The most pressing problem for those working in the avalanche safety field is how to educate and inform amateur back-country users of the relative risks involved and how best to spot the clues that might alert them to the possibility of avalanches while travelling in avalanche terrain.
With their new “Danger Scale Warning System”, for which we provided design services, Parks Canada attempts to do just that.
The avalanche danger scale … communicates the likelihood of avalanches being triggered, their expected size, how widespread the situation may become and the recommended action for backcountry travel.
– federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice
I was given the opportunity to work on the visual design of the Avalanche Danger Scale card, which was the final piece in a multi-year project led by Grant Statham, IFMGA, Mountain Risk Specialist at Parks Canada. The card is intended and was designed to be used in pre-planning of backcountry outings in avalanche terrain and is meant to be referenced with current avalanche bulletins.
Assisting in this process was Dr. Pascal Haegeli, principal of Avisualanche Consulting and project leader of the ADFAR2 project at the Canadian Avalanche Centre. I first worked with Dr. Haegeli in 2006, aiding with the branding, visual identity and collateral design for the then new Avaluator card, which has since been updated to the Avaluator V2. The Avaluator was developed, referencing years of research, to aid in avalanche risk assessment, utilizing a practical, science-based decision framework when planning for or traveling in avalanche terrain.
The Avaluator V2 bridges the rule-based approach of the original Avaluator with the more knowledge-based decision methods used by more advanced back-country users and incorporates the new Danger Scale Warning System described above.
Read more about the Avaluator.
