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The main and only goal for trip planning is to recognize and avoid potential problems early enough and get ready for them. When planning we are looking at conditions, terrain, and human factors.
What to consider during the trip planning:
Choose an appropriate trip (feasible/realistic). Look up information from various websites, maps, and guide books. Ask for info from local skiers.
Gather information on weather and snow conditions, terrain difficulty and its aspect, look also for the human factors.
Draw the planned route onto a 1:25000 topo map.
Identify and access cruxes of the route.
Determine decision points and plan alternatives.
Estimate timelines determine fixed times.
Review your entire trip plan and think about what could go wrong.
We can split the trip planning into 3x3 assessment and decision framework.
TRIP PLANNING (done home a few days before the tour) - a trip destination with alternatives and a schedule
CONDITIONS
Avalanche bulletin (forecast)
Weather forecast
Info on a planned trip from the online community (with caution)
Time or the day/season
Other info
TERRAIN
Plan your route on a topo map 1:25000, including alternatives
Ski touring guidebook and ski touring map
Identify cruxes and assess options
Info from locals
HUMAN FACTORS
Who is coming along
How many people
Responsibility
Participants’ wishes and expectations
Skills and fitness of participants/leader
Equipment
Timelines
(time calculator: when planning the approximate time of the tour, you can calculate 1h for every 300m vertical, 1/4h for every km. The lover measure you divide by 2 and add these together. Example: 1,5km vertical / 10km >> 5h + 2,5h >> 5+(2,5/2) = 6,25h)
Considering all these things we need to be able to choose what tour is feasible for a certain group.
LOCAL EVALUATION (done right at the place when starting the tour) - Compare your beliefs and conceptions to reality. Stay aware throughout the entire day, revise trip planning if necessary.
CONDITIONS
Look for warning signs
Current weather, the tendency
Avalanche problems? Or is the avalanche situation favorable?
Is the current avalanche situation similar to what is described in the bulletin?
Visibility
TERRAIN
View into the cruxes
Possible critical areas
Route choice and possible alternatives
Existing tracks
HUMAN FACTORS
Transceiver check
Check equipment
Physical and mental stare (personal, group)
Are timelines realistic?
Heuristic traps
Who else is out there?
Encourage feedback culture
Group dynamic processes
Does everything look as planned? Does the tour look still feasible for the group considering the conditions, weather, … at the moment?
INDIVIDUAL SLOPE (done during the tour) - Final risk assessment,m trail selection, travel techniques, or avoidance.
CONDITIONS
Avalanche problems in the slope? How severe are they? Or is the current avalanche situation favorable?
Visibility
Frequently traveled
Other dangers (glacier, cornice, …)
TERRAIN
Steepness
Aspect and elevation (favorable/unfavorable)
The shape of the terrain
Slope dimensions
Possible consequences/terrain trap
Trail selection
HUMAN FACTORS
Mental state (group, personal)
Facts vs. feelings
Tactics (spreading out, riding one at a time, regrouping at safety spots)
Communication
Leadership/discipline
Here we are making the final decision if the slope we wanna ride is ok to be ridden down and how.
IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
Look and pay attention to all possible warning signs which are typical for higher levels of avalanche danger from level 3 (considerable) up.
Recent slab avalanches
“Whumpf” sounds
Shooting crags when stepping onto the snow
New snow and wind
Fresh deposits of wind-drifted snow
Rain on a dry snowpack
Marked warning close to the melting point (0°C; especially after snowfall)