Item: OPERATIONAL MEETINGS IN AVALANCHE OPERATIONS: IMPORTANCE, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE
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Title: OPERATIONAL MEETINGS IN AVALANCHE OPERATIONS: IMPORTANCE, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Marc R Piché [ Canmore, Alberta, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Operational meetings remain one of the central decision-making tools in avalanche risk management. In many field programs, they are where weather, snowpack, terrain, operational constraints, human factors, and organizational intent are brought together and turned into a plan. Despite their importance, these meetings are often treated as routine box-ticking exercises, even though they sit at the core of how teams build shared understanding, challenge assumptions, communicate uncertainty, and align risk treatment decisions. This presentation examines the operational meeting as both a legacy practice and a modern problem. It begins with a brief history of how these meetings evolved and why they became such an important part of professional avalanche operations. It then looks at what they still do well: building a shared mental model, supporting defensible terrain and program decisions, and providing experienced practitioners with a structured space to combine data, field observations, and judgment. It also addresses where operational meetings fall short. Common weaknesses include variable quality, time pressure, information overload, inconsistent participation, ineffective meeting space, over-reliance on dominant voices, and difficulty turning growing volumes of information into better decisions. Modern programs face additional challenges from increasing digital inputs, growing teams, communication technology, documentation demands, and the risk that more information creates more noise rather than more clarity. Rather than arguing for more automation or less human judgment, this talk challenges the avalanche community to better define which parts of the meeting process are best done by people and which could be improved through technology. The goal is not to replace discussion, experience, or intuition, but to support them. The presentation frames operational meetings, particularly in guiding operations but with relevance across field-based avalanche work, as an under-examined part of avalanche practice, and invites researchers, developers, and practitioners to collaborate on tools, including AI-enabled tools, that strengthen the process without undermining the human strengths that make it valuable.
Object ID: ISSW2026_O10.4.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098497
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Marc Piché
Keywords: avalanche operations, operational meetings, human factors, decision support, artificial intelligence
Page Number(s): 884 - 888
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