The Alaska Avalanche Fieldbook

Sorry we are out of stock as of late January 2020!

We can't find a printer that will do a small print run at an affoprdable price; tell us if you know of one!

Spiral and looseleaf editions!

We developed these versatile notebooks for our own fieldwork and courses. They have been refined and extensively field-tested in our demanding Alaskan conditions and courses, as well as in our travels and work in North America, Asia, and Europe.

The book essentially gives you an avalanche course outline, decision-making checklist, and cheat sheet in your coat pocket! The pages are designed to lead you through every step of field snow stability evaluation and recording observations.

We like the looseleaf format for forecasting use, but we now have a spiral-bound version that is cheaper, fits in a smaller pocket, and bends more comfortably in your pocket when you move. Most users will probably prefer that version. We selected the pages in it to suit recreational, student, and working backcountry or heli guide needs.

We still like the looseleaf version because it allows you to choose exactly the mix of pages you prefer, in whatever order makes sense to you, file completed pages safely away, copy or scan them flat, eliminate wasted pages, and lower your long-term costs by refilling the binder with replacement pages. Those who need more formal, two-page snowpit forms, or who want to customize their book, will want the looseleaf version.

Spiral-bound Fieldbook Features

In response to many requests for a more compact, pocket-friendly, and less expensive fieldbook for courses, recreationists, and guides; we now have a 60-page spiral-bound version. It is geared to sampling and observing frequently and widely rather than doing detailed pit profiles. It includes:

The same five key pages as listed below for the looseleaf.
Five sets of the detailed two-page profile pages.
35 aspect-elevation rose pages.
10 level pages for group names, weights, helicopter time, and other notes.

Spiral-bound Fieldbook Cost

$25 plus shipping ($5 Priority Mail anywhere in the US for a single book). Sorry, currrently unavailable.

For non-US orders, add $15 for postage. Sorry, we cannot get our online provider to take non-US shipping addresses, so we must ask you to send these bits of information by e-mail to aas07@mac.com, or lphone us at 206-617-7703: card number, expiration date, the 3-digit CVV number from the back, and the billing postal code. Don't forget that we will also need your shipping address. Most cards work if we enter them manually.

Looseleaf Fieldbook Features

Includes 60 pages, 4-5/8" x 7" (12.0 x 17.8cm)
Refill pages available
6-ring binder,5-3/4" x 7-1/2" (14.6 x 19.0cm) with printed rulers (centimeters and inches) and metric conversion charts
Printed on weatherproof Rite in the Rain® paper
Complies with the standard US observation guidelines in Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States (SWAG)

Includes the following pages (click to see photo and description):

Title page
Key pages a (1 set): Weather observations, pit profiles, snow grain symbols, snow tests
Key pages b (1 set): Snow tests (continued), shear notes, avalanche classification, decision-making, risk management, and rescue
Key pages c (1 set): Emergency medical cheat sheet,AK Block sizing table
Key pages d (1): Avalanche terrain classification matrix
Snow observations (15 as front of two-page profile sets)
Profiles (15 as the two-page sets; level page on back)
Aspect-elevation rose (10; including snow observations on front of sheet)
Blank level sheet (10 double-sided, plus 20 as fourth side of profile sets)

Looseleaf Fieldbook Cost

$30 plus shipping via Priority Mail.

Looseleaf Replacement Pages

Key pages $15.00 per set of five double-sided pages; updates free (shipping cost only) to previous users.
Double pit profile pages $12.00 per set of twenty.
Single rose pages $6.00 per set of twenty.
All prices are plus-postage.

Using our Fieldbooks

The Stability Evaluation and Keeping Field Notes handout on our Course Resources & Handouts Page contains detailed information and instructions for use of these books, including the most-current draft of any revisions pending for the next printing of our checklist and key pages.

The JL Darling #200 looseleaf binders we use are the best available, but are larger, stiffer, and slipperier than we would like. Skateboard deck tape makes good nonskid, and a little creative work with duct tape can add pencil pockets, but the simplest way to improve them is to add the Cordura nylon zippered covers with pencil pockets that are available directly online from JL Darling as No C9200.

We make our own looseleaf binders more flexible by cutting off the front and back plastic covers, leaving the plastic on the binder spine so the clip rings work, and then hand-sewing velcro tabs on the Cordura covers to hold the spine in place.