Item: HUMAN AVALANCHE EXPOSURE: A MISSING LINK IN REAL-TIME AVALANCHE RISK MANAGEMENT
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Title: HUMAN AVALANCHE EXPOSURE: A MISSING LINK IN REAL-TIME AVALANCHE RISK MANAGEMENT
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Jeremy Hanke [ Soul Rides, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ SKADI Foundation, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Mountain Stash Adventures, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ]
- Shena Thomas [ Soul Rides, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ SKADI Foundation, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Mountain Stash Adventures, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ]
- Iain Stewart-Patterson [ Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Regional avalanche forecasts and terrain-classification systems describe avalanche conditions and terrain, but they do not explicitly classify the dynamic layer of human involvement: where people are positioned, whether potential involvement is separate or shared, and who remains ready to respond. Human avalanche exposure extends across disciplines, yet activities can create different human-position patterns in the same avalanche environment. This practical paper presents the Motorized Human Avalanche Positioning System (Motorized HAPS), a practitioner-developed system for motorized travel using five descriptive states: None, Single, Separated, Overlapping, and Stacked. The states describe the current human configuration; they are not danger or risk ratings and do not prescribe one acceptable travel state. Motorized HAPS complements avalanche and terrain assessment by making changing human involvement explicit. The Readiness prompt asks who can respond, while rescue capacity is the deeper concept of capable response resources relative to the potential rescue problem. The framework draws on prior motorized travel and rescue work, practitioner experience, literature, and iterative scenario evaluation. It is presented as a motorized system first; transfer to other disciplines should be evaluated rather than assumed. Motorized HAPS remains unvalidated and is offered for field testing, inter-rater evaluation, incident-pattern review, and practitioner refinement.
Object ID: ISSW2026_FS1.3.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098395
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Jeremy Hanke
Keywords: human avalanche exposure; motorized travel; human positioning; avalanche risk management; rescue readiness; decision support
Page Number(s): 671 - 677
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