Item: FROM THE CHIC-CHOCS TO THE SEA-TO-SKY CORRIDOR: BACKCOUNTRY USER PREPAREDNESS
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Title: FROM THE CHIC-CHOCS TO THE SEA-TO-SKY CORRIDOR: BACKCOUNTRY USER PREPAREDNESS
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Élodie Brousseau-Gaumond [ Independent Human Factors Researcher, CAA Avalanche Practitioner, Squamish, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Backcountry ski touring and splitboarding participation continues to grow across North America, raising the question of how preparedness is expressed among current backcountry users. This paper characterises avalanche safety preparedness among self-guided backcountry groups using two Canadian field datasets: a 2017–18 baseline from the Chic-Chocs (Parc national de la Gaspésie, Québec; 78 groups, 250 individuals) and a 2025–26 study in the Sea-to-Sky corridor (British Columbia; 48 groups, 133 individuals). Trailhead intercept interviews recorded avalanche safety equipment, formal avalanche training, rescue-step knowledge, terrain selection, and comprehension of the day's public avalanche bulletin, including danger rating and avalanche problem identification. In the Sea-to-Sky sample, 97.9% of groups were fully equipped and 100% had at least one formally trained member. Rescue-step knowledge was also high, with 89.6% of Sea-to-Sky groups naming five or more companion-rescue steps. Despite this, when group leaders were asked to state the day's official danger rating and avalanche problem(s), only 71.4% matched the Avalanche Canada danger rating exactly and 65.3% correctly identified the forecast avalanche problem. These findings suggest that, in a population where equipment, formal training, and rescue knowledge are widespread, an important dimension of preparedness may lie beyond access to gear and training, in the accurate comprehension and interpretation of avalanche bulletin information in the field.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P1.43.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098809
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Elodie Brousseau
Keywords: backcountry recreation, avalanche safety, preparedness, avalanche bulletin comprehension, human factors, Sea-to-Sky corridor
Page Number(s): 1650 - 1652
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