The Avalanche Hour Podcast

In this episode, guest host Sean ZImmerman Wall sits down with Hector Silva Peralta. Hector is an ACMG Apprentice Ski guide based in Chile, living the endless winter between Chile, Canada and Alaska. Héctor grew up in the mountains , close to portillo ski resort, where he started skiing at a very young age. His longtime commitment to the heli-ski, backcountry skiing, and avalanche industries has given him the opportunity to spend the last 6 years training in professional environments and continuing his professional development through mentorship initiatives in both British Columbia and Alaska. One of his primary focuses is further developing the avalanche and ski industry in Chile following the Canadian and US industry's best practices. Alongside other avalanche professionals in Chile, he is working to create a non-profit organization called Chile Avalanchas, that is aiming to save lives through avalanche education. Chile Avalanchas' ultimate mission is to facilitate avalanche education to the general public as well as build a platform for information exchange amongst recreational backcountry users and professionals in the Andes Range. Hector is also a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association and professional member of the American Avalanche Association.

In episode 6.16, I sit down with Frank Carus. The (now) former director of the Mount Washington Avalanche center talks about his career and experiences working in the presidential range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The MWAC is one of two US National Forest Avalanche Centers that hold the responsibility of responding to rescues within their forecast area. Frank recounts a couple unfortunate avalanche accidents that have some lessons for us all. Music on this episode was created by Age Diamanté.

It’s time for another episode of the Austrian Association for Snow and Avalanches @oegsl. Guest hosts Matthias Walcher and Anna Heuberger chat with the “Wayne Gretzky of guiding” RUDI KRANABITTER - an Austrian mountain guide who spent many years working in Canada and became an honorary member of the ACMG, as well as ALBERT LEICHTFRIED, meteorologist, ex-pro ice climber, mountain guide and technical director of the Austrian mountain guides training program. What are the differences between Canada and Austria when it comes to snow and avalanche training and mentality? What can we learn from each other? Music: "Milk" by Ketsa

Episode 6.14 Avalanche Control 101: techniques and technology used in the North American avalanche industry Have you ever wondered what exactly are RACS? What is a Wyssen tower, or a Gazex exploder? What on earth is a Daisy Bell or an O’Bellx? In this episode guest host Dom Baker sits down with a panel of Canadian avalanche professionals to talk through many of the common methods of avalanche control. Joining Dom are Mark Vesely, Robb Andersen and Val Visotzky, who bring with them a wealth of experience and have used all of the different techniques and technology discussed in this episode. The aim of the episode is to provide some background and context for many of the awesome avalanche control stories you may have heard on the podcast over the past 6 seasons. Mark Vesely is an Avalanche Technician with over twenty years of experience in operations, fieldwork, and planning. He has worked in a wide range of sectors including lift access ski areas, industrial work sites, industry training, and guiding. His work experiences have included a variety of contexts in western Canada, the United States, and Chile. The core of Mark’s career has been centered around managing the avalanche safety program at Fernie Alpine Resort from 2005 to 2018. He is a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association and a ski guide with Association of Canadian Mountain Guide membership. Controlling avalanches with a wide variety of startegies and tactics has been a big part of Marks career. Robb Andersen is the senior Manager of the BC Ministry of Transportation Avalanche and Weather Program since 2016. Prior to that he ran the Kootenay Pass avalanche program for 6 of the 12 years he spent there. Robb Grew up in Banff and moved to Nelson in the early 1990’s for “just one season” – he’s still there to this day! He got his start in the avalanche world at Whitewater ski resort on the ski patrol, where he worked from 1994 to 2004. Rob had a working CARDA avalanche rescue dog from 2002 to 2010 and was the President of the Canadian Avalanche Association from 2010-12 and Vice President from 2012-16. Val Visotzky was born in Montreal. He started working as a ski Patroller in 1993 at Sunshine Village, also worked at Norquay, The Remarkables in New Zealand and St.Verans in France. He started his MOTI avalanche career in Stewart in 1999, moved to the Coquihalla program in 2003, and Revelstoke in 2010. He started as the 2ic and started running the Revelstoke program in 2013. Music in this episode was “I Do Love You” and “Feelin Good” by Age Diamante, used with permission from the artist. Produced by Caleb Merrill Artwork by Mike Tea, www.miketea.com The Avalanche Hour Podcast is supported by: Wyssen Avalanche Control 10 Barrel Brewing Interwest Insurance

