Department of Emergency Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH.
Division of Neurosurgery, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2023 Dec;34(4):457-461. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2023.07.001. Epub 2023 Sep 17.
Avalanche risk can be mitigated by adhering to certain safety practices. Previous studies of these practices have focused on western United States and European cohorts. We conducted a survey of backcountry users in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to determine local adherence to 5 previously studied avalanche safety practices. We assessed whether participants were carrying transceiver, probe, and shovel (TPS); had formal avalanche education; had awareness of the day's avalanche danger level; had a route plan; and were traveling in a group.
Backcountry users in the White Mountains were directed to an online survey from December 2020 to June 2021. The survey was completed individually and queried demographics and avalanche safety practices.
A total of 133 users participated. Not all surveyed participants answered all questions. Avalanche training was reported by 87% of users, 86% checked the avalanche forecast prior to recreating, 93% had a travel plan, 87% traveled in a group, and 59% carried TPS. All 3 items were carried by all group members only 48% of the time. Only 28% of users met all 5 safety practices.
White Mountains backcountry users are less likely to meet avalanche safety practices than users in previous studies. There is an association between meeting these defined safety practices and formal avalanche education.
通过遵守某些安全措施，可以降低雪崩风险。先前对这些措施的研究主要集中在美国西部和欧洲的队列上。我们对新罕布什尔州白山的偏远地区使用者进行了一项调查，以确定当地对 5 项先前研究过的雪崩安全措施的遵守情况。我们评估了参与者是否携带收发机、探测器和铲子（TPS）；是否接受过正式的雪崩教育；是否了解当天的雪崩危险等级；是否有路线计划；以及是否成群结队旅行。
从 2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 6 月，向白山的偏远地区使用者发送了在线调查。调查是单独完成的，询问了人口统计学和雪崩安全措施。
共有 133 名使用者参加。并非所有接受调查的参与者都回答了所有问题。87%的使用者接受过雪崩培训，86%的使用者在重新活动前检查了雪崩预报，93%的使用者有旅行计划，87%的使用者成群结队，59%的使用者携带 TPS。所有 3 项物品仅在所有组员都携带的情况下，每次都携带。只有 28%的使用者符合所有 5 项安全措施。
与之前的研究相比，白山偏远地区使用者更不可能遵守雪崩安全措施。符合这些规定的安全措施与正式的雪崩教育之间存在关联。
