This winter we did an experiment – we put quizzes in a handful of avalanche forecasts. Getting information, like in an avalanche forecast, and then being quizzed on what you just learned, is a good way to reinforce what you just learned and recognize what you may have missed. It’s also useful for us to learn how well the message we intend to send is actually perceived and how we can improve our delivery. And throwing in a question that requires you to combine the forecast with some avalanche understanding to make a hypothetical decision and providing feedback seems like a good way to show how the pros think.

We did eight quizzes this winter, each open for 24 hours and based on the forecast. Check this out if you missed them and want to see an example. We asked which avalanche Red Flags you might expect to encounter that day, what the Danger Level was for several different elevations and aspects, what Avalanche Problems were in play, if you read some observations and got what you were looking for from the forecast, and how you use the forecast in your decision-making.

About 11% of those reading the forecast took the quiz. You left a bunch of great comments and ideas for improving the content and delivery of our forecasts. Most of you (3/4) read the observations. Most of you got the Danger Level right, but enough missed it to make providing some feedback worthwhile. Ninety-three percent of you got everything you wanted from the forecasts, leaving us with a little room for improvement. A little less than half of you nailed the Avalanche Problems – sounds like we all need to work on clearly reporting the Problems and understanding why they are important. We had some good email discussions with a few of you to explain and clarify our reasoning.

Thanks to all who participated. We hope to do more of this next year. Several other centers in North America were doing similar quizzing this winter and we plan to compare notes and share conclusions with the avalanche community over the summer, so you are helping to grow the state of avalanche forecasting knowledge. (Big thanks to Paul Diegel for spearheading this effort.)