The more you know about snow stability, the better your travel and rescue skills. And the sharper your decision making, the better you’ll be able to avoid avalanche danger and have more fun in the winter backcountry. In Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, 3rd Edition, acclaimed snow and avalanche expert Bruce Tremper provides easy-to-understand avalanche safety tips and skills, including the latest snow research and techniques for evaluating snowpack, as well how to rescue companions in the event of an avalanche. Other topics include: How to evaluate terrain and decide whether it's safe or dangerous How avalanches work How to test snow stability How to control your exposure and lower your risk Safe travel techniques What to do if you're caught in an avalanche Search-and-rescue strategies Managing the human factors that contribute to accidents This fully revised and updated third edition of Bruce's best-selling book is organized according to the structure of American Avalanche Association classes, and all topics have been updated and reviewed by peer experts. This edition also features a wholly new chapter in which Bruce pulls all the pieces together to create an organized, step-by-step system for making decisions off, and on, the mountain. As Rocky Mountain News proclaimed, "No one who plays in the mountain snow should leave home without having studied this book." Clear, comprehensive, and engaging, Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain shares everything skiers, snowboarders, and other backcountry travelers need to know to stay safe in the mountains.

CLICK HERE to download the chapter on "Backcountry Forecasting & Decisions" from The Avalanche Handbook * Information on the unique characteristics of alpine snow, snow slab instability, terrain variables, skier triggering of avalanches, and the nature of avalanche motion * Chapters on the elements of backcountry avalanche forecasting and the decision-making process * This is the text used by search and rescue professionals, ski patrol groups, and outdoor education programs Technical yet accessible, The Avalanche Handbook, 3rd Edition, covers the formation, character, effects, and control of avalanches; rescue techniques; and research on understanding and surviving avalanches. Illustrated with nearly 200 updated illustrations, photos and examples, this updated edition offers exhaustive information on contributing weather and climate factors, snowpack analysis, the newest transceiver search techniques, and preventative and protective measures, including avalanche zoning and control.

More than 75,000 copies sold of previous editions New chapter on risk management Includes new photographs and updated illustrations The Avalanche Handbook needs no introduction. For this new fourth edition of the course-adopted and internationally recognized book, David McClung has completed an in-depth review and update of the entire text, as well as consulted outside experts in explosives, search and rescue, and other key topics. Comprehensive sections cover the formation, character, effects, and control of avalanches; avalanche terrain and forecasting; safety and rescue; risk management, preventive and protective measures; and more. Technical yet accessible and with extensive photos, illustrations, graphs, and charts throughout, The Avalanche Handbook will continue to be essential reading for avalanche professionals and serious winter backcountry adventurers.

The present mortality as a result of snow avalanches exceeds the average mortality caused by earthquakes as well as all other forms of slope failure combined. Snow avalanches can range from small amounts of loose snow moving rapidly down a slope to slab avalanches, in which large chunks of snow break off and destroy everything in their path. Although considered a hazard in the United States since the westward expansion in the nineteenth century, in modern times snow avalanches are an increasing concern in recreational mountainous areas. However, programs for snow avalanche hazard mitigation in other countries are far ahead of those in the United States. The book identifies several steps that should be taken by the United States in order to establish guidelines for research, technology transfer, and avalanche legislation and zoning.