Understanding exposure to avalanche terrain and avalanche information product use of snowshoers and winter hikers: Insights from Mount Seymour Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Snowshoeing and winter hiking have grown substantially in the last decade. To provide this community with better avalanche safety messages, it is critical to understand their existing avalanche awareness and safety practices. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted intercept interviews with snowshoers and winter hikers at a popular backcountry trailhead outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and surveyed students of introductory avalanche safety courses targeted at snowshoers. Study participants shared their typical trip destinations, which we used to determine their general exposure to avalanche terrain based on the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES). Despite the fact that all but one participant expose themselves to avalanche terrain, we found very low levels of avalanche awareness, formal training, and use of avalanche information products like the public avalanche forecast. Participants’ main reason for not using existing avalanche safety products and services was their belief that they do not expose themselves to avalanche terrain. This highlights that initiatives raising awareness of what constitutes avalanche terrain, how to recognize it and when it is safe to travel into are key starting points for improving avalanche safety practices in this community. Comparisons between study participants without formal avalanche safety training, current course students, and participants with training highlight the value of formal training and offer insights on potential pathways for raising avalanche awareness among snowshoers and winter hikers.