Advanced Avalanche Safety Equipment of Backcountry Users: Current Trends and Perceptions

Ng, Pearlly; Smith, William R.; Wheeler, Albert R.; McIntosh, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.wem.2015.03.029

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Overall proportions of survey participants carrying standard safety gear, recreating with companions, and having previously participated in avalanche preparedness courses were similar to numbers previously reported from surveys conducted in Utah, Wyoming, and Italy in 2006, 2011, and 2014. 9 −11 This study differs from previous reports in that it sought associations of safety practices with participant background information, such as demographics and level of expertise, in a North American setting. In 2014, Procter et al reported the results of their survey of safety practices in Italy, which evaluated associations between safety behaviors and additional background information of backcountry recreationists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9,10 In a 2014 survey of backcountry snow sport recreationists in Utah and Wyoming, the majority of participants reported carrying standard safety equipment (beacon, probe, and shovel) and having previously attended an avalanche safety course. 11 Despite survey findings of relatively high rates of performance of safety practices, Jekich et al reported in 2016 that avalanche fatalities have steadily risen over the last 6 decades. 12 They suggest that this is likely due to overall rising rates of participation in backcountry recreation, which, by definition, exposes recreationists to higher avalanche risk than in-bounds snow sports.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Avalanche Safety Practices Among Backcountry Skiers and Snowboarders in Jackson Hole in 2016

Nichols

Hawley

Smith

et al. 2018

Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avalanche Safety Practices Among Backcountry Skiers and Snowboarders in Jackson Hole in 2016

Nichols

Hawley

Smith

et al. 2018

Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

Self Cite

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“…However, many user groups (off-piste recreationists, snowshoers, ice climbers) do not. 6 ,7,10,11 In addition, many avalanche fatalities occur close to the secured ski areas. For these situations, the RECCO Rescue System potentially offers a second option to transceivers for locating these victims.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avalanche Survival After Rescue With the RECCO Rescue System: A Case Report

Grasegger

Strapazzon²,

Procter

et al. 2016

Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

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We report a case of survival of a completely buried avalanche victim after being located with the radar-based RECCO Rescue System. In the winter of 2015, 2 off-piste skiers were completely buried in an avalanche near the secured ski area in Baqueira Beret, Spain. The first victim was located with the RECCO Rescue System in less than 35 minutes and was alive and conscious at extrication. This system emits radio waves and requires a specific reflector. It is a portable device that is used by more than 600 rescue organizations worldwide, especially in secured ski areas. The device should be brought to the avalanche site together with electronic avalanche transceivers, a probing team, and avalanche dogs. In the hands of experienced professionals, the device may allow rapid location of victims not carrying an electronic avalanche transceiver. Although it is not the first successful extrication of a victim with the RECCO Rescue System, it is the first case published in the medical literature and is intended to encourage data collection and to increase our understanding of the effectiveness of this device in avalanche rescue.

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“…social cues). Safety equipment (beacons, airbag packs) meant recovery from an accidents increased survival/injury rates and so the accident may not appear in accident data (Haegeli et al, 2014;Ng et al, 2015).…”

Section: Analysis Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the heuristic traps paradigm in avalanche education: Past, present and future

Johnson

Mannberg

Hendrikx

et al. 2020

Cogent Social Sciences

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This paper will review the emergence and adoption of decision heuristics as a conceptual framework within the avalanche research and education community and demonstrate how this emphasis on the heuristic decision framework has anchored and was critical in redefining the discussion around avalanche accidents. This paradigm has been a critical and meaningful step in recognizing the importance of decision making in avalanche accidents. However, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of fatal accidents, the adoption of these ideas within the wider avalanche community has overlooked some clearly stated limitations within the foundational work of the heuristic decision frame. With respect to the concept of heuristic traps in conventional avalanche education, the concepts are poorly operationalized to the extent that they are vague about what exactly they describe. The result is that as presently framed, they are of negligible value to avalanche education that seeks its basis on the best available information. We end with a discussion, and a call to action to the avalanche research community, of how we could move towards resolution of these weaknesses and add value to prior work on human factor research. Our aim is not to disparage the seminal, paradigm shifting work by McCammon, but rather draw attention to how it has been operationalized and how the industry needs to move beyond this paradigm to see further gains in our understanding of avalanche fatalities.

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Advanced Avalanche Safety Equipment of Backcountry Users: Current Trends and Perceptions

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Avalanche Safety Practices Among Backcountry Skiers and Snowboarders in Jackson Hole in 2016

Avalanche Safety Practices Among Backcountry Skiers and Snowboarders in Jackson Hole in 2016

Avalanche Survival After Rescue With the RECCO Rescue System: A Case Report

Rethinking the heuristic traps paradigm in avalanche education: Past, present and future

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