Chris Stethem

TL;DR: Avalanche risk may be voluntary, for example skiing and snowmobiling, or involuntary, for instance public transportation corridors as discussed by the authors, and a worst-case avalanche scenario is most likely to occur in the Western Cordillera, resulting from a single large-scale weather pattern, where a cold period resulting in the development of a weak layer in the snowpack is followed by a series of major mid-winter storms.

TL;DR: This work used judgmental decomposition to elicit the avalanche forecasting process from forecasters and then described it within a risk-based framework that is consistent with other natural hazards disciplines.

TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model of avalanche hazard identifies the key components of avalanche hazards and structures them into a systematic, consistent workflow for hazard and risk assessments, which is applicable to all types of avalanche forecasting operations, and can be applied at any scale in space or time.

TL;DR: Avalanche impacts in Canada, including fatalities, are summarized for residential and public areas, as well as roads, ski areas, backcountry recreation, and resource industries Methods for managing avalanche hazard, which include defence structures, zoning, forecasting and explosive control, are outlined.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered the predictive merit of weather and snowpack data for avalanches that released throughout two winters on layers of faceted crystals in the Columbia Mountains of western Canada and found that the highest ranked predictors of natural avalanches include previous avalanche activity, accumulated snowfall over several days, changes in air temperature over 4-5 days, snowpack properties including a shear frame stability index, and the difference in hardness between the facet layer and the crust.