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By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 9 years ago October 2, 2014

SCIENCE: AvaTech is a game-changer

AvaTech
The AvaTech device is an electronic probe to measure the hardness of layers in the snowpack. Source: AvaTech.com

My prediction is that this device will massively improve how we forecast avalanches. 

I don't think this improvement will be fully realized this year, or even within the next five years. But over the next decade or two, backcountry skiers and riders will have a much more useful understanding of the snowpack and will make better decisions on a consistent basis. And all of this starts with the AvaTech.

Before I go any further, let me offer a few disclaimers. 

First, OpenSnow.com does not forecast avalanche conditions. For that information tune into your local avalanche center (we hope to share more of the data from these centers over the next year or two).

Second, I am not an avalanche forecaster. I have only a limited knowledge of avalanches based on taking a few Avalanche Level 1 courses over the last 5 years and spending ~10 days per season skiing in the backcountry.

So, you might ask, why am I so excited about this technology?

Because for the first time we will be able to collect objective and consistent data about the snowpack.

Before the AvaTech device, avalanche forecasters and ski patrols would dig pits into the snow and take measurements. These measurements would include the depth and thickness of the layers, as well as the hardness of each layer. To determine the hardness, the forecasters use certain subjective tests like seeing how many fingers they could stick into the snow (1 finger, 3 fingers, a fist, etc).

Using this information from snow pits as well as weather data, an avalanche forecaster would then make a forecast for the avalanche risk.

There is a problem with this system, though. Despite the best efforts of people digging snow pits, these readings the take are subjective. Each person might list a slightly different hardness for a given layer, or might measure the thickness slightly differently.

With the AvaTech, measuring the hardness, thickness, and position of the pit (lat, lon, elevation) will now be objective and will be consistent no matter who is using the device and no matter what area of the world. 

AvaTech pit measurements
Data from a manually dug and measured snowpit (left) vs data from the same snowpit using the AvaTech SPI (right). Source: AvaTech.com

To use the AvaTech, a user will push it down into the snow, and in a few seconds the pressure sensors on the device will determine the hardness and thickness of various layers of the snowpack. This data can then be shared via bluetooth to a smartphone which can upload the data to a central website.

At this point you might agree with me that the AvaTech is cool technology to standardize snowpack measurements around the world, but you might not agree with me that this is game-changing technology. Fair enough. While the device has undergone a lot of testing, this is still version 1.0. Plus, just knowing the layers of the snowpack isn't the only factor that goes into forecasting and staying safe around avalanches. For backcountry skiers and riders, the human element -- a group being excited to enjoy the skiing despite the danger -- can often be a more important factor than the details of the snowpack.

But here's why I'm so excited about the next 5-10 years. 

To accurately forecast something, you must first collect objective data about the thing that you want to forecast.

In my line of work, weather forecasting, there was a time in the 1800s that there were only a few barometers (pressure) and thermometers (temperature) around the world, and they weren't connected on any sort of network. Then when the telegraph came about in the late 1800s, these observations could be shared. By the 1970s, we put satellites into space, and in the early 1990s we established a radar network around the US. 

Because of this objectively collected weather data, weather forecasting is now doing things that people 50 years ago thought would be impossible (like forecasting tornadoes, giving an outlook beyond 3 days, etc). This improvement in weather forecasts was made possible by increases in computing technology AND, perhaps more importantly, additional objective measurements of the atmosphere. We can literally make an observation of the atmosphere every second across the globe. 

For avalanche forecasting, the missing piece has been the lack of objective observations of the snowpack. If the AvaTech SP1 can deliver on its promise to take an accurate snowpack reading in seconds and house the data in a worldwide network, I see a time in the next 5-10 years that we can develop computer models for avalanche forecasts that are similar in sophistication to the computer models used in weather forecasting.

If you've read this far, you either like technology or love the snow, and in the latter case, I bet you're going to have some opinions about AvaTech. Just so I communicate clearly, let me say again that I don't think the SP1 will change the game this year, or even next year, and I'm also not saying that I dislike our current avalanche forecasts. They do provide timely and useful information.

Why I wrote this long article is because I'm excited for 5-10 years down the road when we combine this new data source with even better computing power and a worldwide network. My hope is that during my life (I'm 33 years old), I will see a time when we can provide avalanche forecasts for each slope, and the the AvaTech is the first step in seeing this vision come to life. For reference, additional weather observations and computer power changed the game of tornado forecasting, as we transitioned from "there's no way we can forecast tornado" to "nearly every tornado is warned" in less than 50 years.

JOEL GRATZ
OpenSnow.com

A few notes:

  • The AvaTech SP1 is only available to Avalanche Professionals this season, shipping in December 2014.

  • It is on special now for $1,499 (full price after 10/6 will be $2,249).

  • I have no financial or marketing affiliation with the company. 
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About The Author

Joel Gratz

Founding Meteorologist

Joel Gratz is the Founding Meteorologist of OpenSnow and has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 2003. Before moving to Colorado, he spent his childhood as a (not very fast) ski racer in eastern Pennsylvania.

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