Four avalanche check stations established

A donation from the Northern Rockies Avalanche Safety Workshop has allowed the Flathead Nordic Backcountry Patrol to buy and install four avalanche transceiver check stations at popular backcountry access points throughout the area.

The beacon check stations, which run on battery power, automatically check to see if a person’s avalanche transceiver is on and working. The person wearing a transceiver must stop within range of the device. A green light indicates the avalanche transceiver is on and working, and a red light means it isn’t.

Signs next to the devices remind backcountry users to carry a shovel and probe and provide tips on avalanche safety, including contact information for avalanche updates from the Flathead Avalanche Center, online at www.flatheadavalanche.org.

Three of the check stations have been installed at backcountry access points off Whitefish Mountain Resort — at the top of Flower Point, which provides access to the Canyon Creek area, at the summit of Big Mountain and on Taylor Creek Road, the access point for Hellroaring Peak.

Both Canyon Creek and Hellroaring Peak have been the site of avalanches in the past, including a fatal avalanche in Canyon Creek in 2008. The fourth check station is located in the Middle Fork of the Flathead River area at the Marion Lake-Essex Creek trailhead.