AlpsWatch – A crowd-based hazard information system for mountain environments

Abstract ID: 3.12868 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | TBA | TBA

Andreas Mayr (1)
Michael Rosendorfer (2), Susanna Mitterer (3), Martin Rutzinger (1)
(1) Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52f, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
(2) Association of Tyrolean Mountain Sports Guides, Mentlgasse 2, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
(3) Austrian Board for Alpine Safety (ÖKAS), Olympiastr. 39, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Categories: Adaptation, Hazards
Keywords: Mountaineering, Risk Management, Observation System, Mobile App, Community Platform

Categories: Adaptation, Hazards
Keywords: Mountaineering, Risk Management, Observation System, Mobile App, Community Platform

An increasing number of people is exploring mountain areas, thereby exposing themselves to a variety of potentially hazardous natural processes (e.g., rockfall, collapsing seracs, landslides, or torrential floods) and adverse conditions (e.g., eroded trails, damaged belays or rappel stations, increased difficulty of snow-/ice-free routes). Rapid glacier retreat and permafrost degradation make some of these hazards even more prevalent. Moreover, remote mountain areas are not covered by standardized management schemes for natural hazards and there is usually no systematic monitoring. However, many relevant observations are made by experienced alpine professionals (such as guides, rescue teams, park rangers, field geoscientists etc.). To address this situation the “AlpsWatch” project builds on co-creation of information by this “highly-qualified crowd” to establish an interactive information platform for natural hazards in a mountainous pilot region (Tyrol, Austria). The project has developed and implemented a web app where users can readily document their field observations on recent and imminent hazard events as well as on potentially hazardous conditions, which are then synchronized and shared among the user community. Thereby, the project contributes to more informed decision making, both on the mountain and during planning of activities, and, thus, enables mountain professionals to enhance the safety of themselves and of their clients. A key challenge in the design of the system is to combine (i) accuracy and depth of structured and standardized information with (ii) ease of use. This is currently addressed by prototype testing with feedback from a pilot user group and iterative development. At IMC 2025, we aim to present the main functionality and the user interface of the AlpsWatch information system and discuss possibilities for improvement. Moreover, we will outline the potential to combine the crowd-based field observations with remote sensing based geomorphological analytics. Thereby, we aim to develop more comprehensive spatio-temporal information products for geoscientists and mountaineers and to enhance the understanding of geomorphological dynamics in the context of climate change.

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