6. Evaluate slopes
During the Trip
It is important to determine whether each slope you ride or climb is a good choice given the current avalanche conditions. The Avaluator Slope Evaluation Card, which comes with an AST1 course or is available on our online store, The Avaluator Slope Evaluation Card is a tool developed by Avalanche Canada to help you decide if a given slope is safe to travel on. The card presents you with checklists to keep track of present avalanche conditions and to assess the seriousness of individual slopes on your route. You can use the chart on the card to combine the two assessments and make a choice that keeps your risk at an acceptable level. Avalanche Canada also offers an online version.
A score in the green, normal caution zone, is most likely sound, but you should use good travel habits to guard against the small chance of a slide.
A score that falls in the yellow, extra caution zone, requires you to look carefully at ways to reduce the terrain characteristics score before entering the slope. Maybe you can vary your route or line slightly to avoid a dangerous area, or ride the slope where it’s less steep. Look for ways to stay in the trees, and avoid convex rolls and exposure to terrain traps. By reducing the terrain score, you’re choosing terrain that better matches the current conditions.
A score that falls in the red, not recommended zone, means you are taking too much risk. While a particular slope may not release on a given day, if you keep recreating in the red zone, eventually your luck will run out. Rather than roll the dice, come back when avalanche conditions have improved.
Complete the daily process at
Each outing
