Overview
High-quality research informs everything we do as a public safety organization. Explore the recent research that our staff have led and been involved in below.
Research Published in 2023
“Assessing the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s Backcountry Avalanche Forecasts” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
“A Multi-factor Approach to Rank and Manage the Impact of Avalanches on Highway Operations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Mike Cooperstein, Rebecca Hodgetts, Spencer Logan, Brian Gorsage, and Ethan Greene.
“Stress Mitigation in Avalanche Work” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Brian Lazar, Laura McGladrey, Ian Fowler, Gabriel Benel, and Ethan Greene.
“The Relationship Between Whumpf Observations and Avalanche Activity in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Jason Konigsberg, Ron Simenhois, Karl Birkeland, Erich Peitzsch, Doug Chabot, and Ethan Greene.
“Slope Scale Estimates of Crack Propagation Speeds From Avalanche Videos” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Johan Gaume, Alec van Herwijnen, Bastian Bergfeld, Bertil Trottet, and Ethan Greene.
“Snowpack Characteristics at Triggering Locations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Jason Konigsberg, Doug Chabot, and Ethan Greene.
“Using tree rings to compare Colorado’s 2019 avalanche cycle to previous large avalanche cycles” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Erich H. Peitzsch, Ethan M. Greene, Jason Konigsberg, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin T. Martin, Nickolas Kichas, Daniel K. Stahle, Adrien Favillier, Nicolas Eckert, Karl W. Birkeland, and Kelly Elder.
“Big avalanches in a changing climate: Using tree-ring derived avalanche chronologies to examine avalanche frequency across multiple climate types” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Erich H. Peitzsch, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin T. Martin, Eran Hood, Ethan M. Greene, Karl W. Birkeland , Kelly Elder, Gabriel J. Wolken, Nick Kichas, Daniel K. Stahle, and John R. Harley.
“A framework for measuring the performance of highway and railway avalanche programs, and demonstrating improvements with investment” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Zac Sala, Dave Gauthier, Jamie Yount, Ethan Greene, and David Hamre.
“The AvID Project: Collaborative Solutions to Avalanche Forecasting Challenges” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Grant Helgeson, Stan Nowak, Mike Cooperstein, Simon Horton, Jacob Barney, Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, and Karl Klassen.
"Optimizing Road Management with Doppler Radar for Automatic Detection at I-70" in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Severin Stähly, Jamie Yount, Brian Gorsage, Ethan Greene, and Susanne Wahlen.
“Comparing Stability Tests and Understanding Their Limitations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Karl W. Birkeland, Alec van Herwijnen, Frank Techel, Edward H. Bair, Benjamin Reuter, Ron Simenhois, Bruce Jamieson, Alex Marienthal, Doug Chabot, and Jürg Schweizer.
“Supershear Crack Propagation in Snow Slab Avalanche Release: New Insights from Numerical Simulations and Field Measurements” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Grégoire Bobillier, Bertil Trottet, Bastian Bergfeld, Ron Simenhois, Alec van Herwijnen, Jürg Schweizer, and Johan Gaume.
"Using video detection of snow surface movements to estimate weak layer crack propagation speeds" in the Annals of Glaciology by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Johan Gaume, Alec van Herwijnen, Bastian Bergfeld, Bertil Trottet, and Ethan Greene.
Research Published in 2022
“Forecasting Wet Slab Avalanches Start Zone Characteristics and Weather Variables” in The Avalanche Review (p18-20) by Brandon Levy, Andrea Tupy, and Ron Simeonhois.
“Destructive Avalanche Cycles in Colorado and a Link to Atmospheric Rivers” in The Avalanche Review (p21-23) by Jason Konigsberg, Jonathan Rutz, Spencer Logan, and Ethan Greene.
“New insights on avalanche release mechanics based on large-scale elastoplastic simulations" in EGU General Assembly 2022 by Bertil Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Grégoire Bobillier, Alec van Herwijnen, and Johan Gaume.
"Transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow avalanches" in Nature by Bertil Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Gregoire Bobillier, Bastian Bergfeld, Alec van Herwijnen, Chenfanfu Jiang, and Johan Gaume.
Research Published in 2021
"From sub-Rayleigh to intersonic crack propagation in snow slab avalanche release" in EGU General Assembly 2021 by Bertil Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Grégoire Bobillier, Alec van Herwijnen, Chenfanfu Jiang, and Johan Gaume.
Research Published in 2020
"Education and Experience Levels of People Involved in Avalanches during the 2019-2020 Colorado Avalanche Season" in The Avalanche Review (p.36-39) by Ethan Greene and Spencer Logan.
