Skip to content

Cookies 🍪

This site uses cookies that need consent.

Learn more

Zur Powderguide-Startseite Zur Powderguide-Startseite

Language selection

Search PowderGuide

interviews

PowderPeople | Stephan Harvey

Avalanche expert Stephan Harvey on innovations at White Risk

by Jenny Staiger • 01/04/2019
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Stephan Harvey, a natural scientist and mountain guide, has been working at the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, SLF, in Davos for over 20 years. In addition to publishing several books on avalanche awareness, he is the man behind the well-known avalanche prevention platform, White Risk. In this interview, the avalanche expert talks to us about innovations at White Risk.

PG: Stephan, you've been with the SLF for over 20 years now. Tell us, what connects you to Davos?

S: Above all the job (laughs). For me, Davos is prime avalanche terrain. Everything fits together: the terrain and the climate are ideal for it. The environment is also ideal for my work as a mountain guide.

PG: How did you come to the SLF and what does your work consist of?

S: I started with the avalanche warning service, writing avalanche bulletins. At the same time, prevention was always an issue, as was dealing with avalanche accidents, writing accident reports and evaluating them. The more I got involved with avalanches, the more I wanted to understand how they work. Today, I am mainly involved in implementation projects and products. I also trained as a mountain guide and still give training and advanced training courses, mainly in ski touring. I also work for the next generation of youth and sport, J&S, as well as in hiking guide training.

PG: And today - after all these years of experience in the snow - can you explain how they work?

S: Snow remains a very complex subject. Today, I'm lucky enough to work at the interface between practice and research. Here I have the opportunity to put findings from research directly into practice, to a large extent with my own projects for users. Some examples that are currently very popular with users are the "White Risk" portal, the book "Lawinenkunde" and the leaflet "Achtung Lawine". But it is also important to receive feedback and questions from the field, so that we can approach implementation projects in a user-oriented way. Networking with various associations within and outside Switzerland is also important.

Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey

PG: As you know, the White Risk platform is much more than just an app - what exactly is it?

S: White Risk started out as a CD-ROM in 2005 and has since developed into a digital portal for avalanche prevention. It consists of the website www.whiterisk.ch with the four modules EXPLORE, LEARN, TOUR and PRO, as well as the White Risk mobile app.

PG: Can you explain these modules to us in more detail?

S: Sure, I'll try to keep it short. You can learn a lot about avalanches in the EXPLORE knowledge section. Animated illustrations and interactive tools explain important avalanche knowledge for beginners to experts. This module is a digital avalanche book and at the same time an ideal reference work for avalanche prevention.

In the LEARN module, you learn more about avalanche awareness step by step with lessons that build on each other. Each lesson has a learning objective. Playful exercises invite you to practise and consolidate the learning content. At the end of each lesson, you can test your knowledge with a test.

On the TOUR page, you can plan any tour in full and create your own tour library. There are various map layers that, for example, color-code the slope gradient or show the current wildlife protection quiet zones. Topo maps with various layers are currently available for Switzerland, Austria and France. Planned tours are synchronized in the TOUR module in the White Risk app and are available there. The maps can be downloaded in the app and then used offline. Even in flight mode, my location is determined.

The PRO module provides access to media for presentations by experts. Graphics, photos, animations and videos as well as a dedicated application are available in this category for presentations, among other things.

PG: What are the most important upgrades from this year?

S: The TOUR module in the app has been completely revamped. Tours can now also be planned or customized with the app on a smartphone or tablet, even offline. With a standard license, the topo maps can be downloaded indefinitely with all layers for any section for offline use, regardless of the planned tours. The planned tours can be shared directly with friends and used in full-screen mode. The entire PRO module on the website has also been completely redesigned. There is now a media library with a search function for downloading images, graphics and films for presentations, as well as a desktop presentation program for presenting interactive media.

Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey

PG: And who is the platform generally suitable for?

S: The avalanche prevention portal was designed so that it can be used by beginners, advanced users and experts alike. Even school classes can acquire knowledge in the Explore and Learn modules and use individual sequences in lessons. White Risk currently has around 25'000 accounts and around 5'000 active licenses.

PG: How much does it cost to use the platform?

S: For the amateur/recreational athlete, we recommend the standard license for 29chf per year. This gives them full access to the three modules EXPLORE, LEARN and TOUR, which support them in planning a tour as well as collecting information and learning. The website whitrisk.ch and the White Risk app can also be used free of charge without an account to check the daily avalanche bulletin as well as the current snow conditions, weather and wind. Users can also access some EXPLORE and LEARN content on the website free of charge.

PG: How is the portal financed?

S: SUVA and the SLF are the publishers and the Swiss Red Cross is a partner. The license revenues are used to pay fees for the topo maps as well as part of the maintenance and new developments.

PG: It seems that White Risk contains everything we need to know about snow and avalanches. What about the usual paper maps and GPS. Do I still need that at all?

S: Absolutely! When we go on tour, we should always have a backup in the form of a map or GPS device. I always have a paper map with me in my backpack. Electronic devices have their pitfalls, especially in cold and bad weather.

Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey

PG: The future - digitalization opens up many opportunities for us to gain knowledge quickly. Where do you see any risks or opportunities?

S: In my opinion, half of avalanche awareness is the actual map reading. In preparation, as well as in the terrain. I think that many mountaineers have less and less of this skill because the devices show us everything electronically, including features such as slope gradients. However, I think that digitalization could soon support us in making decisions. We are often overwhelmed with information and have difficulty filtering it and making the right decisions. The avalanche "system" is complex and needs to be constantly fed with up-to-date data and assumptions. This is where digitalization could help us to filter the essential information.

PG: One step further into the future: will we soon be walking around with virtual reality goggles that calculate the snowpack stability of our chosen tour?

S: Hmm, we're slowly getting into a clinch here. Technically, it would be possible to project any information onto the terrain using goggles. However, this is difficult with the snow cover, as we all know that it is very complex. In fact, we still have no idea what exactly is going on in it. Our task is to get the best out of today's technical possibilities. And yet there is still the tension between knowledge and presentation.

Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey
Steffen Kruse
Stephan Harvey

PG: Your conclusion?

S: The important thing for the user is that with the website whiterisk.ch and the White Risk app, they have a comprehensive platform in the field of avalanche prevention that they can use as they see fit. If someone prefers to buy an analog avalanche book instead of the digital version, then that is completely legitimate and certainly no worse. We just offer options and try to take advantage of the digital world.

PG: And apart from all your specialist knowledge. What do snow and mountains mean to you in your private life?

S: Since I was a teenager, I've been going to the mountains every weekend, climbing a lot and then expanding on that with expeditions abroad. In the meantime, the mountain activities have decreased, so I enjoy every tour in its own way all the more. The fascination of the mountains has definitely been burned into my genes.

PG: Have you been able to pass on these "mountain genes" to your children?

S: They should do what they enjoy. But yes, we usually spend our vacations together in the great outdoors, whether it's hiking, climbing or cycling, and we have a lot of fun doing it.

PG: Thank you very much for the informative interview, Stephan. We wish you all the best.

Photo gallery

ℹ️PowderGuide.com is nonprofit-making, so we are glad about any support. If you like to improve our DeepL translation backend, feel free to write an email to the editors with your suggestions for better understandings. Thanks a lot in advance!

Show original (German) Show original (French)

Related articles

Comments