New Avalanche Danger Scale

For 2011 there’s a new Avalanche Danger scale put out by the USDA Forest Service National Avalanche Center and Parks Canada.  The new scale reduces some of the uncertainty of the preceding scale, provides more authoritative avalanche safety advice for backcountry travelers, skiers, climbers, and snowmobilers.  The new scale incorporates risk by referring to typical avalanche sizes expected, and utilizes icons recently adopted by European countries.

Do you use safety precautions in the backcountry when traveling in avalanche terrain?  Have you used a clinometer, Avi Beacon, or received AIARE training?  If so we’d be interested in hearing what they are, post comments-reply to this post.