Avalanche Resources LIBRARY

Online learning tools, video and book recommendations, workshop recordings, and more 

Books & Media

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Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain
The third edition of the classic, must-read avalanche safety text by Bruce Tremper
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Avalanche Essentials: A Step-by-Step System For Safety and Survival
A condensed companion to Companion to Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain
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Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering
Learn trip planning, navigation, fitness, and avalanche safety information
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Snow Sense: A Guide to Evaluating Snow Avalanche Hazard
Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler help backcountry travelers learn to recognize, evaluate, and avoid snow avalanche hazards
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The Snowy Torrents (1986–1996)
Spencer Logan and Blase Reardon examine more than 150 avalanche accidents
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The Snowy Torrents (1996-2004)
Knox Williams and Spencer Logan analyze eight years of avalanche accidents in the United States
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The Avalanche Review
Four issues each winter feature the best in avalanche writing, science, and photography
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The Avalanche Hour Podcast
Creating a stronger community through sharing stories, knowledge, and news amongst people who have a curious fascination with avalanches

Interactive Online Learning

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Avalanche.org Tutorial
New to avalanche safety? This is a great place to start. Presented by the National Avalanche Center and the Colorado Avalanche Center
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Know Before You Go
A four-step process to help users stay safe and make good decisions in the backcountry
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AvySavvy
Avalanche Canada’s online avalanche tutorial

Case Studies

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Rescue at Cherry Bowl
An extraordinary story of rescue, and a timeless avalanche education piece
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The Renshaw Avalanche Tragedy
Avalanche Canada worked with survivors, SAR members, and the BC Coroners Service to reconstruct this incident and better understand how the avalanche happened and why so many people were caught
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The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times article on the 2012 avalanche in Washington’s Cascade Mountains
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A Dozen More Turns
A documentary about a tragic backcountry ski trip in Montana’s Centennial Mountains in 2005
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Wilson Glade Avalanche Report
Utah Avalanche Center’s report of an avalanche fatality in the Utah backcountry in 2021
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Ride Another Day
Public service announcement about the 2008 Canyon Creek avalanche that claimed two lives
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Avalanche In Revelstoke Backcountry With Chris Rubens & Noah Morrison
After triggering an avalanche while filming in the Revelstoke backcountry, these professional skiers turn a near-miss into an educational opportunity
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Nick McNutt Avalanche Rescue
A professional skier triggers an avalanche while wearing a malfunctioning beacon
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Off Piste: Tragedy in the Alps
Ski racers Bryce Astle and Ronnie Berlack had no idea of the danger of in-bounds avalanche terrain

Snowmobiling Resources

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Ski-Doo Safety Series
Videos focusing on different aspects of avalanche preparedness for snowmobilers
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10 Commandments for Mountain Snowmobilers
Know more, go farther, come home. Developed by Avalanche Canada and the Valemount & Area Recreation Development Association
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How to Practice Avalanche Rescue
Snowmobile edition from AIARE
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Choosing Terrain for Snowmobilers
Terrain is always the answer for backcountry fun and safety. This webinar focuses on snowmobile specific characteristics and route finding
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Human Factors and Avalanche Avoidance
Frozen Pirate owner/operator Curtis Pawliuk in Mountain Sledder Magazine
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Backcountry Ascender
Earn points for completing self-directed lessons to level up your backcountry skills

Avalanche Rescue

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Essential Rescue Equipment
This video from AIARE covers the equipment every backcountry traveler must carry every time
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Companion Rescue Series
Educational videos from BCA focused on avalanche beacons
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Transceiver Interference Guidelines
Practical guidance on how to avoid problems with interference

Terrain & Trip Planning

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Am I in Avalanche Terrain?
How to determine whether you are in or below avalanche terrain
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Where is the Unstable Snow?
NWAC avalanche forecaster Dallas Glass on assessing terrain for unstable snow
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Choose Terrain to Reduce your Risk
When avalanches are a problem, terrain is the solution
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Avalanche.org Travel Advice
Encyclopedia entries related to travel advice that you might see in the avalanche forecast
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CalTopo
Free online mapping app with slope angle shading, custom terrain shading, wind plot layer, and more
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How to Use onX Backcountry
Learn tools and tricks for this GPS navigation app
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Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES)
Categorize the severity of avalanche exposure based on the landscape, rather than snowpack conditions

Human Factors

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The Human Factor
This blog post from the American Avalanche Institute is a great place to start learning about how human factors influence decision-making in the backcountry
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Sense-Making, Communication, and Why Humans are Terrible (in the Mountains)
Sara Boilen at 2023 WYSAW
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Behavioral Science in the Backcountry
How avalanche experts and educators embraced behavioral science in order to understand why avalanche accidents were happening
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Avalanche Resilience Project
Resources for avalanche-related grief, trauma, and mental health

Snow Science

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How-To: Snow Profiles and Tests
Doug Chabot demonstrates how to dig a snow profile and conduct basic stability tests
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Snowpit Stability Tests
Seven tests to locate and assess instabilities within the snowpack, presented by Mike Conlan
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The Facet Factory
An introduction to the basics of snow metamorphism, by Eric Knoff
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Snow, Weather, and Avalanches Guidelines
Professional guidelines for observing and recording snow, weather, and avalanche phenomena
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National Avalanche Center Technical Paper Library
More than 200 papers from NAC staff and closely associated researchers
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ISSW Proceedings Papers
Summary papers from the International Snow Science Workshop
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SnowPilot Tutorial
How to graph, record, and database snowpit information with this free software
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Avalanche Alley
John F. Stevens Canyon Avalanche Safety Program
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Mountain Rain or Snow
A citizen science project related to predicting winter precipitation phases near freezing (rain, snow, or mixed)

Recorded Workshops & Presentations

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Northern Rockies Snow & Avalanche Workshop
Leading avalanche practitioners, researchers, and experts share findings and stories related to avalanche safety
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Topics Workshop: Easterly Wind & Arctic Front Events
Northwest Montana weather phenomena by National Weather Service meteorologist LeeAnn Allegretto
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Topics Workshop: Avalanches & Climate
USGS scientist Erich Peitzsch discusses his research to understand avalanche frequency and climate patterns in the past through dendrochronology
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Fireside Chats
Near misses and close calls: What we can learn from sharing our stories