Welcome to the 4th season of the Avalanche Hour Podcast! This episode features the first family of heliskiing in the US. Mike and Joe Royer sit down with me and discuss the history and the future of Ruby Mountain Heli Ski. We also dive into some of the characteristics of this uniquely situated mountain range, the snowpack that we deal with there, and how we forecast for and deal with Avalanche hazard in a busy heli skiing schedule. Music on this episode is Loungin' by Gramatik and Hicktronica feat Dirtwire by The Polish Ambassador. I hope you enjoy!

Last episode of season 3 highlights an interview with longtime Heli Ski Guide Roger Atkins. Roger presented the paper Yin, Yang, and You at the 2014 ISSW. He outlined how approaching each day with a strategic mindset might help guiding operations choose appropriate terrain and manage clients in the best way. This will be a timeless episode, that would be helpful to review once the snow starts flying again. The beginning of the show has some background noise, but it decreases throughout the show. A link to Roger's Paper is below:http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/ISSW14_paper_O9.02.pdf Enjoy!

For 45 years, billy barr has been taking weather observations every day from the same location in Gothic, CO. In the wintertime, he makes observations of avalanches of the numerous paths surrounding his house. billy has no vehicle. He skis into town for supplies as the road is closed in the winter. He loves numbers, and with all of this weather data over such an extended time, he has lots of numbers to look at. His work has caught the attention of scientists studying climate change. In this episode, we hear about his life and his work. Tune in. To read or watch more about billy, follow the additional links: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/billy-barr-climate-change/512198/ https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/billy-barr-weather-data-climate-science/

As we wind down The Avalanche Hour Podcast season, I highlight a great interview with John Sykes. John is part psychologist, part guide, part educator, and part researcher. Some might say a full unicorn. John graduated recently with his Masters Degree from MSU, and has also recently started a phD program at Simon Fraser University. We chat about his life, about his work, and about his decision making in the backcountry. I reference several surveys that can be taken at the present time, and links to these surveys are below: Mikey Bell of Southern Oregon University's Masters Thesis of How Students are using the AIARE fieldbook after Avalanche Courses: https://sou.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_80rp5FEdqccxRvT?fbclid=IwAR0qZmjuddkBDDZYLkwibQAt6PRrBJlnPZB5o1P880zXgwSryd4C_QN6NUQ Survey on the Risk of Ski Cutting from Bruce Jamieson, Karl Birkeland, Mark Vesely and Ilya Storm https://www.snowavalanchearchive.com/skicuttingsurvey Help to improve public Avalanche Bulletins by taking this survey put together by the folks at Simon Fraser University: https://avbulletin.avalancheresearch.ca/?fbclid=IwAR1nhIY3EO6al2E9zsPSHnXna_ZKFK8Hya6UiIo8o4iHqziCjC8DFgadMG8

The corn harvest is on in the PNW! I've been busy in the last couple weeks, but was stoked to make time to review this episode. I think you will really appreciate it. We sit down with Evelyn Lees of the Utah Avalanche Center. She tells us about her career, and dives into a talk that she and Mark Staples have been sharing throughout the US during the Snow and Avalanche Workshop seasons. The topic involves being solo- or "effectively" solo in the backcountry. Enjoy.

This episode features Mark Dundas- avalanche forecaster at the Flathead Avalanche Center in Montana. Mark has been a ski patroller, railroad forecaster, avalanche educator, and has put in many years of trailwork for the National Park Service. He talks about the evolution of forecasting in the Flathead Region of Montana. Enjoy.

We've got a great interview with Ben Pritchett- Forecaster, Guide, and Educator based out of Crested Butte, CO. Ben tells the story of his career, and also tells the story of the start of AIARE (American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education) of which he was very involved with for a number of years. We talk about some of the intricacies of forecasting within the Crested Butte area, the relationship between the Crested Butte Avalanche Center and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, and Ben rounds out the hour with an account of when he was surprised by the snowpack. This one is a good one. You will like. I promise. Music on the episode: Gramatik: Klassikal & Somebody. Anitek: Volley Principle

The Avalanche Hour Podcast Episode 3.13 Jack Reuppel by Caleb Merrill

This episode features Mark Mueller. Mark has been one many hats in the Avalanche arena from The Executive Director of A3, to Ski Patrol Director at Squaw Valley to his current role as a highway forecaster for CAIC. There are so many good tidbits in this interview as Mark tells us his story, and gives a glimpse into his day to day routine. Music on this episode is by SoDown. Check out more tracks of theirs on SoundCloud!

The Avalanche Hour Podcast 3.11 Ray Mumford and John Cameron by Caleb Merrill