Behavior in Avalanche Terrain: An Exploratory Study of Illegal Snowmobiling in Norway.

Snowmobilers make a grim and significant contribution to avalanche fatality statistics in Norway. However, there is limited knowledge on the behavior of this group in avalanche terrain and the factors influencing this behavior. Our study documents what snowmobilers do and not do in avalanche terrain, how their behavior relates to managing complex avalanche conditions and if there is a mismatch between avalanche competence, education and riding preferences.

AvaLife-A New Multi-Disciplinary Approach Supported by Accident and Field Test Data to Optimize Survival Chances in Rescue and First Aid of Avalanche Patients.

Snow sports in the backcountry have seen a steep increase in popularity, and therefore preparedness for efficient companion and organized rescue is important. While technical rescue skills are widely taught, there is a lack of knowledge regarding first aid for avalanche patients. The stressful and time-critical situation for first responders requires a rule-based decision support tool.

Feeling and Thinking about It Are Two Different Things: How to Capture Momentary Emotions of Extreme Sports in the Field.

To learn about extreme sports and what motivates such activities, we need to understand the emotions embedded in the experience itself. However, how we go about assessing these emotions might provide us with very different answers. An experience is a fleeting and ever-changing phenomenon, rich in detail and filled with nuances.

Powder Fever and Its Impact on Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain.

Unlabelled: We examined the effect of emotions, associated with "powder fever", on decision-making in avalanche terrain.

Background: Skiing in avalanche terrain is a voluntary activity that exposes the participant to potentially fatal risk. Impaired decision-making in this context can therefore have devastating results, often with limited prior corrective feedback and learning opportunities.

Should I judge safety or danger? Perceived risk depends on the question frame.

Linguistic polarity is a natural characteristic of judgments: Is that situation safe/dangerous? How difficult/easy was the task? Is that politician honest/dishonest? Across six studies (N = 1599), we tested how the qualitative frame of the question eliciting a risk judgment influenced risk perception and behavior intention. Using a series of hypothetical scenarios of skiing in avalanche terrain, experienced backcountry skiers judged either or each scenario was and indicated whether they would ski the scenario. Phrasing risk judgments in terms of safety elicited lower judged safety values, which in turn resulted in a lower likelihood of intending to ski the slope.

The Thrill of Speedy Descents: A Pilot Study on Differences in Facially Expressed Online Emotions and Retrospective Measures of Emotions During a Downhill Mountain-Bike Descent.

When extreme sport athletes explain the engagement behind their taxing and risky endeavors, they often refer to the happiness generated by the activities. However, during the activity, these athletes seem neither pleased nor happy. This article proposes some answers from a study of facially expressed emotions measured moment by moment during downhill mountain biking.

Skiing and Thinking About It: Moment-to-Moment and Retrospective Analysis of Emotions in an Extreme Sport.

Happiness is typically reported as an important reason for participating in challenging activities like extreme sport. While in the middle of the activity, however, participants do not seem particularly happy. So where does the happiness come from? The article proposes some answers from a study of facially expressed emotions measured moment-by-moment during a backcountry skiing event.