Our Story

In January 2015 one of our students in the Montana State University snow science program was killed in an avalanche near her home in Durango, Colorado. Olivia Buchanan was an experienced skier with considerable knowledge about avalanches. She had taken the time and care needed to learn about avalanches and build her skills in the backcountry. When Olivia died, it was clear that passing on our professional training proved inadequate to keeping our students and friends safe. There must be a better way, we thought. Over the next dozen years, we designed a research program to understand how and why backcountry skiers and riders made the decisions they do. This book is the result of that and other work. We hope we have improved ours and your understanding of decisions in avalanche terrain.

Jerry Johnson was a professor of political science and research associate in the Montana State University Snow and Avalanche Laboratory where he specialized in survey research and design and decision science. He is the editor/author of three other books and is widely recognized as an expert in American public lands and national parks. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.

Jordy Hendrix is the former director of the MSU Snow and Avalanche Laboratory and is a globally recognized expert in snow science, avalanche forecasting, and climate change. He is currently the Chief Executive for Antarctica New Zealand. He lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.