Avalanche is a real and present danger. Carry and know how to use avalanche equipment, including transceivers, probe poles and shovels. A wall of moving, suffocating snow leaves few survivors in its wake. The best way to avoid an avalanche is to understand avalanche conditions and reroute your trip to avoid them.

Avalanches occur when loose snow or a slab of snow starts moving down a slope. They are triggered by a variety of slope, snow and weather conditions; many times they are triggered by human impact. Slope conditions to watch out for are steep slopes or smooth, open slopes. Short slopes can be as dangerous as long ones. Leeward slopes are dangerous because wind-deposited snow adds depth and may create unstable slabs of snow.

Avoid avalanches by staying away from mountainous terrain after heavy snowfall or prolonged periods of high wind. Avoid crossing steep side hills or entering narrow, steeply sided canyons. The safest routes are on ridgetops and on the windward side, away from cornices. The next safest route is out in the valley, far from the bottom of a slope.

If you are caught in an avalanche:

• Call out so other members of your party can track your location.
• If snowmobiling, discard all equipment and get away from your snowmobile.
• Make swimming motions and try to stay on top; work your way to the side of the avalanche.
• As you feel the avalanche slow, try to thrust your hand, other part of your body or ski pole, above the surface.
• Before the snow settles, slip your arm in front of your face to clear an air space.
• Try not to panic; you need to conserve oxygen.

If you are a survivor, you are a victim's best hope of survival:

• Mark the place where you last saw the victim and keep your eyes fixed on the moving mass of snow in which he or she is trapped.
• Search for the victim directly downslope from the last sighted area when the snow stops moving.
• Use a ski pole or stick to probe the snow.
• Stay with the victim unless help is only a few minutes away; after 30 minutes, the victim has only a 50 percent chance of survival.
• If the victim is found, treat for hypothermia, suffocation and shock.

Avalanches may occur at any time during the winter. The evening before your planned snowmobiling trip, call for a regional avalanche report.

For Northwest Montana: 406-257-8402 or http://glacieravalanche.org.

For Southwest Montana: 406-587-6981 or http://www.mtavalanche.com.

For West Central Montana: 406-549-4488 or 800-281-1030 (in Montana).

For the Cooke City area: 406-838-2341.

For the West Yellowstone area: 406-646-7912.

Nationally: http://csac.org/Bulletins/ or http://avalanche.org/.

Know the basics of avalanche safety, and avalanche rescue. You'll find a brief overview here, but the best way to learn is to enroll in a course on avalanche safety.