Results and Analysis
With the use of GIS we were able to show the following:
Animated GIF Files of
Snowmobile Deaths in Canada and the U.S.A.:
From 1985 to 2004, American
snowmobile deaths were plotted on a shaded DEM in two year
intervals. The same was done for a shaded DEM
of B.C. from 1960 to 2005. What we found was that within the
last 10 years there has been a dramatic increase in deaths.
What can we attribute the increase in deaths to? Is it because there has been a greater frequency of avalanches in the past decade? Probably not. According to http://www.avalanche.org/, and confirmed by our data, snowmobile fatalities have experienced an increase in the past decade.
The insurgence of deaths is likely due to the increase in snowmobile
use over the past decade. What can be done to reduce or eliminate
these often unnecessary fatalities? A need for avalanche
awareness and education is called for, not only by the users but by the
snowmobile industry. It would be nice to see new snowmobile
owners to have to take a mandatory safety awareness class to educate
users about the backcountry and the destructive power of avalanches.
Avalanche Hazard Bulletins for
Fatalities in 2005:
In 2005 there were seven avalanche
incidences related to fatalities. Two incidences occurred
after April 25, when the Canadian Avalanche Association stops posting
bulletins on avalanche conditions (this is another issue
that must be addressed. Of the five incidences, one incident had
a rating of “high” at all elevations, whereas the four other incidents
all had a rating of considerable at the alpine and tree-line
elevations. This map reflects on the decision making and risks
backcountry recreationists are willing to take. What can we
conclude from this? Although our map only shows incidences for
one year, most fatalities occur when the hazard rating is
“considerable”.
This is thought to be because people are more willing to take the risk
because it is one step below high. In considerable conditions
avalanches are said to be “probable” by the triggering of humans.
This area of the rating scale can also be seen as the grey area, where
one might take a false sense of safety. Perhaps the
“considerable” rating puts less experienced recreationists out in the
backcountry thus accounting for these deaths. Nonetheless, these
ratings should be taken as a generalization for large areas and full
precautions should be taken no matter what the hazard rating.
B.C. Avalanche Fatalities
Accessed by Ski Resort Lifts:
This is an interesting map;
we attempted to determine avalanche incidences that occurred where
skiers and snowboards assumed to use chairlifts. We were unable
to distinguish between the fatalities that occurred within the
boundaries of the resort and those occurring out of the ski area
boundary due to not knowing the spatial extent of the many ski areas in
B.C.
We plotted all ski areas on a DEM of B.C.. Next, we added points of incidents where ski and snowboard related fatalities occurred from 1955-2005. A 10km buffer area was added to the ski areas; any fatalities within this buffer were considered to be users of ski area lifts. So what did we find? Since 1955, there have only been 9 avalanche incidents within a 10km radius from a ski area.
The ease of entering the backcountry from a chairlift is very enticing. This increases the probability of people entering the out of bounds areas who are ill-prepared. For example, people may decide to go lift skiing and realize the conditions appear better on the other side of the rope. However, they are not equipped with the proper safety gear (transceiver, probe, and shovel at the very least).
B.C. Slope Map with Total
Avalanche Fatalities
This map
depicts how the avalanche fatalities in British Columbia are related to
the steep terrain that comprises much of BC. Most of the avalanche
deaths have occurred in areas of steep (30’-45’) terrain, as this is
also the most probable slope for avalanche formation.
A population density map was also overlaid on this slope/fatality
composite, and it showed that there is little relation between
these. Despite areas of low population density, there were still
avalanche fatalities. Due to the fact that the population density
did not yield any further relation, the layer was removed from the
map.
Animated GIFs of the Total
Avalanche Fatalities for the U.S.A. and B.C.
The animated GIFs for the USA
and BC
were created to show the time-spatial relation of avalanche
fatalities. The USA GIF was created with 2-year intervals running
from 1982-2004. The BC GIF was created with 2-year intervals
running from 1960-2005. The animations show how the avalanche
fatalities escalate in the last 20 years. This is due to
increased backcountry use, as well, the backcountry is more accessible
than ever, thus more people are able to enter the backcountry with a
lack of avalanche knowledge.
Western United States Avalanche Fatalities-Colorado Focus:
Due to the high density of avalanche fatalities, as well as the high variation in activity types, a focus on Colorado was required to properly display the data.
There are three concentrations of fatality points
displayed in the Colorado
focus. These are occurring around the three major ski
areas. It is important to note that many of these fatality sites,
although near ski hills, were not accessed by the ski hill chair
lifts. There are many climbing, snowmobiling and backcountry
(other ski fatalities) ski fatalities.
Therefore, these concentrations are due to popular mountain areas,
rather than ski resorts.
An avalanche warning system, only available through the ski resorts
would not adequately be available for all activities concerned.
Avalanche Fatalities by Activity: Both U.S.A. and B.C. Maps
Displaying fatalities by activity allows certain
patterns in activity related deaths to be presented. In a GIS
analysis, it becomes clear that for the Western
U.S.A., Alaska,
and B.C.,
areas affected by a higher population tend to have more skiing and
climbing related deaths, while lower populated areas tend to have
higher snowmobile-related deaths.
Avalanche awareness has typically focused its attention on skiing
activity in more populated areas, but with increasing snowmobile use
there is a need created to focus more attention on snowmobile use in
more rural areas.
Updated Dec 9, 2005- Webmaster- Nicolas Teichrob
