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CAIC Research
High-quality research informs everything we do as a public safety organization. Below is the research our staff have led and contributed to.
2026
“Changing Drivers of Regional Large-Magnitude Avalanche Frequency Throughout Colorado, USA (opens in a new tab),” by Erich H. Peitzsch, Justin T. Martin, Ethan M. Greene, Nicolas Eckert, Adrien Favillier, Jason Konigsberg, Nickolas Kichas, Daniel K. Stahle, Karl W. Birkeland, Kelly Elder, and Gregory T. Pederson.
2024
“Avalanche Fatalities in Relation to the Coverage of Recreational Avalanche Forecasts in the United States” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Tromsø, Norway, (opens in a new tab) by Spencer Logan, Ethan Greene, and Simon Trautman.
“Users’ Awareness and Response to Uncertainty Information in Public Avalanche Forecasts” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Tromsø, Norway (opens in a new tab), by Eeva Latosuo, Pascal Haegeli, Julie Demuth, and Ethan Greene.
“Detecting Avalanche Path Ground Cover and Vegetation Change Across Multiple Scales Through Time Using Remote Sensing Tools” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Tromsø, Norway, (opens in a new tab) by Erich Peitzsch, Zachary Miller, Ron Simenhois, and Ethan Greene.
2023
“Assessing the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s Backcountry Avalanche Forecasts” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
“A Multi-factor Approach to Rank and Manage the Impact of Avalanches on Highway Operations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Mike Cooperstein, Rebecca Hodgetts, Spencer Logan, Brian Gorsage, and Ethan Greene.
“Stress Mitigation in Avalanche Work” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Brian Lazar, Laura McGladrey, Ian Fowler, Gabriel Benel, and Ethan Greene.
“The Relationship Between Whumpf Observations and Avalanche Activity in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Jason Konigsberg, Ron Simenhois, Karl Birkeland, Erich Peitzsch, Doug Chabot, and Ethan Greene.
“Slope Scale Estimates of Crack Propagation Speeds From Avalanche Videos” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Johan Gaume, Alec van Herwijnen, Bastian Bergfeld, Bertil Trottet, and Ethan Greene.
“Snowpack Characteristics at Triggering Locations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Jason Konigsberg, Doug Chabot, and Ethan Greene.
“Using tree rings to compare Colorado’s 2019 avalanche cycle to previous large avalanche cycles” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Erich H. Peitzsch, Ethan M. Greene, Jason Konigsberg, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin T. Martin, Nickolas Kichas, Daniel K. Stahle, Adrien Favillier, Nicolas Eckert, Karl W. Birkeland, and Kelly Elder.
“Snowpack Modeling Efforts at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by John Snook.
“Big avalanches in a changing climate: Using tree-ring derived avalanche chronologies to examine avalanche frequency across multiple climate types” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Erich H. Peitzsch, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin T. Martin, Eran Hood, Ethan M. Greene, Karl W. Birkeland , Kelly Elder, Gabriel J. Wolken, Nick Kichas, Daniel K. Stahle, and John R. Harley.
“A framework for measuring the performance of highway and railway avalanche programs, and demonstrating improvements with investment” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Zac Sala, Dave Gauthier, Jamie Yount, Ethan Greene, and David Hamre.
“The AvID Project: Collaborative Solutions to Avalanche Forecasting Challenges” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Grant Helgeson, Stan Nowak, Mike Cooperstein, Simon Horton, Jacob Barney, Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, and Karl Klassen.
“Optimizing Road Management with Doppler Radar for Automatic Detection at I-70” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Severin Stähly, Jamie Yount, Brian Gorsage, Ethan Greene, and Susanne Wahlen.
“Comparing Stability Tests and Understanding Their Limitations” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Karl W. Birkeland, Alec van Herwijnen, Frank Techel, Edward H. Bair, Benjamin Reuter, Ron Simenhois, Bruce Jamieson, Alex Marienthal, Doug Chabot, and Jürg Schweizer.
“Supershear Crack Propagation in Snow Slab Avalanche Release: New Insights from Numerical Simulations and Field Measurements” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Bend, Oregon, U.S.A. by Grégoire Bobillier, Bertil Trottet, Bastian Bergfeld, Ron Simenhois, Alec van Herwijnen, Jürg Schweizer, and Johan Gaume.
“Using video detection of snow surface movements to estimate weak layer crack propagation speeds” in the Annals of Glaciology (opens in a new tab) by Ron Simenhois, Karl W. Birkeland, Johan Gaume, Alec van Herwijnen, Bastian Bergfeld, Bertil Trottet, and Ethan Greene.
2022
“Forecasting Wet Slab Avalanches Start Zone Characteristics and Weather Variables” in The Avalanche Review (p18-20) by Brandon Levy, Andrea Tupy, and Ron Simeonhois.
“Destructive Avalanche Cycles in Colorado and a Link to Atmospheric Rivers” in The Avalanche Review (p21-23) by Jason Konigsberg, Jonathan Rutz, Spencer Logan, and Ethan Greene.
“New insights on avalanche release mechanics based on large-scale elastoplastic simulations” in EGU General Assembly 2022 (opens in a new tab) by Bertil (opens in a new tab) Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Grégoire Bobillier, Alec van Herwijnen, and Johan Gaume.
“Transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow avalanches” in Nature (opens in a new tab) by Bertil Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Gregoire Bobillier,Bastian Bergfeld, Alec van Herwijnen, Chenfanfu Jiang, and Johan Gaume.
2021
“From sub-Rayleigh to intersonic crack propagation in snow slab avalanche release” in EGU General Assembly 2021 (opens in a new tab) by Bertil (opens in a new tab) Trottet, Ron Simenhois, Grégoire Bobillier, Alec van Herwijnen,Chenfanfu Jiang, and Johan Gaume.
