Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Sammy Linebaugh ReportingIt's the first of its kind in Utah, aimed at teens and twenty-somethings: a "Know Before You Go" program specifically addressing avalanche danger. The video is designed to make students think twice before heading to the backcountry unprepared.
Avalanches caught on tape. Testimonials of those lucky enough to survive.
Matt Goodwill: "It happens. It doesn't matter how good of a rider you are."
It's all part of an action-packed, high adrenaline video hitting junior high, high school and college campuses along the Wasatch Front.
Craig Gordon, Utah Avalanche Center: “Basically what we’re trying to do is prevent any more avalanche deaths here in Utah.”
Craig Gordon with the Utah Avalanche Center said it was a scene near Sundance last year that prompted him to take a safety and prevention message straight to the schools. Three snowboarders lost their lives in an avalanche. Gordon says a quick call to check the avalanche forecast would have told them conditions that day were way too dangerous.
Cameron Carpenter: "All of the sudden the whole hill just dropped and jerked forward."
Cameron Carpenter lost his best friend to an avalanche and is traveling to schools with Gordon to get the message out-- anytime you're heading to the backcountry, be prepared.
Cameron Carpenter: "Brad and I had a lot of plans that ended the day he died."
Alex Whitley: "I'm definitely going to be more cautious, that's without a doubt."
Lindsey Adams, Backcountry Snowboarder: “Probably should go out and buy some trackers and stuff like that.”
Randall Crail, Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School: “A lot more conscious and worrying about our friends and remembering what we need to have with each other.”
One of the great things students get will be stickers they can put on the back of their snowboard or skis, which have the avalanche hotline number. The information is constantly updated and arms them with information before they head out.
Know Before You Go--four words that could be the difference between a day of play and disaster.
