Update
- February 19, 2002
An Update from the Avalanche Center
http://www.avalanche-center.org/
February 19, 2002
Online in html: http://www.avalanche-center.org/Organization/updates/
Translations: https://translate.google.com/
(To translate this update enter the webpage URL above and then follow
the link on the translated page.)
Here is the latest news on what is new and how certain projects are
going. We are always working hard to keep the site current and to upgrade
it in various ways. This constant attention and improvement is what
has made the CSAC Avalanche Center the foremost source of information
on the web for the past seven years or so. Visit us periodically at
http://www.avalanche-center.org/ to stay current in the area of
snow avalanches.
Quick Contents:
- Special Projects
- Current Conditions
- Incidents
- Professional Resources
- Store
- Education
- CSAC Canada
- Other and Download sections
- How you can help
Special Projects
Before reviewing what is new in each of our sections there are a couple
projects which deserve mention. Our plan and intent is to continue both
of these projects although both will probably resume next season after
we finish the reorganization and re-focussing which we are working on
this year.
The first project is the Avalanche Gazette. This newsletter was very
popular, at least in its free non-printable format. While we have been
hoping to work on a new issue for six months now we have decided that
we simply lack the resources required at the moment. The editors have
both been too busy with other work to seek materials, collect them,
and assemble a newsletter. While we are taking a reprieve for the current
season we have every intention to bring this back next season.
The second project is the "Avalanche Zone", www.avalanche-zone.com,
which is a collective of sites with avalanche information. We still
believe that this has a great deal of merit, but getting people to participate
has proven to be difficult. Several sites expressed interest and are
listed, but only three took the time to put the appropriate search box
on their own pages. We also lost the free Sandy-Bay search engine services
this year. The sites remain collectively searchable but we can no longer
log in to adjust the engine and the logo no longer displays. Before
we can work on expanding this site we will need to either see if Sandy
Bay will provide us with affordable or free service as a non-profit
or locate and configure an alternative. We don't expect to have time
to deal with this over the next few months but hope to address it before
next season.
Current Conditions Section
We've updated the format of the bulletins which we post this season.
From the avalanche bulletin pages it is possible to go directly to the
archives for that bulletin or subscribe to receive it by e-mail. They
are still
glossed, with key terms linked to our unique glossary of avalanche terminology
(see Education section below). The reliability of the bulletins is also
been refined and continues to be very high this year. On
numerous occasions the government servers with the original text version
has been down while our site continued to make the information available.
We are never more than one hour out of synch (in the worst case) with
the information as released by the appropriate federal agency.
There is some information which is not issued by any government agency
but rather by a nonprofit group or an individual. For the eastern Sierra
in California the information made available through the Bardini foundation
is, as far as we know, only available online through our site. There
is also informal information (which is better than no information) for
the Valdez area and we have a link to that as well. Some other sites
refuse to carry or acknowledge this information because it does not
originate from a government agency.
Finally, in the process of reorganizing the site we have terminated
the Current Conditions forum since it wasn't being used. We will continue
some of our other forums including the Professional Resources board
and the General Discussion.
Incidents Section
This section continues to see heavy use, probably because it is unique
on the web. It is updated constantly with information on incidents all
around the world. We have finally adopted a consistent template which
is used for all reports and are working on updating our files from previous
years.
This year we have introduced database technology to our incidents section.
All of this seasons incidents are added to the database as they are
posted and we have last years back to Feb 1 included as well, for a
total of well over 140 incidents. The search page which is publicly
available will return up to a maximum of five incident entries, contributors
can access a search page which will return and unlimited number.
The database is beginning to gain popularity and is an easy way to
list (and count) all incidents in a given month from a certain country
or involving certain activities (highways, skiing, snowmobiling, etc).
We
hope that by later in the spring all of last seasons incidents will
be included.
There are many cases where we receive updated information quite a bit
after the incident actually occurs. Contributors can subscribe to a
list which is used to notify people of all incident updates, daily.
