{"id":801783,"date":"2019-11-26T18:06:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T01:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=375116"},"modified":"2019-11-26T18:06:24","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T01:06:24","slug":"summit-search-and-rescue-group-urges-backcountry-recreationists-to-use-caution-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-search-and-rescue-group-urges-backcountry-recreationists-to-use-caution-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit search and rescue group urges backcountry recreationists to use caution this winter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The path of an avalanche in Summit County in 2018. <\/strong>
Courtesy Colorado Avalanche Information Center<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

FRISCO \u2014 Snowfall has been relatively slow to start back up after a prolific October, but temperatures are beginning to cool and snow is starting to pile up in the Colorado Rockies.<\/p>\n

More snow means more adventurers taking to the wilds of Summit County\u2019s backcountry to meet the lure of undisturbed powder and sink into the quiet of Colorado\u2019s landscapes. But on occasion, that quiet can turn to chaos, and anyone heading off the beaten path this winter should be prepared for the worst.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people will be coming to the county soon and will be interested in going into the backcountry,\u201d said Charles Pitman, a public information officer and mission coordinator with Summit County Rescue Group. \u201cSome people are more prepared than others, and that makes it a challenging season for us not knowing what\u2019s happened when our pagers go off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitman noted that the search and rescue team \u2014 an all volunteer, nonprofit group that operates under the purview of the Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office \u2014 gets about 150 calls for assistance a year. And while a majority of those calls typically come during the summer months, when more casual recreationists don\u2019t have to trek through the snow, winter calls can be considerably more complicated.<\/p>\n

Skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers and snowshoers often venture off set trail systems, meaning it can be difficult for search and rescue teams to identify exactly where they are. And the winter months bring new challenges for individuals in the backcountry aside from getting lost, including avalanches, extreme weather shifts and hypothermia. Still, the risks haven\u2019t stopped the number of backcountry enthusiast from growing year after year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur numbers have definitely been going up,\u201d Pitman said. \u201cI think that we have at least double the amount of calls we did just a few years ago. Part of that is due to better equipment. Your skis are better, and you can get farther; snowmobiles have a lot more power and can get you up hills they couldn\u2019t before.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there are also a lot more people recreating. And part of the culture these days is wanting to press your boundaries. That\u2019s good. We\u2019re a group of search and rescue people, and we love the outdoors. But there\u2019s a way to do it safely and to be prepared, as opposed to just grabbing a piece of equipment and charging into the backcountry with no skills whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitman recommended that anyone heading out should start off with a basic backcountry skills course or avalanche safety course, getting hands on training in how to use equipment properly, how to recognize avalanche terrain and more.<\/p>\n