Avalanche Safety for Skiers & Climbers. Tony Daffern. Rocky Mountain Books, Calgary, 1983. 172 pages, black and white photographs, diagrams, glossary, bibliography. $11.50 (Canada).

Daffern directs this book to the mountaineer or back-country skier facing various types of avalanche hazards along the way. Using well-chosen case histories of mountaineering and wilderness skiing accidents, Daffern discusses the risks—including implications of decision-making—without resorting to sensationalism or preaching.

Daffern has gathered his snow studies and resource material from several respected sources and the technical sections are generally very good and up to date. However, I found a few of his drawings a little obscure, particularly the one describing heat gain/heat loss in the snowpack on pages 39 and 40. On the plus side, the section on field snow observations is the most complete of any current avalanche handbook. It includes many casual observations that can be made, while on skis, in addition to the more formal tests and snow structure studies.

Daffern does not fail to mention the particular uniqueness and subtleness of those delayed-action avalanches—those involving deep snow layers and those which occur after a storm or period of recent loading, perhaps several days later, and often in conditions of clear, calm weather. The problem with this type of avalanche is down-played in most other publications, yet this is the avalanche which results in the majority of skier avalanche deaths. A particularly telling photograph on page 141 is a good reminder.

There are the usual, but well-done chapters on route-finding and rescue. Of particular note is a discussion on what helicopters can and cannot do in the mountains, acknowledging that the helicopter is part of the mountain scene in many areas today.

An interesting and generous selection of photographs carries the information well. Many of the photographs are of climbing situations, as well as skiing. Of special note are the state-of-the-art snow crystal photographs by Ronald Perla.

In summary, Avalanche Safety for Skiers & Climbers is an excellent field-level avalanche handbook. For mountaineers, it is the best available.

Peter Lev