Videos of many of the presentations were taken and are now available for viewing online at: avalanche-research.com

Delegates to the conference were given transcripts of the proceedings on CD. The majority of them are now also available from this site. Click on the pdf icon below a subject to download that talk's paper.

Each day's schedule is also available as a separate printable page.

ISSW 2008 Presentation Schedule
Time Description Presenter


Monday, September 22nd 2008
To Tuesday

8:00

Opening remarks

Brian Gould and Helene Steiner

8:15

Fracture mechanics and avalanche dynamics session introduction

8:20

Field study on fracture propagation in weak snowpack layers
pdf

Alec van Herwijnen

8:40

Anticracks: a new theory of fracture initiation and fracture propagation in snow
pdf

Joachim Heierli

9:00

Validation of the propagation saw test near whumpfs and avalanches
pdf

Dave Gauthier

9:20

Slab fracture at 1900 frames per second - experimental methods
pdf

Chris Borstad

9:40

Avalanche fracture mechanics results for practitioners
pdf

David McClung

10:00

Extended column test results during surface warming: does surface warming affect fracture propagation potential?
pdf

Ron Simenhois

10:20 - 10:45

BREAK

 

10:45

Rescue session and transceiver technology panel session introduction

 

10:50

Specialized multiple burial techniques: Reality versus myth. The European perspective
pdf

Dieter Stopper

11:00

A systematic approach to optimize avalanche beacon design for minimum search time
pdf

Rolf Matzner

11:10

New definition of the USEFUL RANGE using a reliable accurate and reproducible test procedure with practical relevance - Running a field test tracked by a DGPS
pdf

Markus Eck

11:20

Digging deeper: uncovering the real issues in North American multiple burials
pdf

Bruce Edgerly

11:30

Panel discussion open to the floor

 

12:10 - 13:40

LUNCH

 

13:40

Remote reverse triage in avalanche rescue
pdf

Manuel Genswein

14:00

Avalanche survival strategies for different parts of a flowing avalanche
pdf

Theo Meiners

14:20

Time to change rescue attitudes for a new generation
pdf

Dale Atkins

14:40

Weather session introduction

 

14:45

Westerly wind bursts affect avalanche cycles
pdf

Melinda Brugman

15:05

Atmospheric patterns leading to major avalanche episodes in the Eastern Pyrenees and estimating occurrence
pdf

Carles Garca Sells

15:25

Poster session introduction

 

15:30 - 16:25

POSTER SESSION

 

16:25

Instrumentation session introduction

 

16:30

Helicopter based microwave radar measurements in alpine terrain
pdf

Hans-Peter Marshall

16:50

Next level for snow pack monitoring in real-time using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology
pdf

Achim Heilig

17:10

The avalanche dummy. Development and testing of a system to measure loads and forces experienced by an avalanche victim, using an automotive crash test dummy.
pdf

Robb Larson

To Monday
Tuesday, September 23rd 2008
To Thursday

8:00

Snowpack modeling microstructure and variability session introduction

 

8:05

Observing and forecasting snow surface temperatures for Nordic ski race courses at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver BC
pdf

Wendy Wagner

8:25

Recent Observations of snow metamorphism and microstructure
pdf

Ethan Greene

8:45

Quantifying changes in weak layer microstructure associated with loading events
pdf

Eric Lutz

9:05

Laboratory simulations of radiation-recrystallization events in Southwest Montana
pdf

Andrew Slaughter

9:25

Near-surface faceting on South aspects in Southwest Montana
pdf

Henry Munter

9:45

Slope scale spatial variability across time and space: Comparison of results from continental and maritime climates
pdf

Jordy Hendrikx

10:05 - 10:30

BREAK

 

10:30

Wet slab instability at the Arapahoe Basin ski area
pdf

Leif Borgeson

10:50

Observation and modeling of buried melt-freeze crusts
pdf

Michael Smith

11:10

Water movement and capillary barriers in a stratified and inclined snowpack
pdf

Erich Peitzsch

11:30

Deriving spatial stability variations from penetration resistance measurements
pdf

Sascha Bellaire

11:50

Predicting the fracture character of potential weak layers in penetrometer signals
pdf

James Floyer

12:10

Modeling short wave radiation penetration into the snowpack: What can we learn from near-surface snow temperatures?
pdf

Charles Fierz

12:30 - 14:00

LUNCH

 

14:00

Hazard risk and danger session introduction

 

14:05

A case study in transmission line risk tolerance: 1) Colorado, USA &2) Eastern Iceland
pdf

Art Mears & Chris Wilbur

14:25

Avalanche hazard investigations, zoning and ordinances.
Utah, Part 2
pdf

David Scroggin

14:45

Avalanche hazard, danger and risk - a practical explanation
pdf

Grant Statham

15:05 - 15:30

BREAK

 

15:30

Can field observations be combined systematically with the regional danger rating to estimate the local avalanche danger?
pdf

Bruce Jamieson

15:50

Trauma as a cause of death in Western Canadian avalanches:
A 21 Year Review
pdf

Jeff Boyd

16:10

Terrain and traumatic injury in US avalanche accidents
pdf

Ian McCammon

16:30

Poster session introduction

16:35 - 17:30

POSTER SESSION

 

