Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

Dean Cummings marks a first descent of Alaska's Meteorite Mountain.  Courtesy of Eric Layton and The Denver Post

By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post

Avalanche research is a dense science, with practitioners gathering books of intricate data and speaking a complicated language. While the scientific method is likely the best approach for learning more about the snowpack, terrain, weather and human actions that contribute to avalanches, effectively communicating that method is a challenge, especially as more skiers and snowboarders venture deeper into unmanaged terrain.

Professional skier and Alaska heliskiing pioneer Dean Cummings nine years ago developed a simpler approach to avalanche awareness that emphasizes the practical protocols that anyone can employ with their skis on their feet. While Cummings' "Be Snow Smart" program now reaches 30,000 Alaskan students a year through the North American Outdoor Institute, the 46-year-old father of two is only now pushing it into the Lower 48.

This month Cummings breezed through Colorado as part of a 26-city tour that featured an hour-long presentation of "Be Snow Smart" and a partial showing of his latest movie "The Steep Life," which details Cummings' life on snow as well his audacious descents of two previously unskied peaks in Alaska's Chugach Range​.

With Colorado the perennial leader in U.S. avalanche fatalities, Cummings hopes "Be Snow Smart" can help equip the state's growing population of backcountry travelers.

"I see lots of guys with transceivers and all these different levels of avalanche certification and they get confident," said Cummings, who grew up in New Mexico. "What we sometimes forget is that mountains are going to win no matter how good you are."

Read more about Cummings' safety tips for everyday snow riders.

Read more about avalanche safety here.