Item: THE DANGER ZONE
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Title: THE DANGER ZONE
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Steve Conger [ Snow Knowledge, Golden, BC, Canada ]
- Colin Zacharias [ Courtenay, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Too many avalanche workers have made the decision to position themselves or coworkers, helicopters, snowcats, or vehicles, in the run out of an avalanche path when the risk is too high and avalanches have run full path. This paper introduces the initial part of our investigation to understand the context of the problem and to identify themes that may improve the safety of avalanche workers and those they are responsible for. The information for this investigation is based on a survey directed to avalanche workers in Canada and the U.S. This paper specifically looks at the following topics: a) How to uniformly describe this avalanche character. b) Is there a pattern of surprise among experienced avalanche workers regarding avalanches of this character? c) Is there useful but isolated institutional knowledge that can be shared? d) What are the next steps?
Object ID: ISSW2026_O11.5.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098518
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Steve Conger
Keywords: risk, relative size, destructive size, forecasting, professional incidents, near-miss, full-extent
Page Number(s): 1707 - 1714
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