+ Preliminary technical program

We have created a draft of a dynamic technical program that builds on successful past conferences, highlights emerging areas of practice, and incorporates new scientific discoveries. The program was designed with the overarching goal of merging theory and practice, and it attempts to achieve this objective through focusing some of the session on avalanche risk management themes.

The program consists of Five KEY Presentation Types:

  1. ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING

    These sessions provide the opportunity to present and learn about the newest leading-edge scientific findings. Ideally, we will all be enlightened with new knowledge, take away some wisdom to improve our practice, and become motivated to contribute to the frontiers of our understanding.

  2. Avalanche Risk Management 

    These sessions will revolve around a core avalanche risk management sector (e.g. transportation corridors, ski resorts, backcountry guiding, public forecasting). Each session will kick off with a practical presentation that showcases an operational avalanche risk management program (e.g. Rogers Pass), highlights the core challenges, and sets the stage for how and where research and theory may help. The remaining presentations will stem from traditional scientific ISSW topics (e.g. snow cover modelling, dynamics, planning and engineering), that have some application or connection to the core operational challenges highlighted in the kickoff presentation. This concept will unite theory and practice while maintaining the thread of the session by:

    o   Moderators establishing and maintaining the core theme of the session.

    o   Presenters tying their work to the core theme.

    o Attendees following the core theme through scientific presentations that link to a practical application.

    o  The Technical Committee selecting and guiding the theoretical topics into a session that maintains a clear connection to the core operational challenges.

  3. Poster Sessions

    The poster sessions are the perfect relaxed setting to engage with both the work and its creators. The social setting will stimulate discussions, networking, and the ultimate merging of theory and practice. These sessions will be organized around traditional ISSW topics like education, decision making, risk communication, remote sensing.

  4. Focus Sessions

    These afternoon sessions will focus on emerging or specialized sectors of the avalanche profession and will run concurrently to separate panel discussions. The topics of these sessions are currently 1) Snowmobile and Motorized, 2) Sustainability, 3) Weather forecasting and Climate, and 4) Remote Sensing and Drones. The topics may change depending on the submissions.

  5. Panel Discussions

    Who doesn’t love a hotly contested debate on a fascinating topic in a smaller venue? The Rainbow Theatre holds a maximum of 250 people and provides the perfect arena for these discussions. The current topics include: 1) Ice Climbing Avalanche Risk Management, 2) AI in the Avalanche Profession, 3) Evolving Explosive Use Practice, and 4) Big Line Riding. As with the Focus Sessions, these topics may change.

You might notice that some of the traditional ISSW session topics are not explicitly slated into this proposed program (e.g. snowpack modelling, avalanche rescue, education, dynamic modelling). The thinking is that these presentations will be included within the Avalanche Risk Management sessions where they fit to best merge theory and practice. To help folks to envision how this structure will look, we have created some example sessions below with presentations from recent previous ISSWs. Please note, these are examples only!!

Avalanche Risk Management 1 - Transportation Corridor Challenges

  1. Lea D. Forecaster, Lead Avalanche Technician and Forecaster from XXX Highway Program - Program Description and Core Challenges from the XXX Program (Presentation highlights planning and engineering, avalanche hazard forecasting, explosive use practices, remote sensing, decision-making, RACS, automated forecasting and road closures)

  2. Harpa Grímsdóttir - Lessons from several avalanches impacting avalanche protective structures in Iceland in January 2020 and March 2023

  3. Mr Tore Humstad - Forty years with avalanche detection systems in Norway

  4. Julia Glaus - Probability-Based Avalanche Run-Out Mapping for Road Safety

  5. Dr. Dave Gauthier - A framework for measuring the performance of highway and railway avalanche programs, and demonstrating improvements with investment

  6. Ryan Marlow - Unmanned Aerial Systems for Avalanche Monitoring and Mitigation: A Collaborative Approach by Alaska DOT&PF and Alaska Railroad

Avalanche Risk Management 3 - Public Avalanche Risk Management

  1. Fore C. Aster, Forecaster from a XXX Public Avalanche Forecasting Office - Core Challenges and Current Solutions at XXX 
    (Presentation highlights the use of modelled avalanche hazard, avalanche education challenges, risk communication, and decision-making)

  2. Dr Frank Techel - Human vs Machine: who predicts better? Comparing human-made avalanche forecasts with model-driven predictions of snowpack instability and avalanche danger in the Swiss Alps.

  3. Simon Horton - A clustering technique to identify spatial patterns in snow cover model output.

  4. Christoph Mitterer - Snow institute. A virtual institute to promote avalanche awareness education to youngsters.

  5. Mr. Manuel Genswein - Bridging Rigid International Review of Best Practice With the Benefits of a Community Management Organization

  6. Assoc. Prof. Kelly McNeil - Understanding backcountry travel behaviors after participation in a recreational avalanche course, a multi-year study

Avalanche Risk Management 5 - Backcountry Guiding Challenges

  1. Mech A. Nized, Mountain Safety Manager - Avalanche Risk Management Systems and Strategies at XXX 
    (Presentation highlights site specific avalanche hazard forecasting, decision-making, avalanche rescue, operations and program management, avalanche formation, risk communication)

  2. John Sykes - Quantitatively capturing decision-making practices of mechanized ski guides using GPS tracking, avalanche terrain modeling and Bayesian Networks

  3. Audun Hetland - What have we learned? A systematic overview of research on human factors in avalanche terrain

  4. Juerg Schweizer - Towards a dictionary of avalanche forecasting - describing key terms

  5. Scott Thumlert - Terrain Selection Tactics for Helicopter Skiing - Managing Avalanche Risk During the 2022-23 Season

  6. Brian Lazar - Stress Mitigation in Avalanche Work

Avalanche Risk Management 7 - Large Destructive Avalanches

  1. Cas T. Study, Lead Forecaster at XXX - Case Study of a Large Destructive Avalanche at XXX
    (Presentation highlights deep slab forecasting challenges, runout prediction, dynamic modelling, statistical models, avalanche formation and release, avalanche rescue, planning and engineering)

  2. Mr. Matthew MacDonald - Rivers in the Sky, Forecasting Atmospheric Rivers Upwards of Two Weeks in Advance

  3. Mr. Erich Peitzsch - Big avalanches in a changing climate: Using tree-ring derived avalanche chronologies to examine avalanche frequency across multiple climate types

  4. Andrew Schauer - Crusts and Facets: A case study of a season with deep issues near Girdwood, AK

  5. Pia Ruttner-Jansen - A measurement system for mapping snow distribution changes in an avalanche release zone

  6. Douglas Chabot - Snow, Rain, and an Earthquake: A Massive Avalanche Cycle in Tajikistan and Afghanistan