Human Factors
You are the one making the final decision based on your knowledge, experience and the influence from other people in your party.
Whether you are skiing, hiking, or riding a snowmobile, traveling through avalanche terrain should be an actively evaluated risk. What is risk?
Actual Risk vs. Perceived Risk
Risk is the likelihood of an outcome, multiplied by that outcome’s severity. When moving through the backcountry, you continuously assess the risk and decide what to do based on the information you have. Unfortunately, people tend to take larger risks in avalanche terrain than they comprehend due to missing information, experience, or heuristic fallacies which lead to poor decisions.
Risk perception may vary from person to person depending on skill level and experience. Each of us makes calculations between the benefit of entering avalanche terrain, our skills to handle avalanche conditions, and the signs of avalanche danger that are present. But at the same time, we tend to be less rational in this process of making decisions than we might hope.
Mental shortcuts, or “Heuristics”
Familiarity
Social Proof
Scarcity
Commitment
Other avalanche factors...
Weather Factors
Temperature, wind activity, and loading of new snow can all impact the stability of the snowpack on any given day.
Read moreTerrain Factors
Recognizing avalanche terrain is therefore crucial and could prevent the possibility and severity of an avalanche.
Read moreAvalanche Types:
Slab Avalanches
A slab avalanche is an avalanche that loosens as a large, cohesive area of snow of snow and slides downwards.
Read moreLoose Snow Avalanches
A loose snow avalanche is an avalanche that releases from a single point and spreads downwards in a cone shape.
Read more