This is an indispensible guide for making sound decisions in avalanche terrain, whether you are a skier, splitboarder, snowshoer, alpinist, sledder or professional. I will be aiming to read this every season, as well as using it for reference. I read it in preparation for an avalanche course (AST2) and it added a TON of value. It seems to touch on every aspect to consider when recreating in the backcountry, written by collaboration of the entire community. Thank you Bruce Tremper for putting this together and updating it as necessary to keep it current! You truly are making a difference.

One of the best books on avalanche safety, this book is detailed and thorough.

A major part of the book is on the crystal structure of snowpacks and how it changes over time due to weather. The stability of the snowpack is determined by the crystal structure. This part on snow science is quite detailed and enhances ones understanding of what is going on under your skis.

The effect of terrain is important, including slope steepnes, roll, aspect, vegetation and wind direction.

Practical application is the focus of sections on evaluation of the snowpack and routefinding. The book includes a number of tests for snow stability and looks at at some of the methods for decision making such as the Canadian Avaluator, which stacks up well compared to other systems.

A final chapter on rescue covers the management of an avalanche burial, triage, use of beacons. The only missing is that the latest digging techniques are not discussed.

A must-read for anyone who is interested in touring the backcountry. Ridiculous amount of avalanche knowledge in this one. I mostly feel just more stupid after reading this and realizing how little I just know.

Do yourself a favour and keep reading this through your whole life!

There are a few books you need to read if you go backcountry skiing; this is one of them, and I found it helpful and sufficient in terms of information coverage.

Reading this book is not a substitute for taking an intro to ski touring course e.g. as provided by AIARE. But doing both would help remember that knowledge when you actually need it.

You want to make smart decisions in avalanche terrain? This book is an incredibly powerful book to help you to accomplish just that. It was recommended reading for a Level 1 Avalanche course (3-day).

The book is densely packed with information and shows you nearly everything you should be aware of when managing your risk in avalanche terrain. There are definitely some sections I skimmed through since it was too science-y or didn't fit my skill level though. As a backcountry newbie, the section on the pros/cons of the different snow tests is fairly valuable. Going back and forth with this book after each tour will help solidify the ideas presented in the book. Re-reading/skimming through this book at the beginning of each season too may also help to make you the right decisions in those early snow conditions.

This book may not really make much sense unless you have already taken an avalanche class because of all the terminology/ideas. I would have been lost if I had read this book prior to taking the class.