- Posts: 1460
- Thank you received: 16
Curious about Northwest avalanche history?
- Lowell_Skoog
- [Lowell_Skoog]
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Platinum Member
- NWAC.us website
- The Snowy Torrents (all 5 volumes, though 1987-95 isn't available yet)
- Seattle Times (1/1/1986 to 1/1/1997, to fill the gap in Snowy Torrents)
- Info from the Colorado Avalanche Info Center (CAIC), also to fill the Snowy Torrents gap
- An old NWAC database sent to me by Mark Moore
www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/web/www-nwac-us.html
Since I'm particularly interested in backcountry skiing and riding, I've used different colors to distinguish backcountry accidents from other kinds of accidents. The results are interesting to look at.
Note, for example the paucity of backcountry accidents before the mid-1980s. The 1990s also seem light, though I think my sources should cover that period pretty well.
Things pick up noticeably in the early 2000s, with a lot more backcountry accidents. By the late 2010s, backcountry skiing and riding accidents make up the majority of the reports.
It's also interesting to see how snowmobile accidents took off in the early 2000s, presumably due to more capable machines.
I'm continuing to noodle this stuff, but I'd be happy to get any additions, corrections, or other observations you might have. Plenty of food for thought...
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- MtnPavlas
- [mtnpavlas]
- Offline
- Administrator
- Posts: 91
- Thank you received: 8
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Skier of the Hood
- [Skier of the Hood]
- Offline
- New Member
- Posts: 38
- Thank you received: 3
scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=...works&sortby=pubdate
Certainly many accidents go unreported if they don't result in a rescue. If you want to be able to truly compare the rate of being caught in an avalanche between disciplines I feel you would have to constrain what percentage of those accidents are actually reported.
Not sure how you feel about it, but I consider British Columbia to be apart of the NW... Edit: I notice you don't consider BC as being apart of the NW (;, but perhaps the links below may still prove useful to you.
www.avalanche.ca/incidents
This is a good read
www.avalancheassociation.ca/store/ViewProduct.aspx?id=5143665
cdn.ymaws.com/www.avalancheassociation.c...ancheaccidentsv4.pdf
Attachments:
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Lowell_Skoog
- [Lowell_Skoog]
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1460
- Thank you received: 16
Skier of the Hood wrote: Not sure how you feel about it, but I consider British Columbia to be apart of the NW... Edit: I notice you don't consider BC as being apart of the NW (;, but perhaps the links below may still prove useful to you.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions.
For my project, I'm limiting my scope to essentially the NWAC forecasting and reporting region, from the Canadian border to Mt Hood. It's true that British Columbia can be considered a part of the NW geographically, but since it is a separate country, it's largely a separate community. My project is very much concerned with the community south of the border, and avalanche history is just a small part of my scope.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- mccallboater
- [mccallboater]
- Offline
- New Member
- Posts: 11
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Lowell_Skoog
- [Lowell_Skoog]
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1460
- Thank you received: 16
mccallboater wrote: Lowell, do you consider Idaho as part of the NW for the purposes of your project?
No. Nothing east of Columbia River. Basically just the Cascades and Olympics.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Randito
- [Randito]
- Offline
- Elite Member
- Posts: 960
- Thank you received: 1
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Lowell_Skoog
- [Lowell_Skoog]
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1460
- Thank you received: 16
Randito wrote: Thanks, that is useful historical information. Do you have any plans to add links to the table so inquiring minds may read what ever incident report information is available.
No plans for that. Just getting the raw statistical information was a chore. I got enough for my purposes so I've moved on to other things.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.