Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center -- Education

Articles Related to Snow and Avalanches

The following articles and professionals papers were written by the staff of GNFAC.

Available on the web:

Minimizing "False-Stable" Stability Test Results. By Karl Birkeland and Doug Chabot. Paper presented at the 2006 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2006 ISSW, Telluride, CO. You can also view an online video of this presentation.

SnowPilot. By Doug Chabot. Poster presented at the 2004 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2004 ISSW, Jackson, Wyoming.

Avalanche Education for Snowmobilers. By Doug Chabot. Paper presented at the 2002 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2002 ISSW, Penticton, British Columbia.

Interpreting Shear Quality into Stability Test Results. By Ron Johnson and Karl Birkeland. Paper presented at the 2002 ISSW, and published in the Proceedings of the 2002 ISSW, Penticton, British Columbia.

Interpreting Snowpack Stability Tests. By Ron Johnson. Published in the Winter Issue of the 2001 Ski Patrol Magazine.

Alpinism and Avalanches. By Doug Chabot. Published in the February, 2001 issue of The Avalanche Review, 19(4).

The Stuffblock: A Simple and Effective Snowpack Stability Test (from the 1994 ISSW).
by Ron Johnson and Karl Birkeland. You can read the Stuffblock Technical Report (complete with photographs) courtesy of the Cyberspace Snow and Avalanche Center.

A Comparison Study of the Shredblock and Rutschblock Snow Stablility Tests by Andy Gleason. Presented at the 1998 ISSW, and to be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 ISSW, Sunriver, Oregon.

Patterns of snow stability throughout the Bridger Range. By Karl Birkeland. Paper presented at the 1998 ISSW, and to be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 ISSW, Sunriver, Oregon.

Effectively using and interpreting snow stability tests. By Ron Johnson and Karl Birkeland. Presented at the 1998 ISSW and to be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 ISSW, Sunriver, Oregon.

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. By Karl Birkeland. Published in the February, 1998 issue of The Avalanche Review, 16(4), 1-3.

Atmospheric circulation patterns associated with heavy snowfall events, Bridger Bowl, Montana, U.S.A. (Abstract and figures). By Karl Birkeland and Cary Mock. Published in 1996 in Mountain Research and Development, 16(3), 281-286.

Near-Surface Faceted Crystals: Conditions Necessary for Growth and Contribution to Avalanche Formation, Southwest Montana, U.S.A. By Karl Birkeland, Ron Johnson, and Scott Schmidt. You can find this paper with figures at the Cyberspace Snow and Avalanche Center

A complete list of publications (for articles not available on the web, try the library):

Refereed Publications/Book Chapters

Birkeland, K.W. Under review. Spatial patterns of snow stability throughout a small mountain range. Submitted to Journal of Glaciology, August, 1998.

Birkeland, K.W. and R.F. Johnson. Under review. The stuffblock snow stability test: Comparability with the rutschblock, usefulness in different snow climates, and repeatability between observers. Submitted to Cold Regions Science and Technology, August, 1998.

Birkeland, K.W. In press. Avalanche Science and Forecasting. Invited essay for a book commemorating the 25th anniversary of the PBS science documentary, NOVA. S. Hackman, editor.

Birkeland, K.W. 1998. Terminology and predominant processes associated with the formation of weak layers of near-surface crystals in the mountain snowpack. Arctic and Alpine Research, 30(2), 193-199.

Birkeland, K.W., R.F. Johnson, and D.S. Schmidt. 1998. Near-surface faceted crystals formed by diurnal recrystallization: A case study of weak layer formation in the mountain snowpack and its contribution to avalanche formation. Arctic and Alpine Research, 30(2), 199-204.

Birkeland, K.W. and C. Mock. 1996. Atmospheric circulation patterns associated with heavy snowfall events, Bridger Bowl, Montana, U.S.A. Mountain Research and Development, 16(3), 281-286.

Birkeland, K.W., K.J. Hansen, and R.L. Brown. 1995. The spatial variability of snow resistance on potential avalanche slopes. J. Glaciology, 41(137), 183-190.

Non-Refereed Publications

Birkeland, K.W. In press. Snow stability patterns throughout the Bridger Range, Montana. To be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 International Snow Science Workshop, Sun River, Oregon.

Johnson, R.F. and K.W. Birkeland. In press. Effectively using and interpreting stability tests. To be published in the Proceedings of the 1998 International Snow Science Workshop, Sun River, Oregon.

Birkeland, K.W. In press. Near-surface faceted crystals: Sometimes today’s great skiing can become tomorrow’s avalanche nightmare. To be published in The Avalanche Review, 17(1).

Stock, J., K. Elder and K. Birkeland. In press. Near-surface faceted crystals and their effect on snow stability, Red Mountain Pass Corridor, Colorado. To be published in the Proceedings of the 66th Western Snow Conference, Snowbird, Utah.

Birkeland, K.W. 1998. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. The Avalanche Review, 16(4), 1-3.

Birkeland, K.W. 1996. The effect of ski run cutting and artificial snowmaking on snow water equivalent at Big Sky Ski Area, Montana. Proceedings of the 64th Western Snow Conference, Bend, Oregon, 137-148.

Birkeland, K.W., R.F. Johnson, and D.S. Schmidt. 1996. Near-surface faceted crystals: Conditions necessary for growth and contribution to avalanche formation, southwest Montana, U.S.A. Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, 75-79.

Birkeland, K.W. 1995. The Stuffblock Stability Test: a quick "how to" guide and a call for data. The Avalanche Review, 13(4), 8.

Birkeland, K.W. 1995. Chasing avalanches with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. U.S. Forest Service Northern Region News, Issue 5, p. 1.

Johnson, R.F. and K.W. Birkeland. 1994. The stuffblock: A simple and inexpensive snow stability test. Proceedings of the 1994 International Snow Science Workshop, Snowbird, Utah.

Birkeland, K.W. and K. Elder. 1994. Snow science, necessary instruments, and the scientific method. The Avalanche Review, 12(6), 3-7.

Birkeland, K.W. 1993. Recipe for starting a regional avalanche center. The Avalanche Review, 11(6), 4.

Birkeland, K.W. 1992. Avalanches and extreme snowmobilers. The Avalanche Review, 10(4), 1-3.

Brown, R.L. and K.W. Birkeland. 1990. A comparison of the digital resistograph with the RAM penetrometer. Proceedings of the 1990 International Snow Science Workshop, Bigfork, Montana, p. 19-30.

Hansen, K.J. and K.W. Birkeland. 1989. Applications of dendrochronology in avalanche studies. The Avalanche Review, 7(4), 3-7.

Birkeland, K.W. and T. Leonard. 1988. An inexpensive bomb tram for aerial detonations. The Avalanche Review, 6(4), 6