00:00 Avalanches occur when a large or small amount of snow fails to stay in place and moves downhill at high speeds, posing a significant danger.

04:42 Avalanches are a big deal because they involve snow, a slope, and a trigger, and the stability of the snowpack depends on the shape of the snow crystals and the temperature gradient.

09:19 The stability of the snowpack depends on factors such as temperature gradient, rounding, faceting, and the presence of a failure layer, with anything except rounding leading to an unstable snowpack and the potential for an avalanche.

13:57 Avalanches can be rated on a scale from R1D1 to R5D5, with R5D5 being the most destructive and capable of traveling almost two miles.

19:02 Avalanches can be triggered by various factors, including weight, but in most cases, people are the ones who trigger fatal avalanches; avalanches consist of three parts - the starting zone, the track, and the run out, with the run out being the most dangerous as it sets up like concrete and can be deadly if someone is underneath it; techniques such as controlled burns and ski checking are used to prevent or interrupt avalanches.

23:46 Avalanches can happen anytime, but are most common in the winter and within 24 hours after a big snowfall; heavily logged areas are more prone to avalanches due to the lack of trees, which serve as anchors for the snowpack; the majority of avalanche victims are young males who engage in backcountry sports; the person who triggers the avalanche is the most likely to die, as they can be buried alive in the slab that comes down with them; to prevent avalanches, it is important to check local avalanche warnings, take a course in surviving avalanches, go with a buddy, and have a functioning beacon and other necessary equipment.

28:18 To prevent suffocation and poisoning while buried in an avalanche, it is important to have an inflatable vest, an Avalon device, and to perform tests to inspect the layers of the snowpack before engaging in backcountry sports.

33:02 If you are caught in an avalanche, try to outski it if possible, block your mouth to prevent suffocation, and try to swim your way to the top of the pile to increase your chances of survival.

37:46 If you are the first responder to an avalanche, you should go straight to the last place you saw the person, use your transponder to search the area, and do a sweep using an avalanche probe and shovel.

42:20 St. Bernards were never actually used as ski patrol avalanche rescue dogs, despite the popular conception that they were.