Credit Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center In the first week of February, avalanches in the United States killed at least 14 people. That's the highest number of deaths in a seven-day period for at least a century. Experts say it's partly because more people are out in the backcountry. "I think starting in March, with the closure of so many ski resorts, many people turned to ski touring in the backcountry in order to recreate outside in perhaps a safer way in the pandemic standpoint," said avalanche educator Jenna Malone. Malone works for the American Avalanche Institute. Most of the deaths are a result of a persistent slab avalanche problem. That means there is weak snow in the snowpack, andthe normal signs and stability tests that people are trained to do to avoid avalanches aren't there, Malone said.