Item: Diverse challenges: Avalanche Forecasting for the Department of Conservation in Fiordland, New Zealand
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Title: Diverse challenges: Avalanche Forecasting for the Department of Conservation in Fiordland, New Zealand
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2014 Proceedings, Banff, Canada
Authors:
- Penelope H. Goddard [ Canadian Avalanche Centre, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2014-09-29
Abstract: The management of avalanche safety in Fiordland National Park poses diverse challenges. In 2013, the Department of Conservation overhauled its programme to combine expert avalanche forecasting, track closures and travel restrictions, snowpack modification, rule-based decision-making and education to mitigate the avalanche hazard. Challenges included managing poorly-prepared hikers on tracks while concurrently directing the avalanche terrain exposure of biodiversity workers spread remotely across the wider region. Maintaining communication with all affected parties and gaining adequate field data to support the programme were also key issues, requiring new solutions. Extremes of weather cause avalanche problems to change very quickly, with variance from size D1 glide slabs in unforgiving terrain to size D5 plunging avalanches, with considerable risk to National Park users at both ends of the spectrum. The new avalanche programme developed creative solutions to deal with its broad-ranging tasks and will be of interest to any operation forecasting for very large areas or in extreme maritime climates, or those managing avalanche risk exposure for recreationalists.
Object ID: ISSW14_paper_P3.35.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: risk management, walking tracks, maritime, remote, vast area
Page Number(s): 1045-1048
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