Item: ADAPTING THE RESPONSE ASSESSMENT AND DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT (RADEMS) TOOL FOR AVALANCHE HAZARD AND TERRAIN EVALUATION IN U.S. SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
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Title: ADAPTING THE RESPONSE ASSESSMENT AND DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT (RADEMS) TOOL FOR AVALANCHE HAZARD AND TERRAIN EVALUATION IN U.S. SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Jennifer A. Reddy [ Avalanche Training Institute, Jackson, WY, USA ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Search and rescue (SAR) teams in the United States are increasingly called to respond in avalanche terrain, yet most operate without a standardized scope of practice or training requirement governing who may assess avalanche hazard and risk for a mission. The Response Assessment and Decision-Making Support tool (RADeMS) originated in a BCSARA-led, SAR-NIF–funded project (2012–2013) It provides a general risk-versus-capability framework for SAR decision-making, but was never built with an embedded avalanche hazard and terrain assessment component. In British Columbia that function is filled upstream by Emergency Management BC's (EMBC) 2.08 GSAR Winter Response policy. Most U.S. avalanche search and rescue (AvSAR) teams have no equivalent policy, and many field rosters lack a qualified avalanche professional to forecast avalanche hazard or assess the avalanche risk. This paper describes an avalanche-focused adaptation of RADeMS: embedding a rapid Dangerator-based danger rating, an estimated ATES assessment of the travel route and incident site, and a qualification check confirming that the assessor's training is sufficient for the resulting danger/terrain combination. If any mission where the maximum ATES rating is Complex or Extreme and the danger rating for the travel route or incident site is High or Extreme, a hard escalation rule requires that the mission be assessed instead through a full Conceptual Model of Avalanche Hazard (CMAH) worksheet and avalanche operations plan completed by an avalanche professional, rather than relying on rapid screening alone. These outputs feed RADeMS's existing Operational Risk and Response Capability scores, plotted on a risk matrix to structure a GO / review / reduce-risk conversation. More broadly, this paper argues that U.S. teams operating without an externally mandated scope of practice carry the full burden of building their own defensible, auditable reasoning for committing or withholding personnel.
Object ID: ISSW2026_O12.6.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098542
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Jen Reddy
Keywords: RADeMS, avalanche search and rescue (AvSAR), ATES, Dangerator, risk assessment.
Page Number(s): 1858 - 1855
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