Avalanche Beacons Help Safeguard Taos Youth on the Slopes

The natural environment surrounding Taos provides many opportunities for youth to participate in winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding, freeriding, and alpine racing, through organizations like the Taos Winter Sports Team (TWST). However, kids with fewer financial resources often lack access to critical safety equipment like avalanche beacons, which allow for the rapid location of a child buried in snow, significantly increasing their chances of survival in the event of an avalanche. At the urging of a TWST participant’s mom, an employee reached out to LOR with a solution: purchase avalanche beacons and collaborate with Taos Ski Valley and the Avalanche Training Center to provide all their snowsport athletes with avalanche safety equipment and training.

LOR’s support will cover the cost of 80 avalanche beacons to help ensure the safety of all youth participants, including Special Olympics athletes, for years to come.