Riding Your Snowmobile

Anticipating Weather Conditions

Learn to read and anticipate snow conditions as well as the indications of avalanche likelihood and other weather-related risks.

Checking Before You Go

• Many public snowmobile areas have an Avalanche Center hotline. For current information on avalanche hazards, call the hotline for your area.
• Study the weather forecast. Weather conditions, such as temperature and wind, directly affect the slopes. Changes in the snowpack may occur quite rapidly and could trigger an avalanche.
• Familiarize yourself with the terrain where you will be traveling. Avoid steep slopes and gullies that are more likely to slide.

Remember ... If you don’t know, don’t go!

Operating in Whiteout Conditions

• A whiteout is the term that refers to a severe storm condition with blowing snow, wind drifts, and high winds with reduced visibility.
  • When the sky is overcast and the ground is snow-covered, the landscape may appear entirely white, with no visible horizon.
  • Distances are difficult to judge. Variations in terrain are not easy to recognize.
• Do not ride in a whiteout if you can avoid it, but if you must:
  • Be extremely cautious, and maintain a low speed.
  • Stay in familiar areas only, and watch for indications of hazards such as drop-offs beneath the snow.

Recognizing and Avoiding Avalanche Areas

An avalanche may occur on a snow-covered slope when the strength of the snowpack cannot support the extra weight from a snowmobile, skier, rain, or heavy snowfall.

• Learn to recognize and avoid avalanche terrain such as:
  • Areas where a slope is steeper than 30 degrees
  • Overhanging masses of snow or ice, often found on a ridge
  • Choosing a route that is close to dense timber, if possible
• Observe good safety procedures, especially relating to avalanches.
  • Travel with a partner or in a group. Make sure each person has appropriate rescue gear, including a shovel and a transceiver or beeper and probe.
  • Before crossing an unstable slope, look for possible escape routes should an avalanche occur.