The scope of Social Media includes everyone and everything (even the hardcore skiers who spend more time on the mountain-side then they do a computer). In Montana, if you don’t ski, you have to ask yourself at least once a winter “why do I live here?” Montana contains amazing big-mountain playgrounds, all with a smaller ‘Rockies’ close-to-town feeling. From the Bridgers, to Lolo Peak, to the Glacier foothills of Whitefish; winter and summer in Montana are a mecca for outdoor activities.

Smart phones will soon be standard, and as cell reception gets stronger, more and more outdoor enthusiasts are going to rely on the social web. There is no better example of this, then mtavalanche.com. The “avalanche guys” are leading the way in social snow education, and giving a new meaning to the term avalanche-awareness. Through their Twitter account, MT Avalanche is able to post real-time messages warning Montana backcountry skiers, and snowmobile riders about unstable snow conditions in the area. Here is the latest tweet from www.twitter.com/avalancheguys

Many natural & human triggered slides Sunday: Buck, Beehive, Wyoming Bowl, Truman, Hebgen, Cooke. New pics today @http://bit.ly/7CUtDJ

Small 140 character or less messages like this have the ability to inform quickly and help save lives. Maybe you were planning on snowmobiling into Beehive Basin? Well, you need to know as much as you can about the current conditions. The key is to caution yourself when traveling into the backcountry of Montana. Mother Nature is awesome and exciting, but can be very dangerous at the same time.

Skiers have the ability to use smart phones to view current, and past conditions of the mountains they are hiking up. They can see recent photos, or find avalanches that have been geo-tagged using Foursquare or Gowalla. Twitter feeds can educate skiers on present avalanche conditions and snow stability. Even Facebook can be used to meet other skiers from the area; there is power in numbers when it comes to avalanches. It’s always better to go with others then to go alone. And utilizing the social web can only help, after all you can never be too prepared when it comes to outdoor safety.