Pick your list of videos
(sure, some videos are on two lists)
List of videos (most recent first ... well, mostly)
Tradeoffs in avalanche operations
How do avalanche practitioners decide which runs, roads or backcountry terrain to open and when to close areas down? In this 12 minute video, John Stimberis, Larry Stanier and Bruce Jamieson attempt a high level overview of the decision process. September 2020. CC BY-ND.
Near crust faceting and slab avalanching
A technical video for avalanche practitioners and recreationists interested in avalanche science. The video outlines the formation of faceted layers near melt-freeze crusts, the persistence of these layers as potential failure layers for slab avalanches and some ideas on anticipating the resulting slab avalanches. Bruce Jamieson and Scott Savage, June 2020. CC BY-ND
A more visual method for rating avalanche size on the D-scale
A video to start discussion about whether visualization will help us rate avalanche size on the D-scale. By Bruce Jamieson, Montse Bacardit, Ethan Greene and Ian Tomm. May 2020. CC BY-ND.
Exercise for rating avalanche size on the D-scale
Photos of 15+ avalanches so you can practice rating their size with the more visual method and compare your rating to ours. Bruce Jamieson, Montse Bacardit, Ethan Greene and Ian Tomm. May 2020. CC BY-ND.
Why does snow cool when melted with salt, and what does that have to do with avalanches?
When salt is added to snow, the snow cools because heat from the snow flows into concentrated salt water around the salt grains. The surprisingly large amount of heat required for melting (i.e. latent heat) contributes to avalanche formation in at least two ways. March 2020. CC BY-ND.
Avalanche decision aids - the good, the bad and the disruptive
This video outlines some general advantages and disadvantages of avalanche decision aids. The advantages and disadvantages are general enough that – I hope – both backcountry recreationists and avalanche practitioners find something useful in this video. This video does not explain how to use any decision aids but does show four decision aids and identify where to find more information on them. March 2020. CC BY-ND.
Case study of facets-on-crust in western Canada
A case study for avalanche practitioners about a difficult winter in which a weak layer of facets on a melt-freeze crust produced avalanches - including many large hard-to-forecast avalanches - throughout the winter. February 2020. CC BY-ND.
A successful avalanche operation starts with good planning. This 9-minute video highlights some aspects of avalanche planning for those who work in avalanche operations. On many planning projects, the planning team includes practitioners with operational experience. February 2020. CC BY-ND.
9 essentials for ski cutting - for the Powder Cloud
Ski cutting by recreationists is controversial. Are these 9 essentials too conservative? Too risky? Or is the subject taboo? January 2020.
6 tips for reducing avalanche risk ... for The Powder Cloud
In this seven-minute video, Jamieson shares six tips that he believes can reduce the avalanche risk while skiing and riding in the mountains in winter. December 2019.