An avalanche is a mass of snow, ice and rocks that moves rapidly down mountainside slopes, sometimes at incredible speed. Avalanches have the ability to bury, injure and kill individuals in its path.
Avalanches can cause massive amounts of destruction in an instant, from buildings and cars being washed away to individuals being carried off to safety in seconds. Avalanches can also be caused by human activity like skiers and snowboarders riding down slopes, while others result from natural conditions.
An avalanche starts with two ingredients: a steep mountain slope and layers of snow. Most avalanches occur during or immediately following a snowstorm when layers can become stressed by heavy weight, wind gusts, raindrops or other factors and this stresses can fracture them and trigger movement of them down the mountainside.
Although avalanches appear unpredictable, researchers have learned to predict their likelihood by studying terrain, weather and the characteristics of snowpack. With this data in hand, risk assessments are created which snow safety professionals then use to help people choose routes which reduce their chances of an avalanche accident occurring.
Although most avalanches are small, there have been several particularly large and deadly ones in recent memory. Many are made up of snow slabs breaking free from layers before quickly moving downhill bringing with them earth, trees, debris, as well as deadly debris from other sources; such avalanches account for most deaths and injuries.
Other avalanches occur due to snow cornices hanging off of ridges and mountainsides, creating an overhang that could collapse and cover those below in its path, potentially injuring or killing them. Avalanches that involve this type of material tend to result in fewer fatalities than slab-based ones.
Avalanche scientists also analyze the movement of snow and debris to produce forecasts that can assist people in avoiding hazardous conditions. Their reports are created based on field observations, meteorological sensors and satellites data as well as mathematical models which take into account snowpack stability among other variables – they’re then shared with ski resorts, national parks and organizations that host backcountry users for use.
Literature on avalanches can be found across a variety of journals, conferences, and informal networks. Due to this difficulty in creating rigorous eligibility criteria, this review includes research from published peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings and grey literature sources. Evaluation can be challenging in this research field as many avalanche scientists do not publish their results in peer-reviewed journals. These practitioners frequently present their work at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) or other informal gatherings. This study makes an essential contribution toward creating an organized overview of this dynamic field of snow science literature. An in-depth study of this body of work will be instrumental in informing future research in this key area of social sciences. More specifically, this current research serves as a platform for further studies that compare various theoretical approaches to understanding how people interact with snow and avalanches.