When we
update an older incident file, often with the most accurate information
in the form of an official report, this list will let you know. We also
mention additional incidents which we learn of but lack sufficient information
to post on the web.
Professional Resources Section
We have nearly completed a reorganization of this entire section -
cleaning up links, reformatting the pages, and improving the selection
and accessibility of information.
There is a small but informative collection of material related to
legal and liability issues. The data recording forms which were previously
in the Download Section are now available in this section. We have also
started a section with links to resources for recreational safety course
instructors.
While the section has been greatly improved we still have a few parts
of it to complete. Some links still need to be tracked down and we need
to decide what to do with the weather resources area.
Avalanche Store
Several weeks ago we spent three days working on the store pages. All
product pages are on a new clean template and all of the shopping cart
entries and order forms should work. We had developed some problems
this fall and people had some trouble ordering certain items. It took
a while to learn about the problems but they are all fixed now. We still
have at least one or two of every beacon model in stock as well as a
collection of shovels and probes. Most items we don't have in stock
can be ordered within a few days.
Remember that purchases made through our store help to fund all the
resources which we make available. Contributors to the project can also
order additional CSAC shirts at discounted prices, get a free bottle
or pack of decals when ordering on the shopping cart, and get free shipping
when using the order form. (The first two of these benefits are now
available through the Contributor Services section and not directly
on the store page.)
Education Section
Due to all of the work described above we have put less time into this
section recently, although at the beginning of the season most of it
was updated.
We have been working our way through another pass on the glossary.
This is a large and ongoing project, on this pass we are continuing
to delete some terms, combine others, and apply a consistent format
to all entries.
CSAC Canada
This section has been kept in good condition but since CSAC Canada
is entirely unfunded (as opposed to just poorly funded like the main
organization) there are no immediate plans to improve this. Use of the
section is increasing and in direct conversations we have found that
this page is the most widely used reference for information on incidents
in Canada since there is no other organization making such information
available in one archived collection.
Perhaps if use of the section grows and the organization receives some
support we will be able to improve the level of service.
Other and Download Sections
We are continuing to phase these areas out. Most of the "Other
Cool Stuff" section has either been moved or dropped. The Avalanche
Gazette remains in this section at the moment, as do the avalanche statistics
(which need to be updated before relocation). The Download section is
still mostly intact although the data recording forms can now be found
in the Professional Resources section.
Summary
As you can see, our site is not a stagnant one. We have not put up
a nice front page, let the rest go stale, and promoted heavily. Our
approach has been to do our best to keep the entire site as current
as possible. During this season of reorganization we have actually done
less direct promotion of the site. We believe that the people we are
trying to reach know the site, or find it quickly if they are making
any effort to find such material.
Keeping such a site current, answering as much of the e-mail as we
can, and offering first-rate service to contributors for the resources
they access is not a trivial project. If it were we would not be unique.
It's
made possible by our sponsors, our contributors and our store sales.
As always, we thank all of you.
How you can Help
Aside from the obvious (contributing what you can afford to financially)
you can help this project grow stronger and offer more in a few ways.
Help us promote the project by linking to the site, and by suggesting
to other relevant sites that they link to it.
Get some of our cool new decals with the skiing skeleton logo on them.
Shipping is built into the online store, but if you want to order just
a few decals you can send an order in the mail and leave the shipping
off. We've sold a few packets of 100 and a few orders for gear have
included a few decals as well. We need to find a way to sell them online
without the shipping cost but don't have time right now. If you are
involved in an event in any way related to avalanche safety let us know
and we may send you decals at no charge. While we don't guarantee it
we have been including a few decals for free with most orders for books
and equipment, so that is another way to get a few. (We would just give
them out but don't have the budget. So we are selling them in various
quantities and pricing as well as giving some away.)
Stay Aware, Stay Informed, Stay Safe
We hope you find the resources we provide to be beneficial and hope
they will help you enjoy the winter season safely.
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