JEFFERSONVILLE, Vt. (AP) – With several feet of fresh snow in the mountains, rain and wide temperature swings, experts say avalanches are possible on some Vermont mountains.

While no one can remember any avalanche deaths in the state, people in Vermont do occasionally get hit with walls of snow coming down a mountainside.

“Offhand, I’d say there’s been half a dozen cases in the last 10 years that people have been caught,” said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Viljanen, an instructor with the Vermont Army National Guard’s Mountain Warfare School.

Smugglers Notch, the backcountry away from the similarly named ski area, is one of Vermont’s prime risk areas for avalanches.

That’s partly because of the steep terrain and partly because it is one of the state’s most popular spots to ice climb, backcountry ski or snowmobile.

Avalanches occur when the weight of the upper part of the snowpack is more than underlying layers can support. They are most common in Utah, Colorado and Alaska, where heavy snowfall makes avalanches a constant risk.

To be sure, Vermont’s mountains are not as prone to avalanches as larger, stormier mountains elsewhere in the world, but any backcountry area in the state can produce dangerous snow slides, Viljanen said.

Vermont has no systematic avalanche warning system, so outdoor enthusiasts should always be careful, he said.

Groomed ski trails at Vermont resorts are regularly checked and patrolled. Skiers there face virtually no risk of avalanches, Viljanen said.

People need to be careful Mark Gabel, the retail manager for Climb High. The outdoor gear retailer with stores in Shelburne and Burlington is planning an avalanche-safety class in January.

Gabel said backcountry enthusiasts should always go into the wilderness with friends. They also should carry transceivers, which are devices to help find people buried in avalanches, Gabel said.

Gabel said a couple of ice climbers were caught in an avalanche in Smugglers Notch two weeks ago but escaped unscathed.

AP-ES-12-21-03 1302EST