To Tuesday
Thursday, September 25th 2008
To Friday

8:00

Forecasting session introduction

 

8:05

2007 Winter avalanches on the Kemano Kitimat powerline
pdf

Rod Gee

8:25

The importance of micro-scale avalanche forecasting in Mount Washington's Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines
pdf

Christopher Joosen

8:45

Guidelines for forecasting snow avalanches on the Milford Road, New Zealand
pdf

Howard Conway

9:05

Chinook Pass: 25 years On
pdf

John Stimberis

9:25

Operational highway avalanche forecasting using the infrasonic avalanche detection system
pdf

Jamie Yount

9:45

Challenges in forecasting,
Chile 2005
pdf

Matt McKee

10:05 - 10:30

BREAK

 

10:30

Avalanche crown depth distributions
pdf

Edward Bair

10:50

Determining the critical new snow depth for a destructive avalanche by considering the return period
pdf

Jürg Schweizer

11:10

On wet slab mechanics and yellow snow: A practitioner's observations
pdf

Adam Brown

11:30

A solar warming model (SWarm) to estimate diurnal changes in near-surface snowpack temperatures for back-country avalanche forecasting
pdf

Laura Bakermans

11:50

Deep slab instability characterizing the phenomena - part 1
pdf

Bob Comey

12:10

On Snow Avalanche Flow Regimes: Inferences from Observations and Measurements
pdf

Peter Gauer

12:30 - 13:40

LUNCH

 

13:40

Mitigation methods session introduction

 

13:45

Avalanche protection for Rosa Khutor
pdf

Chris Stethem

14:05

Opening the Mt. Rose Chutes: Transformation of a control program from road protection to skier protection
pdf

Michael Ferrari

14:25

Bootpacking and "systematic application of explosives": Shear plane disruption technique in the continental climate
pdf

Peter Carvelli

14:45

Development of an helicopter-borne gas device for avalanche preventive release
pdf

Philippe Berthet-Rambaud

15:05

Development of the technology to induce an artificial avalanche for the wet snow layer
pdf

Makoto Machida

15:25

Poster session introduction

 

15:30 - 16:25

POSTER SESSION

 

16:25

Worker safety session introduction

 

16:30

A practical use of historic data to mitigate worker exposure to avalanche hazard
pdf

Mike Rheam

16:50

Deep slab instability, decision making, and consequences: a case study
pdf

Kirsti Jurica

17:10

Snow doughnut, beacon checker, blaster trailer and other low cost tools from the field
pdf

Mike Stanford

To Thursday
Friday, September 26th 2008

8:00

Stability session and propagation test panel session introduction

 

8:05

Comparing fracture propagation tests and relating test results to snowpack characteristics
pdf

Cameron Ross

8:15

Application of the field stability evaluation methods to the snow conditions of the Eastern Pyrenees
pdf

Ivan Moner

8:25

Comparison of different snow stability tests including the extended column test
pdf

Kurt Winkler

8:35

The extended column test: Test effectiveness. Spatial variability and comparison with the propagation saw test
pdf

Karl Birkeland

8:45

Predictions of the propagation saw test: Comparisons with other instability tests at skier tested slopes
pdf

Dave Gauthier

8:55

Panel discussion open to the floor

 

9:35 - 10:00

BREAK

 

10:00

The effect of snowpack warming on the stress bulb below a skier
pdf

Thomas Exner

10:20

Mixed effect and spatial correlation models for analyzing a regional spatial dataset
pdf

Randall Mullen

10:40

Estimating rutschblock stability from snowmicropen measurements
pdf

Christine Pielmeier

11:00

Investigations on snow hardness as a measure to determine shear strength
pdf

Peter Hller

11:20

Education session introduction

 

11:25

Shoveling education at work: A case study. Success story on Mt. Proctor BC.
pdf

Ian Bezubiak

11:45

Making the news: Using the media for avalanche safety
pdf

Mary Clayton

12:05 - 13:30

LUNCH

 

13:30

The Avaluator™ avalanche accident prevention card: Facts, fictions and controversies
pdf

Bob Uttl

13:50

Evaluating the Avaluator™ - first reflections on the Canadian decision aid
pdf

Pascal Hägeli

14:10

Is it safe? An educational poster developed by grade school students for their peers
pdf

Andrew Slaughter

14:30

Poster session introduction

 

14:35 - 15:30

POSTER SESSION

 

15:30

Decision making and human factors session introduction

 

15:35

A lifetime of learning in the Winter of 2008
pdf

Marc Piche

15:55

December 2nd 2007 avalanche event in Washington
pdf

Christopher Morin

16:15

Guidelines For avalanche control services: Organisation, hazard assessment and documentation. An example from Switzerland
pdf

Lukas Stoffel

16:35

Out-Of-Bounds Avalanche Awareness: Assessment, Current Practices, and Future Management
pdf

Ian McCammon

16:55

Human risk factors in avalanche incidents
pdf

Albert (Albi) Sole

17:15

Closing remarks

Brian Gould and Helene Steiner

Last updated: 07.47 PST. Monday, 30th March, 2009. CJM.

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