The Avalanche Bulletin Explained

Unless your riding takes you to the most extreme frontiers of the FreeRide universe, there’s almost always a daily (sometimes twice daily) avalanche bulletin to refer to. While the look and feel of these may differ from country to country, they tend to follow an internationally recognised information pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, you’ll see the avalanche danger level for the day. This is proceeded by successive layers of information ranked in order of relevance and importance, concluding with the raw, uninterpreted data at the base.

Here’s how you gain value from an avalanche bulletin:  

1.   Find the avalanche bulletin for your area or region and get familiar with the frequency and format of the report. Most ski stations provide a printed or summary version of the avalanche bulletin. Always keep an eye out for these, but at the Republic, we recommend reviewing the online edition (usually published at 4pm the day prior). More on that in a minute.
2.   Before studying the report, check the date. Every bulletin states when it was written or published and when it expires – usually a 24 hour window. This may seem obvious but accidentally reviewing out-of-date information or even data for a neighbouring region is easily done. 
3.   If possible, study successive reports to get a picture of what is happening over time. Avalanche risk tends to evolve in reasonably predictable patterns over time so it’s useful to know what’s been going on up there over successive days as this will help you to better understand the prevailing problems and dangers.
4.   Use the avalanche bulletin as one of your planning tools when conducting your risk assessment. If the first time you see the bulletin is when you arrive at the ski station, you probably already have a plan in mind for the day. Although still useful, it’s far better to start your day with all the knowledge you need to ride – so before you head for the hill. 
5.   The avalanche bulletin offers a snapshot in time, not a predictive tool. Always use the bulletin in conjunction with the weather forecast. In particular, consider events that may affect the accuracy of the bulletin such as fresh snowfall or a rapid change in temperature.

In summary, the avalanche bulletin is your foundation for a safe day on the hill. When combined with the weather forecast, a good plan and the right gear it can be the difference between a great day and a disaster.