Back country exploration and camping is very common in Rocky Mountain National Park. With that in mind, the rangers have created a place to safely educate everyone on avalanche beacons! Knowing how to use an properly can save your life, as well as someone else's...

The park is open 24/7 for back country enthusiasts to further hone their skills, but make sure you and your party are prepared; there are no rangers there. It was intended to provide people who already own and know how to use avalanche beacons a place for gain more field experience.

"They can go up there they can flip on a switch and turn on one to eight different transceivers in order to practice those skills in recovery and finding those people who are buried."

- Mike Lukens, a climbing ranger with RMNP

You won't have time to think about what you're doing if you're ever in the back country and yourself or someone you're with is buried in snow. Ideally, you'll go into auto pilot and your brain will kick in, drawing from your practice, in an efficient manner. After all, you only have about 15 minutes to get someone safely out of snowpack. Time is truly of the essence in this sort of situation!