“How old are the people who die in avalanches? A look into the ages of avalanche victims in the United States (1950–2018)” in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism by Erich Peitzsch, Sara Boilen, Spencer Logan, Karl Birkeland, and Ethan Greene.
“Comparing Extended Column Test Results To Signs Of Instability In The Surrounding Slopes” in Snow Science by Frank Techel, Karl Birkeland, Doug Chabot, Jim Earl, Ivan Moner, and Ron Simenhois.
Research Published in 2019
“Will the Slope Slide” in The Avalanche Review (p20-21) by Ron Simeonhois, Karl Birkeland, Kelly Elder, Gavin Gunderson, and Ethan Greene.
Research Published in 2018
"A conceptual model of avalanche hazard” in Natural Hazards by Grant Statham, Pascal Haegeli, Ethan Greene, Karl Birkeland, Clair Israelson, Bruce Tremper, Chris Stethem, Bruce McMahon, Brad White, and John Kelly.
"Patterns in avalanche events and regional scale avalanche forecasts in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
"Forecast avalanche danger, avalanche activity, and avalanche accidents in Colorado, USA, winters 2014 to 2018” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria By Spencer Logan, Ethan Greene.
"Release of avalanches on persistent weak layers in relation to loading events in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria By Jason Konigsberg, Spencer Logan, Ethan Greene.
"Transportation Avalanche Research Pooled Fund Program” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria by John Stimberis, Jim Kennedy, Rob Bickor, Jamie Yount, Bill Nalli, Brian Gorsage, Dave Hamre, Ethan Greene, and Kevin Thompson.
"A college-level training program for avalanche safety workers” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria by Roger Coit, Kelly Elder, Ethan Greene, Rebecca Hodgetts, Brian Lazar, John MacKinnon, and Blase Reardon.
“Causes of Death Among Avalanche Fatalities in Colorado: A 21-Year Review” in the Wilderness Environmental Medicine by Alison Sheets, Dale Wang, Spencer Logan, and Dale Atkins.
“Avalanchenearmiss.org: The Professional Near Miss Database is Live” in The Avalanche Review (p32-35) by Scott Savage, Ethan Greene, and Bill Williamson.
Research Published in 2017
"In Response to Avalanche Fatalities in the United States by Jekich et al” in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine by Karl W. Birkeland, Ethan Greene, and Spencer Logan.
Research Published in 2016
"Leave Your Thermometer at Home…But Don’t Forget Your Loupe” in The Avalanche Review (p22-23) by Ethan Greene and Kevin Hammonds.
"The Avalanche Character Frequency of Reported Avalanche Events in Colorado, USA, 2011-2016” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
"Know Before You Go Revision: an Introductory Tool for Influencing Backcountry Behavior” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Craig Gordon, Paul Diegel, Trent Meisenheimer, Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, Mary Clayon, Aaron Carlson, Bruce Tremper, Mark Staples, Karl Birkeland, and Tim Bennet.
“Loveland Pass Avalanche Mitigation” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Fanny Bourjaillat, Ethan Greene, Tyler Weldon, Ray Mumford, and Philippe Berthet-Rambaud.
"Changes in Extended Column Test Results with Varying Depths” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Ian Hoyer, Ethan Greene. Doug Chabot, and Karl W. Birkeland.
"North American Avalanche Danger Scale: Are Public Backcountry Forecasters Applying it Consistently?” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Brian Lazar, Simon Trautman, Mike Cooperstein, Ethan Greene, and Karl Birkeland
"Quantifying the Effectiveness of Active Mitigation on Transportation Corridors” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Ian Hoyer, Ethan Greene, Doug Chabot, and Karl W. Birkeland.
"Supporting, Evaluating, and Planning Avalanche Control Efforts with Lidar-Derived Snow Depth Maps” in the Proceedings in the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. by Jeffrey Deems, Ryan Evanczyk, Dominic Vellone, Ethan Greene, Tyler Weldon, David Finnegan, Peter Gadomski, and Adam LeWinter.
Research Published in 2014
"The Distribution of Fatalities by Avalanche Problem in Colorado, 1998-99 to 2012-13” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
"Climate-Scale Maps of Cold-Season Precipitation in the Mountainous Areas of Colorado for Operational Forecasting Applications” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada by B.J. Marraccini, Brian Lazar, and Ethan Greene.
"Reflections: Sheep Creek Avalanche,” in The Avalanche Review by B.J. Marraccini, Brian Lazar, and Ethan Greene.
Research Published in 2012
"Avalanche Problems & Public Advisories” in The Avalanche Review (p1) by Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, and Karl Birkeland.