Articles | Volume 24, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2757-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2757-2024
Research article
 | 
16 Aug 2024
Research article |  | 16 Aug 2024

How hard do avalanche practitioners tap during snow stability tests?

Håvard B. Toft, Samuel V. Verplanck, and Markus Landrø

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Cited articles

American Avalanche Association: Snow, Weather and Avalanches: Observation Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States, 4th edn., edited by: Greene, E., Birkeland, K., Elder, K., McCammon, I., Staples, M., Sharaf, D., Trautman, S., and Wagner, W., American Avalanche Association, Denver, Colorado, 1–111, https://www.americanavalancheassociation.org/swag (last access: 15 May 2024), 2022. 
Benedetti, L., Gaume, J., and Fischer, J.-T.: A mechanically-based model of snow slab and weak layer fracture in the Propagation Saw Test, Int. J. Solids Struct., 158, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2017.12.033, 2019. 
Birkeland, K. W. and Johnson, R. F.: The stuffblock snow stability test: comparability with the rutschblock, usefulness in different snow climates, and repeatability between observers, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 30, 115–123, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-232X(99)00015-4, 1999. 
Birkeland, K. W. and Simenhois, R.: The Extended Column Test: Test Effectiveness, Spatial Variability, and Comparison with the Propagation Saw Test, in: International Snow Science Workshop, 26 September 2008, Whistler, British Colombia, 867–874, http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/item/62 (last access: 15 August 2024), 2008. 
Birkeland, K. W., van Herwijnen, A., Techel, F., Bair, E. H., Reuter, B., Simenhois, R., Jamieson, B., Marienthal, A., Chabot, D., and Schweizer, J.: Comparing stability tests and understanding their limitations, in: Proceedings of the 2023 International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, OR, http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/item/2855 (last access: 15 August 2024), 2023. 
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Short summary
This study investigates inconsistencies in impact force as part of extended column tests (ECTs). We measured force-time curves from 286 practitioners in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and North America. The results show a large variability in peak forces and loading rates across wrist, elbow, and shoulder taps, challenging the ECT's reliability. 
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