Hazard
The potential avalanche process: where it exists, how likely release is, and how large it could be.
Guest avalanche guide
Understand the system. Never turn the bulletin into permission.
A regional forecast describes avalanche danger across an area. It cannot approve a landing zone, run, group, or commercial plan.
Global coverage register
Public coverage remains uneven.
18 destination profiles link a verified regional bulletin service. 13 link official weather or hazard information only. 3 have no verified public bulletin.
This site displays no current danger value. Open the original service to confirm the authority, region, issue time, validity, and expiry.
Safety boundary
This guide is education, not operational advice.
Follow your guides, briefing, and operator procedures. Conditions can differ from a public bulletin and can change after it was issued.
Language first
Hazard is not the same as risk.
Exposure
The people, aircraft, landing zone, or route that could be affected by that hazard.
Vulnerability
How severely an exposed person or system could be harmed if an avalanche occurs.
Risk
The combined consequence of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability under a specific plan.
Five-level danger scale
Ordinal levels, not a linear score.
Level 2 is not twice Level 1. Danger can also vary by elevation, aspect, time, and avalanche problem.
- 1
Low
Generally stable conditions. Isolated problems can still exist in very steep or extreme terrain.
- 2
Moderate
Heightened conditions on specific terrain features. Human triggering remains possible.
- 3
Considerable
Dangerous conditions. Human triggering is possible and conditions demand conservative terrain choices.
- 4
High
Very dangerous conditions. Natural avalanches and human triggering may be likely in many areas.
- 5
Very high (EAWS) / Extreme (North America)
Extraordinary conditions. Numerous very large natural avalanches can be expected.
Read the complete bulletin
The headline level is only the first field.
Always open the original publisher. Check whether the planned terrain is inside the stated region.
Issued and valid
Confirm publication time, valid period, update schedule, and whether the service is in season.
Region and coverage
Confirm the geographic boundary. Nearby terrain can sit outside the forecast area.
Elevation and aspect
Read where each problem exists. Do not average different elevation bands.
Problems and size
Understand the weak layer, expected trigger, spatial distribution, likelihood, and destructive size.
Weather and trend
New snow, wind, warming, rain, and cooling can change the problem during the valid period.
Confidence and gaps
Read uncertainty, observation gaps, and any explicit no-rating or early-season statement.
EAWS five core avalanche problems
Problem type explains the instability mechanism.
North American bulletins use a broader taxonomy with different names and groupings. Follow the terminology and definitions in the original local bulletin.
- 01
New snow
Rapid loading before new snow has bonded to the old surface.
- 02
Wind slab
Wind moves snow into dense, cohesive slabs on lee and cross-loaded terrain.
- 03
Persistent weak layer
A buried weak layer can remain active for weeks or months and allow remote triggering.
- 04
Wet snow
Liquid water weakens the snowpack after rain, warming, or strong solar input.
- 05
Glide snow
The full snowpack moves on the ground and can release with poor timing predictability.
Terrain multiplies consequence
Start zone, track and runout form one connected path.
A person can be hit from above or carried into a terrain trap without standing in the release area.
Start zone
Steep terrain where a slab or loose-snow avalanche can release.
Track
The route avalanche debris follows through gullies, faces, or forest.
Runout and trap
Debris slows and piles deeply in gullies, benches, creek beds, or below cliffs.
About 30° is a useful threshold, not a field clearance.
Maps and phone sensors have error. Connected terrain, cornices, remote triggers, and overhead hazard still matter.
Heli-ski operating context
The aircraft adds decisions that a public backcountry forecast does not model.
Landing zone
Slope, loose snow, cornices, rotor wash, contrast, obstacles, and escape path affect suitability.
Group exposure
Spacing, regrouping, pickup location, and one-at-a-time travel control how many people are exposed.
Pilot-guide coordination
Weather, fuel, terrain, pickup options, snow observations, and stop decisions must move both ways.
Changing run list
A run can close after new observations. A delay or easier terrain can be an active risk control.
Before you book
Questions that reveal the operator's system.
Good answers describe responsibilities, observations, thresholds, alternatives, and practice.
- 01
Which professional qualifications and local experience do the guides hold?
- 02
How do guides and pilots share weather, snowpack, and terrain information each morning?
- 03
Which observations, weather stations, profiles, and stability tests support the daily plan?
- 04
How does the team open, restrict, or close terrain during the day?
- 05
Who has stop-work authority, and how can any guide or pilot use it?
- 06
What happens when weather prevents flying or reduces safe terrain options?
- 07
Which rescue equipment does every guest carry, and how is proficiency checked?
- 08
How does the emergency plan address multiple burials, trauma, weather, and delayed extraction?
Guest readiness
Carry the complete kit and know your assigned role.
Equipment supports rescue after an accident. It never makes avalanche terrain safe.
Transceiver
Wear it as instructed, complete the function check, and keep electronics managed.
Shovel
Carry a robust avalanche shovel and practise efficient strategic digging.
Probe
Carry a full-length avalanche probe and know how your team performs pinpoint probing.
Training and first aid
Practise companion rescue. Follow the operator's emergency and trauma procedures.
Guest red flags
Pause and ask when the system sounds too simple.
- A public danger level is presented as proof that a run is safe.
- The operator cannot explain guide qualifications or daily assessment responsibilities.
- Down-day, terrain-closure, rescue, or equipment procedures remain vague before booking.
- Commercial decisions rely only on a recreational bulletin without local observations.
Original sources