Below is the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, which offers explanations of the danger levels and what each means. These are the ratings you will find on avalanche advisories. As well, many advisories will use the avalanche danger rose.
Getting Educated
- National Ski Patrol (NSP) Southern California: Offer Level I and II courses in So Cal. Also work with partner instructors in the Sierra.
- Sierra Mountain Guides (SMG): A great resource for AVI 1 and 2 courses in the Sierra.
- Sierra Mountain Center (SMC): Another guide service in the Sierra offering avalanche courses.
- Sierra Mountaineering International (SMI): And one more...
Nearby (relatively speaking) Avalanche Centers
- Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC): The one and only avalanche forecasting center in the Eastern Sierra.
- Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC): Avalanche forecasting for the Tahoe area. Great resource for up-to-date snowpack reports. We hope that one day So Cal Snow's reports page will look like theirs!
- Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center
- Kachina Peaks Avalanche Center (Arizona)
- Central Oregon Avalanche Association: This group is similar to So Cal Snow, as they do not produce official advisories, but instead promote awareness and user-submitted field reports.
Links of Interest...
- SnoPilot Pit Profile Software
- Southern CA avalanche education blog a local arena for avalanche education information and discussions
- Mammut Avalanche Blog: A bit of favoritism towards Mammut products, but a good resource for current avalanche happenings. Also a good resource for accident summaries, as well as links to more detailed incident reports.
- AAA Education Progression: Suggested educational flowchart published by the American Avalanche Association.
- US Avalanche Statistics: Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC)
- Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Guidelines (SWAG): Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States
- Backcountry Access Education: A great resource for research and information about safety. Check out their in-depth studies on effective digging!
- Wildsnow.com - The Backcountry Skiing Blog: A comprehensive, up-to-date blog for backcountry skiing. Click on the Avalanche tab for all kinds of great articles.
