Snow avalanches occur in snow covered mountain regions throughout the world and have caused natural disasters as long as mountainous areas have been inhabited. Their occurrences affect ski resorts, roads, railways, power lines, communication lines, forests, backcountry recreationists, residential areas, and industrial facilities (e.g., mining) (Table 1). The number of fatalities per year due to snow avalanches is estimated to be about 250 worldwide. Within the last ten years (1993-1994 to 2002-2003) 419 people were killed in North America (U.S. and Canada) (Figure 1). In Canada, for example, the direct and indirect costs amount to over CAD$5 million per year. Most of the fatalities involve personal recreation on public land (Jamieson et al., 2002). Avalanche mitigation includes temporary measures (forecasting and road closure) and permanent measures (landuse planning, protective means such as snow sheds or tunnels, and reforestation). By combining temporary and permanent measures in a cost efficient way, also called integral risk management, the avalanche risk can be reduced to an acceptable level. Since snow avalanches are still relatively rare events, personal experience is limited and expertise is usually not readily available. Therefore, it is essential for hazard mitigation to increase the awareness of land managers, consultants, govern- mental agencies and individual recreationists about snow avalanches.