The mountains are a dangerous place in wintertime, and there’s no way around that fact. They’re also one of the most fun places to play. That’s whether you’re skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, mountaineering, or just out for a stroll on a snowy trail. People are drawn to the mountains to recreate on snow-covered slopes despite their hazards.
There are ways to manage the risk, though, so that you can enjoy whatever winter activity you’re engaged in, to its fullest. You just have to know what to look for and how to avoid dangerous situations. As Jason Antin puts it in Out There’s recent video, backcountry safety is all about knowing how to identify the “Four Horsemen of Mountain Hazards.”
Anton is a well-established mountain guide and safety expert. In the video, he distills the many dangers of recreating in the mountains into four “horsemen.” He goes into some of the ways people can avoid those, and how you can be prepared to deal with them if they’re encountered.
It’s a great safety primer ahead of an epic backcountry ski season. Check out the video to learn how to identify the “Four Horsemen.”
