This winter’s snowfall will last a long time and probably draw more folks into the mountains than usual.

Many will eventually be bored of the standard ski runs and plowed tracks, or just the crowd, and head to the backcountry.

A few will not come back alive.

This has been one of the worst winters for avalanches and deaths by avalanches in the North Cascades and the Olympics, due to a combination of snow, rising temperatures and rain that creates dangerous conditions.

Just because you’re an experienced snow rider, even an experienced backcountry snow rider, doesn’t mean you’re an expert in avalanches.

The smartest action would be to take an avalanche class or seminar. If you won’t, here are some tips from the Washington Trails Association:

Call the avalanche hotline (206-526-6677) for the latest in mountain weather and avalanche conditions. Call the ranger station nearest where you plan to go.

Choose the right hike. Popular summer hiking trails such as McClellan Butte, Granite Mountain or Snow Lake become deadly avalanche hotspots in winter. Don’t assume an easy summer day hike will make a good snowshoe trip. Consult a winter recreation guidebook to find the best low-risk snowshoe routes.

Let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.

Pack the Ten Essentials, plus some more. Carry a topographic map, compass, extra food, extra clothing, fire starter, matches, sun protection, pocket knife, first-aid kit and flashlight, water, adequate extra clothing, a headlamp or flashlight and extra batteries, extra food and emergency shelter.

Learn navigation skills. It is much easier to become lost in winter because the snow obscures landmarks and the trail, and clouds obscure identifiable peaks. Map and compass skills are essential for winter backcountry travel.

Learning opportunity: North Cascades Institute’s winter line-up includes Skagit Valley Birding Bonanza, Birds of Bellingham Bay (aboard a boat), Natural History Backroads: Hidden Skagit, Ecology and Conservation of Trumpeter Swans and Natural History Backroads: Hidden Whatcom.

Go to the Web site (www.ncascades.org) or call 360-856-4500, ext. 209.

Olympic National Park: With limited parking and no snow bus this winter, park staff is urging Hurricane Ridge snow-seekers to carpool.

The Hurricane Ridge Road closed to uphill traffic several times recently because the parking lot was full. When this occurs, vehicles are stopped for up to an hour at the Heart o’the Hills entrance station; once parking spaces become available, vehicles are permitted to head to the Ridge.

Weather permitting, the Hurricane Ridge Road is scheduled to be open 9 a.m. to dusk, Friday through Sunday, through March 30, as well as on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, Jan. 21) and Presidents Day (Monday, Feb. 18).

Recorded information about the road and weather conditions is available 24 hours a day at 360-565-3131.

Messy beaches: Unified by the goal of combating marine debris along Washington’s coast, eight partners have joined together to become the Washington Clean Coast Alliance.

The participants represent government agencies, service clubs and nonprofits, including the Surfrider Foundation.

The WCCA wants to increase public awareness of the threats and causes of marine debris and will sponsor more beach cleanup events.

Clean-up events scheduled for 2008 include Washington Coast Cleanup Day, April 26; Long Beach Summer Cleanup, July 5; and Operation Shore Patrol, Sept. 20.

For more information and to sign up for events, visit www.coastsavers.org.

Brant count: Although the state Department of Fish and Wildlife counts brant in Skagit County to see if the hunters can fire away, those numbers can be interesting to the curious. Hunters were given the green light when nearly 9,200 brant were counted during an aerial survey of Fidalgo, Padilla and Samish bays.

According to waterfowl section manager Don Kraege, brant numbers climbed again this year and the wintering population is back around the long-term average. Last year only 6,100 birds returned to Skagit County.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.