Item: HUMAN-AFFECTED SNOWPACK: DISTURBANCE, COMPACTION, AND SNOWPACK DEVELOPMENT IN MOTORIZED TERRAIN
-
-
Title: HUMAN-AFFECTED SNOWPACK: DISTURBANCE, COMPACTION, AND SNOWPACK DEVELOPMENT IN MOTORIZED TERRAIN
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Shena Thomas [ Mountain Stash Adventures, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Soul Rides, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Canadian Motorized Backcountry Guides Association, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ]
- Jeremy Hanke [ Mountain Stash Adventures, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Soul Rides, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ] [ Canadian Motorized Backcountry Guides Association, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Human activity is routinely visible in avalanche terrain, yet its role in snowpack development is often summarized with broad terms such as "tracked," "packed," or "compacted." Those descriptions rarely identify how deeply snow was affected, how much terrain was altered, when the interaction occurred relative to layer formation and burial, or whether it reached a layer of concern. Previous controlled studies show that systematic boot packing and ski compaction can alter snowpack properties and stability-test responses when disturbance reaches relevant layers, while snowmobile research shows that repeated use can change physical and mechanical snow properties and that trigger penetration influences stress transmission. We present a practitioner-led case observation from Joss Mountain near Revelstoke, British Columbia: a repeated-use motorized corridor beside lower-use snow, with paired Snow Pilot profiles recorded on the same day. The lower-use profile recorded ECTP25 and CT 15 SP near 75 cm; the repeated-use corridor profile recorded ECTX and shallower compression-test breaks, together with distinctly different recorded layering. The sites were paired with contextual observations rather than experimental controls, and causation is not established. Instead, the case exposes an observational gap and motivates future work using concise human-interaction descriptors - penetration, extent, pattern, use history, and layer relation - to structure future observations of human-use history alongside snowpack development and potential fracture behavior. The resulting observation concept has implications for research comparability, professional observation, forecast interpretation, avalanche education, and communication with recreational users.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P4.28.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790099316
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Shena Thomas
Keywords: Human-Affected snowpack, observing and recording, disturbance, compaction, motorized terrain, snowpack development
Page Number(s): 1223 - 1230
-