Training and Awareness Programs

Training and Awareness Programs

The National Avalanche Center (NAC) claims that, “Nearly all avalanches that involve people are triggered by the victims themselves or a member of their party. This is actually good news; it means that if we know how to recognize avalanche danger, we can avoid it.

This is where awareness programs can play an important role.”
Organizations like the American Avalanche Association (AAA), US Forestry Service’s National Avalanche Center, and the National Ski Patrol, among others, offer courses on and information about avalanches. The information they provide focuses primarily on how to interact with a potential avalanche situation, based on the type of activity one will be engaged in such as back country skiing, climbing, or snowmobiling, for example. On the web site of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), there is a section focused on Avalanche Awareness. Topics discussed and answers provided are illustrated by the following list of subject areas found on the site:

• 
  Why avalanche awareness?
  
• 
  Who gets caught in avalanches?
  
• 
  When and where avalanches happen
  
• 
  Anatomy of an avalanche
  
• 
  Avalanche factors: what conditions cause an avalanche?
  
• 
  How to determine if the snow pack is safe
  
• 
  Avalanche gear
  
• 
  Tips for avalanche survival
  
• 
  Avalanche danger scale
  
• 
  Avalanche quick checks.
  

Onsite courses at the like National Avalanche School (NAS) are offered by The National Avalanche Foundation (NAF) in conjunction with the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). NAS has been providing its avalanche education program for 18 years, and offers a nationally recognized certificate upon completion. The existence of the course is a sign of the professionalization of the management of avalanches.

Recent Legislation

On April 29, 2003 the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2003 (S.931) was introduced. This legislation will direct the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a program to reduce the risks from and mitigate the effects of avalanches on visitors to units of the National Park System and on other recreational users of public land. Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska, a proponent of the Act, clearly stated its intent in saying, "The U.S. averages 30 deaths a year from avalanches, a majority of which are the result of recreational activities in unmitigated avalanche areas. This bill brings those resources to the entities that need them the most, enabling us to significantly reduce the effects of avalanches on visitors, recreational users, transportation corridors, and our local communities."

S.931 gives the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture the ability to make grants to:

1. 
   Assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches
   
2. 
   Maintain essential transportation and communications affected or potentially affected by avalanches
   
3. 
   Assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and other unique explosives required for avalanche control; and
   
4. 
   Fund research and development activities to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.
   

This legislation also establishes a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes, including an inventory that can be made available to Federal and non-Federal entities for avalanche control purposes.

Conclusion

Aside from the basic structural avalanche mitigation measures like snow fences, redirection structures and artillery, there are a number of very innovative programs in use. Two of these innovative measures include zoning, like Ketchum Idaho’s Avalanche Zone District, and corridor management, like the I-90, Snoqualmie Pass East project in Washington State. Mandated and enforced zoning is effective in preventing damage to structures by keeping them out of known (and zoned) avalanche paths. Corridor management is effective in reducing injury, death, and damage to property, and it reduces the chances of negative economic impacts that result from road closures.

The Committee on Ground Failure Hazards Mitigation Research wrote that hazard mitigation requires measures ranging from appropriate land-use management and effective building codes in avalanche-prone areas to the timely issuance of emergency warnings and programs of public education. Centralized avalanche information and forecast centers currently play an important hazard-reduction role in Colorado, Utah, and Washington. These centers are funded by a variety of state, federal, and private organizations, but the funding base is not secure in all cases and their survival is an issue of concern. This committee claims that, despite our knowledge of the destructive nature of snow avalanches and the hazards they pose to mountain residents and vacationers, the United States still lacks coordinated national leadership on avalanche issues. There is currently no national program for avalanche prediction, land-use planning, research, and education. The Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2003 (S.931) could be a step towards a more coordinated approach. S.391 will provide a funding vehicle for avalanche research, prevention and mitigation through grants.

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downloads -> This "Other" category was created to accommodate submissions to the cert website for programs that indicate that they use the cert material. However, these organizations are not part of a local government jurisdiction
downloads -> Community Emergency Response Team Appendix 1-A: Hazard Lesson Plans
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