Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Using time lapse photography to document terrain preferences of backcountry skiers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Saly, Diana Ilona Patricia; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jordy Hendrikx; Jordy Hendrikx, Karl W. Birkeland, Stuart Challender and Jerry Johnson were co-authors of the article, 'Using time lapse photograpy to document terrain preferences of backcountry skiers' submitted to the journal 'Journal of outdoor recreation and tourism' which is contained within this thesis.Avalanches are one of the greatest hazards for those recreating in snow covered mountainous terrain. In the past 20 years an average of 13 people in Canada and 27 people in the US are killed in avalanches each winter. Meanwhile, uncontrolled backcountry avalanche terrain use has significantly increased demonstrated by increased demand for avalanche education and increased sales in backcountry equipment. Lift-accessed backcountry (LABC), or avalanche terrain easily accessed from the ski resort, has seen increased usage since resorts opened boundaries in the mid-1990s. This has led to increased research interest in how people are using backcountry avalanche terrain. A simple method to reduce exposure to avalanche hazard is avoidance, however total avoidance is seldom practical. Professionals and recreational skiers alike mitigate avalanche hazard by managing exposure to terrain containing the avalanche hazard. Current research studies use GPS tracking to study the terrain metrics of backcountry skiers. This GPS research is limited to studying volunteers and professionals that willingly track and submit their trips. This approach ignores many users and thus presents a biased picture of use. This paper develops a method to capture the terrain metrics of all skiers on an avalanche-prone backcountry slope. A remote time-lapse camera focused on a high skier-use backcountry slope, (Saddle Peak, in the Bridger Mountain Range of southwest Montana, USA) captured skiers descending Saddle Peak in ten-second increments. Skier locations were digitized from the photos, then transformed onto a geo-referenced digital elevation model (DEM) such that terrain metrics could be applied to each skier location. Analysis of terrain metrics for each skier point compared slope, profile curvature (downslope), and plan curvature (cross slope) over days with different forecasted avalanche hazard. Terrain metrics on Considerable avalanche hazard days differed significantly from Moderate or Low avalanche hazard days (p-value < 0.001). Transformed data fell within a 49-m horizontal accuracy for all skier point locations with a 95% confidence interval. By capturing all skiers on a slope without their knowledge, the data collected provides a large and diverse data set of the terrain preferences of backcountry skiers under varying conditions.Item Environmental factors influencing recreational trail condition(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1994) Urie, Wendi AnnItem Assessment of resource changes in backcountry campsites from 1989-1996 in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1998) Steele, Victoria GraceItem Erosional impact of hikers, horses, off-road bicycles, and motorcycles on mountain trails(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1991) Seney, Joseph PaulItem The relationships between disturbances in stock camps and the occurrence of spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Montana and Idaho(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1995) Milner, Gary Martin