Every year, snow avalanches claim about 135 lives in North America and Europe. Most of these victims are private backcountry recreationists (e.g., skiers, snowmobilers, mountaineers) making their own decisions about when and where to expose themselves to avalanche terrain. But avalanches also threaten commercial backcountry operations, villages, utility lines, resource operations and cause traffic hazard and economic loss by blocking highways and railways.

Our research interests lie at the interface between the natural and social sciences, and our objective is to conduct interdisciplinary research and develop evidence-based tools that assist backcountry recreationists and avalanche professionals to make better informed decisions when preparing for and travelling in avalanche terrain.

This website provides you with an overview of our research at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Interested in learning more about avalanche risk management? Click here to learn more about the university course that Pascal is teaching at SFU this winter.