Avalanche awareness among snowshoers and winter hikers on the North Shore Mountains

Snowshoers and winter hikers have received little attention from academic research. As a growing community of backcountry users, it is not well understood to what extent they travel in avalanche terrain, what level of avalanche safety training they possess, and where they get their information for undertaking winter backcountry trips. This study addresses these concerns by designing and conducting a survey of snowshoers and winter hikers at a popular mountain resort just outside of Vancouver, B.C, Canada. The goal of this study is to analyze and understand the characteristics of snowshoers and winter hikers, to create better avalanche safety products and messaging, and to create safer experiences in the winter backcountry.

Faculty Supervisor:

Pascal Haegeli

Student:

Partner:

Avalanche Canada

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Arts, entertainment and recreation

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: