Articles

By Doug Chabot.  Poster presented at the 2004 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2004 ISSW, Jackson, Wyoming.

By Ron Johnson and Karl Birkeland. Paper presented at the 2002 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2002 ISSW, Penticton, British Columbia.

By Doug Chabot. Paper presented at the 2002 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2002 ISSW, Penticton, British Columbia.

A few years ago I was climbing in the Alaska Range. My partner and I were stuck 26 pitches up the first ascent of a mixed face five days into a seven-day storm. As I looked down the face covered with rockbands, couloirs and pockets of snow....

By Karl Birkeland. Paper presented at the 1998 ISSW, and to be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 ISSW, Sunriver, Oregon.

A Comparison Study of the Shredblock and Rutschblock Snow Stablility Tests by Andy Gleason. Presented at the 1998 ISSW, and to be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 ISSW, Sunriver, Oregon.

The Shredblock test is a field test to measure the relative instability of the snowpack in a backcountry setting with minimal equipment. The Shredblock test is based on the Rutschblock test but uses a snowboard instead of skis to load an isolated column of snow.

Methods

By Karl Birkeland and Cary Mock. Published in 1996 in Mountain Research and Development, 16(3), 281-286.

Karl Birkeland1, Ron Johnson2, and Scott Schmidt3

Abstract

The snowpack changes from year to year, even day to day but, the terrain on which snow falls remains constant. Understanding and recognizing avalanche terrain are critical tools for safe decision making in the backcountry.

During stable snow conditions, riding in avalanche terrain is safe and acceptable. When snow conditions are unstable, avoiding steep slopes and avalanche run out zones is key to avoiding avalanches.

Presented at the 2014 ISSW in Banff, Canada.

Conducting stability tests in avalanche terrain is inherently dangerous since it exposes the observer to the potential of being caught in an avalanche. Recent work shows that such exposure may be unnecessary since the results of extended column tests (ECTs) and propagation saw tests (PSTs) are largely independent of slope angle, allowing for data collection in safer locations.