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New avalanche prediction method pioneered by Canadian university
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

Researchers at the University of Calgary have devised a new method of studying and testing layers of snowpack to determine their stability and risk of avalanching.

It's an extension of the traditional way of digging a snow pit and studying the composition of the various layers under the surface. The new technique also identifies the "fracture character" of the strata of snow. Testers are advised to focus on the "fracture lines" which shoot through the snow wall as pressure is applied to the surface, when impact is applied from an avalanche shovel.

The researchers have identified five types of fracture which may occur. Their new method has gained approval from the Canadian Avalanche Centre and heli-skiing guides, who are adopting the techniques in their routine snow-testing procedures. An instructional DVD is planned, to be made available via the internet.

This report from Globe and Mail.

Any comments?
snow conditions
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

"If the fracture is sudden and fast, we're more likely to see human-caused avalanches."

Mr. Jamieson classified five types of fractures: sudden planer, which is also know as a 'pop' because of the sound it makes; sudden collapse, or drop; resistant planer; progressive compression, or squash; and non-planer break.

Makes sense really, pay attention as to how the layers seperate. Cheers - some things to think about there.
snow conditions
snow conditions
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I'm not sure how this addresses the basic problem of snow profiling, which is that just because the profile you are making on your part of the hill says that the hill is safe, it says nothing about the condition of the snow on a different part of the same slope 100 meters away. The way the wind lays down the snow is completey driven by the local contours of the hill, and is a chaotic process. Werner Munter's 3x3 gives fairly illuminating (or worrying) insight into this.
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