Avalanche Research

ARS and its predecessors (David Hamre and Associates back to Alcan Avalanche Services) have been involved in avalanche research since 1982. Beginning with the Atigun Avalanche Engineering Study (a four-part project partially focused on investigating slush flow avalanches), we have continued to be engaged and innovate at the edge of known avalanche sciences.

We have published many papers at the International Snow Science Workshop and spearheaded research efforts funded by the Transportation Avalanche Research Pool (TARP). A recent TARP project focused on identifying the effective radius of common explosives used in RACS. The effective radius affects the density of deployment units and, thus, the costs. While DHA did not conduct the research, we were the champion for the TARP-funded project and provided guidance throughout.

For a project that demands solutions beyond the known science, we can work to determine a research path forward for a science-based solution.

Examples:

• Quantifying the Effectiveness of Active Mitigation on Transportation Corridors
• Evolution of Avalanche Risk Reduction on the Alaska Railroad
• Statewide Application of the Avalanche Hazard Index
• The Evolution of the 2014 ‘Damalanche’ Facet Layer in South-Central and Southeast Alaska
• Formation to Recalibration – How Mental Models are Formed, Updated, and Shared in Avalanche Forecasting Work
• What’s the Score – Scoring Snowpits for Better Communication of Stability Assessments
• Meteorological and Snowpack Properties Associated with Crust-Adjacent Persistent Weak Layers – Part 1: A Review of Previous Research, Part 2: Applying Theory to Observed Patterns