Item: Use of Recco System to Locate Buried Roads in a Winter Environment
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Title: Use of Recco System to Locate Buried Roads in a Winter Environment
Proceedings: Proceedings of the 1994 International Snow Science Workshop, Snowbird, Utah, USA
Authors:
- Mike Stanford [ Washington State Department of Transportation Avalanche Control, P.O. Box 98, Wenatchee, WA 98831 ]
Date: 1994
Abstract: Each winter, Stevens Pass, the North Cascade Highway, and other Washington state highways which pass over the Cascades, are covered with a blanket of snow. When enough snow falls on some of them to create a threat of avalanching onto the road and a danger to the public, they are closed for the season. When the spring opening is begun, there can be an average of 10-15 feet of snow on the road (flat snow), and where the road is effected by slides, there can be upwards of 100-150 feet (avalanche debris). To test the practicality of using the RECCO rescue system for the purpose of locating a road in a winter environment, one hundred twenty six RECCO tabs were placed on three of these passes. On the North Cascade Highway, they were placed on key guardrail locations, and culverts that have been in the past a problem to find in the spring. Tabs were also embedded into the road just outside the fog line where the avalanche debris has a history of being deep, (100-150 feet on the average), and also where the location of the road is critical due to the narrowness. Tabs were also placed on two other mountain passes, Stevens Pass, and Chinook Pass. This paper will depict the results of our experiments with the RECCO system in a winter highway application.
Object ID: issw-1994-601-605.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Unknown
Keywords: avalanche rescue
Page Number(s): 601-605
Subjects: recco rescue system avalanche rescue
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