When I first ventured on the mountains in my teens, I can remember my father telling me about avalanche and how it can be a curse for a skier. He told me about snow packs, snow stability and most importantly he taught me the art of digging the perfect snow pit. His narration is quite vivid in my mind.

Whenever I go skiing or snowshoeing, I make sure that I check the surface stability by digging a pit. If you are a newbie and have no knowledge of snow pits and avalanches, I recommend that you make use of my tips which are the result of my years of experience in the snow.

1. Avoid Avalanche Affected Areas

Scout the area that you will be visiting and gather as much information as possible before starting your ski session. If the zone that you will be skiing in has a history of avalanches, skip the area. Unless you cannot find any other area nearby for performing your activities, do not ski or snowshoe on dicey terrain.

2. Learn About Avalanches and Safety Procedures by Taking a Course

Not everyone has a trainer as accomplished as my father. If you have no knowledge about snow pits and how to analyse them, take a safety course. As avalanches claim many lives every year, getting trained is the best thing you can do.

3. Dig Your Snow Pit in a Relevant Area

You should always dig your snow pit in an area which is representative of the location that you will be using. Always search for a test slope that won't put you in danger if it slides. You can start on slopes that seem to pose no threat, and then make your way to slopes that are more likely to cause an avalanche. The art of finding the right representative location can be quite tricky. To learn the nitty-gritty of snow pit digging, a course or a lesson from an expert could be quite useful.

 

4. Use your ski pole for probing

I always probe the area with my ski pole. I push the surface till I meet some resistance – if it gives way and suddenly falls through, then I know I have found a weak spot. Probing for a representative depth is important, so avoid digging on top of a rock.

5. Shovelling Snow

Make a hole which is about the width of your ski length. Keep your snow pit depth between 1.5 and 2 meters, unless you know you need to go deeper to analyse weak layers. Remove the snow on the downhill side of the slope by shovelling, and push it behind you. This will create room for you to work.

Testing Snowpack Stability

Get a snow saw, a cord, and a shovel. Test the snowpack in the pit by running your hands over it. Weak layers will quickly crumble and strong layers will stay intact. Upon getting the necessary details about snowpack, smoothen the area using the snow saw. Now, you need to isolate snow columns for testing. This can be done by performing a shovel-sized test (30cm wide by 30cm up the slope) and an "extended-column" test (90cm wide by 30 cm up). Use a cord to measure the column section and isolate it by cutting it with a snow saw.

Stress/Stability Test

Place your shovel blade on top of the column and use your wrist to give it 10 firm taps. Then use your elbow for 10 more taps and finally use your shoulders for 10 more taps. Observe the column and check if it breaks down. If you see a clean shear with tapping from the wrist, it is a clear sign of avalanche danger. However, a weak "slump" observed after tapping from the shoulder cannot be deemed dangerous.

Pro Tip:

From my personal experience, I have learned that spending too much time digging one big snow pit is not the best approach. We are searching for patterns, so instead of one massive snow pit, dig several small ones, and perform rigorous stability tests to ascertain avalanche danger.