Additional Educational Resources

Want even more reading (and also viewing)?

First, some supplemental articles (culled from various files in my collection) are available in a Google Docs folder.

For the scientifically inclined, try The Avalanche Handbook (by David McClung and Peter Schaerer now in 3rd edition), which is a much more advanced scientific discussion, although far beyond the level of this course. (And you can even take an exam on it too! Also beyond the scope of this course, but perhaps of interest to the technically oriented, the American Avalanche Association's Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States is available in digital format.

Definitely subscribe to (and browse the archives of) The Avalanche Review, the publication of the American Avalanche Association.

Two very helpful little supplemental books are by the late Edward R. Lachapelle, mainly pictures:

• Field Guide to Snow Crystals
• Secrets of the Snow: Visual Clues to Avalanche and Ski Conditions

Reading up on past avalanche incidents is a good way to avoid getting into an avalanche in the future, and on-line summaries are available for both the U.S. and Canada. An even more extensive and highly documented incident database is available at the CyberSpace Avalanche Center along with various educational resources. (Some features require a small annual contribution, but they are well worth the small fee!)

An on-line glossary is based on excerpts from the first edition of Tremper's and another version with more entries but shorter definitions is available (and downloadable too) from the Northwest Avalanche Center for both avalanche and mountain weather terms.

Raw avalanche footage, once highly sought after for educational purposes, has now vastly proliferated. Also, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (out of Bozeman) hosts some educational videos, with additional videos available from yet another source. An even more amazing treasure trove of multi-medial files -- including proceedings of prior sessions of the International Snow Science Workshop -- is available at the Avalanche Research Media Library.

On-line tutorials are available, but tend to be very (very) basic:

• Canadian Avalanche Centre
• U.S. Forest Service Avalanche Basics
• Avalanche.org

(Maybe helpful for showing your significant other or kids what you're studying so hard?)

On-line discussions are hosted in dedicated avy forums at both TGR and ttips (and tend to have a higher signal:noise ratio than the more general-interest forums).

For blogs, WildSnow has many avy posts, including Jonathan's avy beacon reviews, plus an avy-related blog is also available. The BCA blog often has very interesting information, and the post on signal overlap is especially helpful for understanding the difficulties of multiple-victim searches.