Canadian, Grant Stathamgave a great TED talk recently on risk in avalanche terrain. Grant has spent a lifetime climbing, skiing and guiding in extreme terrain around the world and he has spent the past 10 years or so working as a risk management specialist for Parks Canada. I worked on a committee for 3 years with several Canadian and American avalanche experts, chaired by Grant Statham, in which we hammered out this conceptual model on the components of risk in avalanche terrain. Grant does a great job of explaining everything in this TED talk. See Grant's 12 minute talk by clicking HEREor on Grant's photo below.

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Grant Stathamfrom Parks Canada

The components of avalanche risk from my new book Avalanche Essentials, which illustrate the points Grant makes in his talk.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message from Friends of Utah Avalanche Center: One of the things we do in the backcountry is carry rescue and personal safety gear to make us less vulnerable. That doesn't make us safe, it just tips the odds a bit in our direction. You can help support the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy avalanche gear fromBackcountry.com using this link. Check out their selection of airbag packs here. Optional: printthis out and leave it where Santa can find it.