Staying Safe

In the recent years more than one third of all avalanche deaths were snowmobilers, according to the U.S Snowmobile Avalanche Fatalities. Historically, over the last 45 years, less than seven percent of avalanche deaths were snowmobilers. Of these deaths, most of the victims were improperly prepared to be in the back country and survive an avalanche, having little or no safety equipment.

If you want to stay safe, and be a steward of safety in the back country, here are steps and equipment you should take,

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Non-Equipment Safety Tips

First and foremost, the best way to prevent injuries and death in the back country is education. There are several courses offered in back country safety. Washington state, one of the statistically higher areas for snowmobile deaths, also has a lower percentage of riders who have completed a level one course. Check out Avalanche.org for more information.

In addition to always carrying the equipment below, regular checks on that equipment should be done at the start of the season, and before your rides. The day you forget to check your equipment could be the day you need it most.

Lastly, even though you have an airbag, there are only so many situations they can help. Ride with safety in the slope or run-out area, your airbag works better not at the bottom of an avalanche. Your airbag is not a replacement for proper education, habits, or other equipment.

What Equipment Should I Bring?

The three most important pieces of equipment to always carry with you when snowmobiling no matter what are: a beacon, a probe, and a sturdy metal shovel. There are also pre-made avalanche safety kits including all three. These safety equipment may seem expensive, but when the safety of you and your squad are in question, these are all necessary and well worth it. Make sure you get a metal shovel, as a plastic shovel doesn’t have what it takes to cut through the dense snow in an avalanche, and could break before you even need it. For beacons, opt for a 3 antenna beacon, offering better range, and very importantly, depth.

After you have your most necessary gear, it’s also important to carry additional gear, including but not limited to:

Two-way radios in case anyone in your group gets lost
Sun protection, even if bundled up, the snow can reflect enough light to burn you when you least expect it.
Food and water
First aid supplies
Proper insulated clothing (if your feet are getting cold in the back country check out this guide to stay warm).

Don’t Sacrifice Performance for Safety

If there ever was something to sacrifice performance for, safety would be it. However, thanks to modern technology and snowmobile racks such as the Mo Pros Ajoosta GR Large rack, you can securely bring all the safety equipment you need, plus more, keep your backpack light, and strengthen your snowmobile, in addition to additional benefits detailed here.

What to Keep in Your Pack

In order to stay light and shred the best you can, you should only keep a limited amount of things on your person, in your bag. These include your water, snacks, beacon, probe, extra goggles, and extra gloves. The rest you can keep on your snowmobile rack, worry free and safe in a water proof bag, holding all your necessities and more.

What to Keep on Your Rack

On your sled you should have a snowmobile rack, allowing you to not only carry the aforementioned safety gear, waterproof bags, but also your shovel, skis, snowboards, and a myriad of other possibilities.

On your rack you should keep all the other safety equipment you bring. This will keep you lighter and less encumbered not having to worry if you’ve got your gear and if it’ll be safe.

Skiers have all at one time or another experienced icy cold feet while on their ski trips, and no matter what you do at the time, it can seem impossible to keep your feet warm. Fret not, there are several methods to keep your feet toasty whether you’re skiing for an evening or a week straight.

Proper Socks

Growing up, I never thought about the socks I wore skiing, opting for the same socks I would wear with sneakers. This was also one of the simplest and easiest to correct mistakes I made while skiing.

How do you choose the right socks?

There are several factors to consider. First, how bulky are your socks? When skiing you should be buckling your boots tightly to protect your ankles and ski better, and if your socks are too bulky they can bunch up in the boots, constrict your leg and cut off your circulation. Opting for thinner socks can make sure they stay taut to your leg and keep blood flowing to your feet.

After you get some thinner socks, you may be tempted to double them up like you might with a jacket; however, this will reduce the breathability of your socks leaving you with sweaty feet, making the cold even worse. Modern ski boots often also have extra built in breathability, keeping your feet drier and warmer, which if they won’t be able to do as well with extra socks.

Another factor to consider is the material used in the socks, merino wool, wool, or some synthetic blends will be best to wick away the moisture and keep your feet warm.

Some ski sock recommendations are Darn Tough or Smart Wool ski socks, both of which I’ve owned several pairs of over the years and in addition to their comfort and great designs, they have both offered the great breathability you expect from good merino wool socks.

Heat Those Socks

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There are several options for heated ski socks, battery powered socks that will keep your feet warm while you ski. These socks have discreet pouches for the batteries and heat your feet while still maintaining some breathability. These socks however, are also often much bulkier than the socks mentioned above, have a higher potential to make your feet sweaty, especially when skiing hard.

Hothands , the makers of some of the disposable hand warmers you might be used to slipping into your gloves also offer stick on disposable warmers for your boots that will last your whole time on the slopes and keep your feet warm. These have similar drawbacks to the heated socks, reducing the breathability of your socks. You may also find it difficult to fit your feet into your boots with these on, as they add some bulk to your socks, but these are definitely one the more inexpensive options.

Proper Ski Boots

It may seem like you’re tightening your ski boots too far, constricting your feet and reducing blood flow, however, if you don’t tighten your boots enough, or have too large of boots, you will have to clench your toes reducing blood flow.

Before worrying about if you’re buckling your boots to the proper tightness, you have to make sure you have properly fitting boots. The best way to do this would be to go into your ski or outdoor shop and try on boots to find the best fit. This will make sure you have the best support from the boot itself and not relying on the buckles to support you, leaving your foot achy and sore.

There are also online tools and boot fitting charts to help determine your size before hand.

Once you’ve acquired the perfect boots, a proper buckling technique will go a long way in keeping your feet warm. First, lean forward in your boots as if you were skiing. Then, if your skis have a Velcro “power strap” at the top of the boot, tighten that to insure the boot is snug for further tightening. Next, the most important buckle is the one closest to your ankle, the one lowest on the top half of your boot. This should be tight enough to hold your boot snug against your shin and not allow wiggle room for your foot. After this work from the top buckle down making sure they’re all snug but you still have circulation in your feet. Readjust as needed.

Heat Those Boots

The Mo Pros Hot’N’Shreddy ski boot bag is the first heated snowmobile ski boot bag on the market. This fully waterproof bag will heat your boots up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit keeping your boots and other equipment warm without the worry of warping your heat molded ski boot liners.

While it’s perfect for those who snowmobile, with easy installation it’s also perfect for anyone driving up to the slopes. Included with every Hot’n’ Shreddy bag is a 12V car adapter plug, allowing you to heat up your boots on the way to the slopes or during your lunch break.

The Hot’N’Shreddy bag is also prefect for ski racers, rushing in between races in sub zero temperatures worried about the cold where many ski racers accept that frostbite is a good possibility. Leaving your boots in the Hot’N’Shreddy bag overnight and in between races will afford you warm, soft easy to slip on boots before each race. The bag warms up in the matter of minutes, making even the smallest break an opportunity to heat up your boots. The Hot’N’Shreddy bag is also a superior option to many built in options as it reduces the need to add weight and bulk onto your boots or socks.

Another option to keep your boots toasty is to use a heated insole but they can get a expensive. These are very similar to the aforementioned heated socks, using batteries, most often mounted on the side of the boots to power insoles that you install between the liner of your boots and the boot liner. There is typically some installation required and all heated insoles don’t work with all boots, so make sure you know which one is right for you.

Mo Pros Hot’n’Shreddy Heated Ski Boot Bag

Snowmobile Safety in the Back Country