Interesting observation -- thanks for sharing that perspective.
I haven't read the book front-to-back thoroughly since, hmm, whenever the first edition came out.
That first reading motivated me in part to take my Level 2, and then also Level 3.
Tremper made snow science seem so exciting in that first edition!
But ultimately from a individual decisionmaking perspective, I came to agree with your takeaway.
And the focus of formal avy instruction has been increasingly on terrain selection (which is why L1 courses out here rarely really get beyond the Awareness-course level) and human factors, especially with an emphasis on tour planning. (The changes over the years in the AIARE field book are a key manifestation of these changes.)
Quick q though: did you read the new[-ish] 3rd edition of the book that came out in 2018?
(I haven't had the chance yet to compare it to the first two editions.)
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