USDA Forest Service provides avalanche information for the public’s safety

The USDA Forest Service Intermountain Region has seen its share of large winter storms and snowfall this season, and with that fresh snow comes an increased amount of interest from backcountry winter sports enthusiasts. Home to millions of acres of year-round backcountry recreation, with more people seeking the adventure of untracked snow and challenging terrain, there is increased risk of avalanche danger.

The Intermountain Region hosts five avalanche centers. One is in California and provides forecasts for the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The Sawtooth Avalanche Center and Payette Avalanche Center are located in Idaho and issue public safety products for areas on the Sawtooth, Boise, Salmon-Challis, and Payette National Forests. The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center issues forecasts for areas on the Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhee, and Shoshone National Forests, as well as Grand Teton National Park. The Utah Avalanche Center provides avalanche forecasting, education, and awareness throughout the state of Utah.

These avalanche centers are staffed with highly trained and experienced professionals, who use a variety of methods to produce and disseminate backcountry avalanche forecasts, critical information for wintertime forest users. 

When producing their daily forecast, Payette Avalanche Center forecasters review National Weather Service weather forecast products, which contain information that is crucial to understanding avalanche conditions, to determine the locations they should visit to collect snowpack and avalanche information in the field. 

"Changes in the weather, including snowfall, rain, wind, solar input, and temperatures rising above freezing, can have a drastic effect on snow stability," said Scott Savage, Sawtooth Avalanche Center director. "The snow stability determines how easily skiers or snowmobilers can trigger avalanches." 

Forecasters will then travel into the mountains to examine snowpack conditions. They dig snowpits to examine layering, perform snowpack tests to assess stability, probe large areas to feel how the snowpack varies on different slopes, and look for recent avalanches and other signs of unstable conditions. Forecasters can gauge the current stability as well as estimate how additional snowfall and weather will affect stability in the future.

With years of experience and training in the science of snow and avalanches under their belts, forecasters use the field data and observations to create a mental model of the overall avalanche hazard. They then transfer their complex assessment into an easily understandable product for all users: the daily avalanche forecast.

 

Producing daily forecasts can be time consuming for avalanche centers, and staffing limitations can often overburden a center functioning with minimal staffing. Avalanche centers also rely on observations from outdoor recreators and other avalanche professionals such as ski area workers, outdoor guides, and highway department avalanche forecasters to cover large geographical areas.

“Recruitment of forecasters often occurs from outside the agency,” Savage said. “All avalanche center staff must have the skills and expertise to be able to safely work unsupervised from day one on the job.”

New employees have extensive previous avalanche forecasting experience, gained while working at large western U.S. ski areas, highway avalanche mitigation programs, or ski guiding operations. 

The Forest Service National Avalanche Center is developing a one-to-two-day training program for new avalanche center staff, but that program is not designed to replace the years of practical experience that individuals possess before working at a Forest Service avalanche center,” Savage said.

Maintaining well trained forecasters is important to producing consistent avalanche predictions, yet some avalanche centers are struggling with retention. 

The continued loss of experienced staff could potentially result in reduced safety for employees and increased risk to property and the public,” said Frank Carus, Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center director.

Both human-powered and mechanical-powered access into the backcountry has been growing dramatically and are outpacing the resources available to educate recreationists,” he added. These advancements have also created an increased need for public education and information flow.

Avalanche centers have learned to navigate increased use and other challenges by partnering with local organizations, referred to as “Friends of the Avalanche Center” and in some cases working with state government departments.

Coordination with an avalanche center’s state agencies, local organizations, sponsorships, and partners such as the American Avalanche Association, has allowed avalanche centers to better assist the public.

A large part of my job is fostering and managing the Sawtooth Avalanche Centers’ 80-plus partnerships,” Savage said. “The collaborations enable us to produce quality forecast products via modern website platforms, continually improve our products, and offer free or low-cost avalanche awareness programs to anyone who is interested.”

Most avalanche centers have agreements with their cooperator programs to provide education for either the center’s personnel or the public.  The Sawtooth Avalanche Center coordinates with the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center to provide both basic avalanche awareness programs as well as professional-level training opportunities for forest permittees working in potential avalanche areas.

Opportunities for avalanche courses can be located online at national avalanche courses, and an online introduction to avalanche safety can be found at avalanche safety. Avalanche education is only the first step in preventative measures. 

Access the daily avalanche forecast before entering the backcountry online at U.S. Avalanche Centers. Additional online education can be found at avalanche.org.