Welcome to the 17th EAWS meeting

20 years of European Avalanche Danger Scale

The Geological Institute of Catalonia, the body responsible for avalanche forecasting in Catalonia and a member of the Working Group of the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS), organized the 17th EAWS.

The Working Group of the European Avalanche Warning Services was set up in 1983 with the aim to achieve International level top shape coordination, improving cross-border cooperation and sharing experiences with regard to avalanche prediction. One of the most outstanding achievements of this cooperation was the setting up of the European Avalanche Danger Scale in 1993.

The EAWS working group is at present composed of 16 European and two non-European countries that recently became members, namely the United States (2007) and Canada (2007), with the goal of expanding consensus at a worldwide level. Following the proposal made at the outset, the general meeting is held every two years in order to make advances in EAWS prediction and prevention of avalanches.

The meeting was held at IGC headquarters in Barcelona from 2nd to 4th October 2013 where more than 60 avalanche specialists coming from 15 different countries.

This 17th edition of the EAWS meeting coincided with the 20th anniversary of the European Avalanche Danger Scale and at the same time with the retirement of the “Father” of this scale, Dr. Bernd Zenke, Director of Avalanche Warning Center of Bavaria. For this reason during the meeting there was a tribute devoted to Dr. Zenke to thank him for all the work carried out during his career and in special the efforts to achieve one of the most important milestones inside EAWS: the standardization of avalanche danger levels into a unique avalanche danger scale in Europe.

Tribute to Dr. Bernard Zenke [150.4 kB]

The meeting consisted in two days of discussion among forecasters and responsible persons of avalanche warning services in Europe and America. It was organized in six different sessions that included presentations and discussions at the end of each one.

The sessions were made up of several topics: avalanche danger scale, data collection and tools to issue forecasting, information to practitioners and civil protection, future developments and collaboration and projects. There were more than 25 presentations intended as a starting point of discussion. During the break the attendants could visit the exihibition: 25th years of avalanche information and prevention in Catalonia (1987-2012).

Brochure of the exhibition 25th years of avalanche information and prevention in Catalonia (1987-2012) [4.3 MB]

At the end of the meeting there was the summary of EAWS conclusions and the elections of the next leader of EAWS, Igor Chiambretti for the next 4 years and Glòria Martí as deputy. Finally there was the tribute to Bernd Zenke and the summary of the meeting including the announcement of the next meeting in 2015 in Italy.

Programme

The three-day meeting has been structured as follows; two days devoted to presentation and debate in avalanche prediction settings and a third day, when a field trip to Vall de Núria has been organized. The official language of the meeting will be English.

Wednesday 2/10/2013

15:00 - 16:00   Participants' registration
16:00 - 16:30   Opening

Session 1: Avalanche danger scale. Chairperson: Glòria Martí

16:30 - 16:40   20 years of European Avalanche Danger Scale - Rudi Mair
16:40 - 16:50   Winter 2011/12: a gliding snow winter implies special challenges - Gian Darms
16:50 - 17:00   Questions - Discussion
17:00 - 17:15   Results of avalanche size scale survey - Ivan Moner
17:15 - 17:30   Adaption of the avalanche size scale - Patrick Nairz
17:30 - 17:50   Discussion
17:50 - 18:10   Coffee break
18:10 - 18:20   Experience with patterns in Switzerland (forecasters and users)  - Gian Darms
18:20 - 18:30   Patterns in Catalan Pyrenees - Carles García
18:30 - 18:40   Patterns - a success story - Patrick Nairz
18:40 - 19:00   Discussion

Thursday 3/10/2013

Session 1: Avalanche danger scale. Chairperson: Patrick Nairz

09:00 - 09:15   Danger levels 2 and 3 and Bavarian Matrix: New strategies for the future? - Mauro Valt
09:15 - 09:20   Communicating/harmonization of danger levels at country borders using Bavarian Matrix - Glòria Martí
09:20 - 09:35   Discussion

Session 2: Data collection. Chairperson: Carles García

09:35 - 09:45   Information from snow profiles in the Aragonese Pyrenees - Gerardo Sanz
09:45 - 09:50   Questions - Discussion
09:50 - 10:05   Data exchange - how can it be realized or improved? - Thomas Stucki
10:05 - 10:10   Questions - Discussion
10:10 - 10:30   Coffee break

Session 3: Information for practitioners. Chairperson: Thomas Stucki

10:30 - 10:40   www.avalanches.org - Patrick Nairz
10:40 - 10:50   Discussion
10:50 - 11:00   CAAML overview - Patrick Nairz
11:00 - 11:10   Discussion
11:10 - 11:25   Presentation of information on avalanches in France" - Cécile Cóleou
11:25 - 11:35   Avoiding accidents and reducing problems due to avalanches. Norwegian Avalanche Centre: Developing a national Avalanche Warning Service - Rune Engeset
11:35 - 11:50   Additional icons for the avalanche bulletin - Flavio Berbeni
11:50 - 12:00   IMO bulletins in Iceland - Harpa Grímsdóttir
12:00 - 12:20   Discussion
12:20 - 12:35   White Risk and the new Internet Bulletin in Switzerland: Feedback from the first season - Christine Pielmeier
12:35 - 12:45   Snowsafe app - new developments - Patrick Nairz 
12:45 - 13:00   Discussion
13:00 - 14:45   Lunch
14:45 - 14:55   Developing a strategy for providing avalanche hazard information to all user groups of the Scottish winter mountains - Mark Diggins
14:55 - 15:00   Questions - Discussion

Session 4: Tools for operational forecast. Chairperson: Cécile Coléou

15:00 - 15:10   Online Snow Profile Program - Patrick Nairz
15:10 - 15:20   Discussion
15:20 - 15:30   Development of numerical models for the prediction of the avalanche risk in France - Pierre Etchevers
15:30 - 15:40   Assessment of wet snow avalanche danger in Switzerland - Christine Pielmeier 
15:40 - 16:00   Discussion

Session 5: Projects and collaboration. Chairperson: Igor Chiambretti

16:00 - 16:10   The ESA - Project "Improved Alpine Avalanche Forecast Service - Christine Pielmeier 
16:10 - 16:20   Discussion
16:20 - 16:50   Coffee break

Session 6: Avalanche forecasting & strategies for civil protections. Chairperson: Igor Chiambretti

16:50 - 17:00   The Special Emergency Plan for Avalanches in Catalonia (ALLAUCAT): civil protection actions - Ester González
17:00 - 17:10   OWARNA (Optimised warnings and alerting from natural hazards in Switzerland) - a nationwide coordination of warning services, first experiences - Thomas Stucki
17:10 - 17:20   Snow and avalanche Italian State Service: activity, products, new media and technological innovations (the example of snow emergency February 2012 - Vicenzo Romeo
17:20 - 17:50   Discussion
17:50 - 18:20   Conclusions
18:20 - 18:40   Elections - Patrick Nairz
18:40 - 19:00   Tribute to Bernd Zenke: 20 years of European Avalanche Danger Scale - Rudi Mair
19:00 - 19:10   Summarization of the organizer; next EAWS-conference - Glòria Martí
21:00   Gala dinner

Friday 4/10/2013

Field trip: Social field trip to the Montserrat massif

Photo album

Collaborators