A study in Canada that looked at avalanche fatality data over the last three years has found that snowmobilers are more likely to die than skiers. If you consider that snowmobilers can cover a lot more ground and therefore traverse more avalanche-prone terrain, it makes sense that they’d be more likely to get caught in something catastrophic.

A group of risk scientists from fields as varied as food borne illness and terrorism gathered at Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon for a demonstration on how the local authorities deal with avalanche risk. After pointing out the irony that blasting Howitzers and firing artillery literally over homes and into the canyon’s avalanche chutes is one of the better ideas, the reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune shared this:

Little Cottonwood experiences several times as many avalanches as other stretches of road in North America and more than 50 structures have been hit by snow slides. Considering the amount of traffic on SR 210 during ski season, avalanche experts say it is one of “the most dangerous highways in the world.”

So far, only one person has died when hit by an avalanche on the road. One death and this is the most dangerous stretch of highway in the U.S.? If experts on risk analysis are coming back with this kind of data on LCC, I’d double check their other findings.

For years the only way you could get the Utah Avalanche Center’s updates was by calling in and listening to the day’s phone recording. This presented a problem for skiers with a penchant for spendy 1-900 numbers who’d had their phone lines cutoff by the phone company. Then they got a website that would get updated throughout the day, but the crew working at the UAC found that most of their internal communications during the day were made via text message. Twitter was a natural move to keep people updated. So far they have about 315 followers and only 18 tweets; there must not be a lot of action. You can follow them here.

Expect to see more of these near catastrophes now that GoPro cameras are on top of everyone’s skulls. This one was shot at Mt. Baker.

Utah folks, step up and buy your ticket to the Utah Avalanche Center Fundraising party being hosted this year at the local Black Diamond factory on the east side. A measly $35 gets you loads of Uinta beer and some Mexican grub from Rico, plus you can rest assured that you’ve built up some good karma when you’re sitting under the snow, Avalung clamped in your teeth, listening to the friends walking overhead trying to dig you out.