Item: Tracking Snowmobilers to Understand Travel Behavior in Avalanche Terrain
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Title: Tracking Snowmobilers to Understand Travel Behavior in Avalanche Terrain
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2016 Proceedings, Breckenridge, CO, USA
Authors:
- Jordy Hendrikx [ Snow and Avalanche Lab, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA ] [ Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA ]
- Jerry Johnson [ Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA ] [ Snow and Avalanche Lab, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA ] [ Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA ]
Date: 2016-10-02
Abstract: This paper will present an analysis of snowmobile tracks from the 2015-16 winter season. Avalanche fatality statistics since 2000 shows that an increasing number of snowmobilers are killed in avalanches in the US, and over that period outweigh the number of backcountry ski / riders. This has been attributed to multiple factors including lower levels of avalanche education and awareness, high powered machines able to access increasingly exposed terrain, and a lack of knowledge about travel habits and decision processes. Using a similar approach as successfully employed to collect data from skiers, we collected GPS and survey data from backcountry / off trail snowmobilers. Preliminary data analysis, and comparison with our backcountry skier data set, shows marked differences with respect to terrain use by backcountry snowmobilers. These differences point to important avalanche education goals for snowmobilers. Typical trip lengths are typically an order of magnitude longer, average speed is higher, and total distance covered is much greater. However, the amount of time spend in avalanche terrain as a function of the total trip is typically less, but the number of avalanche terrain features encountered is typically greater. Unique to the snowmobile community is the added complexity of rider proximity, with many riders being out of sight of their partners for several minutes or more at a time, as well as a tendency to gather in groups at the base of potentially hazardous hillsides. Both practices have been implicated in multiple avalanche accidents involving snowmobilers. Our results provide the first analysis of GPS tracked snowmobilers moving in avalanche terrain
Object ID: ISSW16_P2.23.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: Snowmobiles, GPS tracking, Decision making, Avalanche terrain, Education
Page Number(s): 805-809
Subjects: decision making avalanche education snowmobilers
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