2020
“Education and Experience Levels of People Involved in Avalanches during the 2019-2020 Colorado Avalanche Season” in The Avalanche Review (p.36-39) by Ethan Greene and Spencer Logan.
“How old are the people who die in avalanches? A look into the ages of avalanche victims in the United States (1950—2018)” in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (opens in a new tab) by Erich Peitzsch, Sara Boilen, Spencer Logan, Karl Birkeland, and Ethan Greene.
“Comparing Extended Column Test Results To Signs Of Instability In The Surrounding Slopes (opens in a new tab)” in Snow Science by Frank Techel, Karl Birkeland, Doug Chabot, Jim Earl, Ivan Moner, and Ron Simenhois.
2019
“Will the Slope Slide” in The Avalanche Review (p20-21) by Ron Simeonhois, Karl Birkeland, Kelly Elder, Gavin Gunderson, and Ethan Greene.
2018
“A conceptual model of avalanche hazard” in Natural Hazards (opens in a new tab) by Grant Statham, Pascal Haegeli, Ethan Greene, Karl Birkeland, Clair Israelson, Bruce Tremper, Chris Stethem, Bruce McMahon, Brad White, and John Kelly.
“Patterns in avalanche events and regional scale avalanche forecasts in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria (opens in a new tab) by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
“Forecast avalanche danger, avalanche activity, and avalanche accidents in Colorado, USA, winters 2014 to 2018” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria (opens in a new tab) By Spencer Logan, Ethan Greene.
“Release of avalanches on persistent weak layers in relation to loading events in Colorado, USA” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria (opens in a new tab) By Jason Konigsberg, Spencer Logan, Ethan Greene.
“Transportation Avalanche Research Pooled Fund Program” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria (opens in a new tab) by John Stimberis, Jim Kennedy, Rob Bickor, Jamie Yount, Bill Nalli, Brian Gorsage, Dave Hamre, Ethan Greene, and Kevin Thompson.
“A college-level training program for avalanche safety workers” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria (opens in a new tab) by Roger Coit, Kelly Elder, Ethan Greene, Rebecca Hodgetts, Brian Lazar, John MacKinnon, and Blase Reardon.
“Causes of Death Among Avalanche Fatalities in Colorado: A 21-Year Review” in the Wilderness Environmental Medicine (opens in a new tab) by Alison Sheets, Dale Wang, Spencer Logan, and Dale Atkins.
“Avalanchenearmiss.org: The Professional Near Miss Database is Live” in The Avalanche Review (p32-35) by Scott Savage, Ethan Greene, and Bill Williamson.
2017
“In Response to Avalanche Fatalities in the United States by Jekich et al” in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine (opens in a new tab) by Karl W. Birkeland, Ethan Greene, and Spencer Logan.
2016
“Leave Your Thermometer at Home…But Don’t Forget Your Loupe” in The Avalanche Review (p22-23) by Ethan Greene and Kevin Hammonds.
“The Avalanche Character Frequency of Reported Avalanche Events in Colorado, USA, 2011-2016” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. (opens in a new tab) by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
“Know Before You Go Revision: an Introductory Tool for Influencing Backcountry Behavior” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. (opens in a new tab) by Craig Gordon, Paul Diegel, Trent Meisenheimer, Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, Mary Clayon, Aaron Carlson, Bruce Tremper, Mark Staples, Karl Birkeland, and Tim Bennet.
“Loveland Pass Avalanche Mitigation” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. (opens in a new tab) by Fanny Bourjaillat, Ethan Greene, Tyler Weldon, Ray Mumford, and Philippe Berthet-Rambaud.
“Changes in Extended Column Test Results with Varying Depths” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. (opens in a new tab) by Ian Hoyer, Ethan Greene. Doug Chabot, and Karl W. Birkeland.
“North American Avalanche Danger Scale: Are Public Backcountry Forecasters Applying it Consistently?” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A. (opens in a new tab) by Brian Lazar, Simon Trautman, Mike Cooperstein, Ethan Greene, and Karl Birkeland
“Quantifying the Effectiveness of Active Mitigation on Transportation Corridors” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A (opens in a new tab). by Ian Hoyer, Ethan Greene, Doug Chabot, and Karl W. Birkeland.
“Supporting, Evaluating, and Planning Avalanche Control Efforts with Lidar-Derived Snow Depth Maps” in the Proceedings in the International Snow Science Workshop, Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.A (opens in a new tab). by Jeffrey Deems, Ryan Evanczyk, Dominic Vellone, Ethan Greene, Tyler Weldon, David Finnegan, Peter Gadomski, and Adam LeWinter.
2014
“The Distribution of Fatalities by Avalanche Problem in Colorado, 1998-99 to 2012-13” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada (opens in a new tab) by Spencer Logan and Ethan Greene.
“Climate-Scale Maps of Cold-Season Precipitation in the Mountainous Areas of Colorado for Operational Forecasting Applications” in the Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada (opens in a new tab) by B.J. Marraccini, Brian Lazar, and Ethan Greene.
“Reflections: Sheep Creek Avalanche,” in The Avalanche Review by B.J. Marraccini, Brian Lazar, and Ethan Greene.
2012
“Avalanche Problems & Public Advisories” in The Avalanche Review (p1) by Brian Lazar, Ethan Greene, and Karl Birkeland.
Finding Older Papers
Some papers published before 2024 are listed here without a link. The sites that hosted those PDFs have shut down, and we have not yet re-sourced them.
International Snow Science Workshop proceedings are archived at the ISSW collection at Montana State University (opens in a new tab). Back issues of The Avalanche Review are available from the American Avalanche Association (opens in a new tab).