Fresh powder is the bomb and California has plenty of it this week. After getting puked on in late January and into February, this 2024-2025 winter has been finishing strong, with the region’s largest storm of the season finally showing up this week. Some resorts in Tahoe, for example, have reported multiple feet of fresh snow and it doesn’t take more than a minute of scrolling any social media feed to see some insane images of whiteouts at summits across the Sierra Nevada.
The flip side of that deep powder coin, however, is that it can also present some of the most dangerous scenarios a skier or snowboarder will come across. A slight detour off your everyday groomer and into a seemingly innocent tree line can quickly turn into a deadly run.
Last winter, Ski California created a short safety video for times like this, reminding skiers and snowboarders that the fresh snow brings potential threats. They also laid out some basic safety steps everybody should keep top of mind right now:
-Always ride with a partner.
-Avoid tree wells by looking for the open space between trees, not the trees themselves.
-Keep that partner of yours in sight at all times.
-Stay close enough to dig one another out should either fall into a well.
-Have safety equipment ready. This includes charging your phone, wearing helmets, having the number for ski patrol, and ride with a beacon and a whistle preferably.
