do. Our athletes have so much training yet still travel with guides who know the region we are in. Right now there is an explosive trend in utilization of national and state forest backcountry and resort sidecountry, especially by younger and uneducated or less experienced travelers. When you pair that premise with new avalanche safety technology and gear that makes going deeper very easy, the odds for accidents go through the roof,” he said.
The video library put together by TGR has some pretty great resources for everyone, with tips on first aid kits, decision making from top skiers and riders, smartphone apps for up to date avalanche information, to information about assessing victims in the field and performing CPR.
For an over encompassing look at some basics, check out the Backcountry Travel Guide from REI and TGR, or our own Backcountry 101 primer. Neither of which is a substitute for an out-of-bounds education, but rather starting points for those looking to dip their ski tips into the world of snow and avalanche safety.
