Abstract:
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. This ethnographic study observed snowmobiler tracks and thus avalanche terrain usage in Northern Norway during 2018 and 2019, supported by open-ended conversations with target group riders. Results show that high-marking lost popularity to technical riding, which seems to be perceived as safer despite increased exposure to complex avalanche terrain and conditions with persistent weak layers in the snowpack. The detected mismatch between preferences and avalanche knowledge/attitude will remain an obstacle to future accident prevention efforts unless behavioral changes are addressed. This study of a predominantly illegal activity sheds light on how to explore and observe hard-to-reach illegal activities and should be of interest to a wider audience from other research disciplines.
摘要:
雪地车对挪威的雪崩死亡统计做出了严峻而重大的贡献。然而,关于该群体在雪崩地形中的行为以及影响这种行为的因素的知识有限。我们的研究记录了雪地车在雪崩地形中做什么和不做什么,他们的行为如何与管理复杂的雪崩条件有关,如果雪崩能力之间存在不匹配,教育和骑行偏好。这项人种学研究观察了2018年和2019年挪威北部的雪地摩托赛道和雪崩地形使用情况,并得到了与目标群体骑手的开放式对话的支持。结果表明,高标号失去了技术骑行的普及,尽管暴露于复杂的雪崩地形和积雪中持续存在的薄弱层,但似乎被认为更安全。除非解决行为变化,否则检测到的偏好与雪崩知识/态度之间的不匹配将仍然是未来事故预防工作的障碍。这项对主要非法活动的研究揭示了如何探索和观察难以触及的非法活动,应该引起其他研究学科更广泛的受众的兴趣。