This episode features Peter Barsevskis. Peter is a pro patroller at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and lives in Golden BC. Peter is working through his Masters degree in Environmental Science at Thompson Rivers University. His research is focused on snow and avalanche mechanics with a tool called the Blade Hardness Gauge. Tune in to hear more about Peter’s project. A summary of his research: "The blade hardness gauge (BHG) is a promising new technology for avalanche forecasters and recreational backcountry users. A key predictive tool used in avalanche forecasting is snow hardness, which is a measure of the snow’s resistance to penetration by an object. The hand hardness test has been the standard test for measuring snow hardness since its introduction in 1950. The BHG provides avalanche practitioners a way to quantitatively measure snow hardness without the known biases of the hand hardness test. An important part of avalanche forecasting is predicting the size of potential avalanches. The size of an avalanche corresponds with the hardness of the slab. As the slab hardness increases it is expected that the avalanche size increases according to fracture mechanics and field observations. The purpose of the proposed research is to continue the work in validating the BHG as a superior and reliable tool for measuring snow hardness predicting avalanche size. Studying in the field of natural and environmental sciences this research will search for a relation between BHG measurements and avalanche size by comparing BHG measurements with avalanche size, snow density, snow stability tests and hand hardness measurements." Peter Barsevskis: p.barsevskis@me.com Fraser Pogue: fraser8@gmail.com Blade Hardness Gauge: https://form3.com/portfolio/snow-density-guage/

In this episode, Kelly Mcneil sits down with Liz RIggs Meder. Liz is the recreation program director for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). Liz shares with us some thoughts and advice around risk management instruction, the role of public health in avalanche education and what that might look like in the future. We also dive into some important topics speaking to inclusion specific avalanche education. We hope you enjoy this episode! Music by Age Diamante.

In this installment of The Avalanche Hour Podcast; Wes Gregg sits down on a Zoom call with the owner/operator of Kootenay Backcountry Guides, Judson Wright! Judson is the lead guide of Kootenay Backcountry Guides. After finishing high school in Ontario, Judson moved to the Kootenays and started his backcountry journey. While learning to ski tour in the Whitewater and Kootenay Pass backcountry, the seeds of an idea to bring a local ski guiding operation to the Kootenays were planted in his head. He spent the next 10 years exploring the mountains of western Canada and getting his A.C.M.G. guiding certification. Over time Judson fell in love with showing others the incredible backcountry in his backyard. In 2016 he officially launched Kootenay Backcountry Guides with a mission to increase safety in the backcountry and help others get the most out of their winter backcountry adventures. Judson and I discuss his history, vision, and the future of Avalanche Education. Please enjoy! Check out Kootenay Backcountry guides https://kootenaybackcountryguides.com Check out State of the snowpack https://www.stateofthesnowpack.com/nelson Music in this episode is used with permission of the artist, Age Diamante Artwork by Mike Tea, miketea.com Episode produced by Wes Gregg

In Episode 6.10, I sit down with Travis Feist. Travis is a pro observer for the Sierra Avalanche Center, longtime avalanche educator, ski guide, and former ski patroller. He splits his time between his skis and his sled, and talks about how his approach to heading out for a day on his sled may differ from a day of ski touring. An all around great conversation that is rounded out with a story of a lesson learned by Travis. braaap. Music on this track is by Age Diamante.

Show Notes: Eeva and I met through our work with the American Avalanche Association and have spent many seasons working through ways to improve the educational landscape in the US. Her tireless efforts, unique skillset, and overall amazing demeanor inspire me as an educator. For this conversation, we talk about things not directly related to avalanche education, but instead focus on the state of the avalanche community in various areas, how to support each other’s mental health, and share a few anecdotes about time well spent in the mountains. It is with great pleasure that we present this information to our listeners so they can benefit from her worldly perspective. Check out a new research project she is engaged with below: Invitation to participate in Winter 2021-22 Research project WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO? Do you go out to backcountry to ski or ride regularly? We need your help this winter to collect information about how groups decide where they go to play. This research will increase our understanding on where folks go to ski or ride and why. The participants will fill out a weekly online questionnaire for a minimum of one month. Yes - it will be a commitment, but we will make it as easy for you as possible. Example questions: When did you decide where to go? Who did you go with? What factors made you decide to go there? But don’t worry about sharing information about your secret stash - the participation is confidential and no details about your personal choices will be shared in public. Interested? Fill out this contact form. We will then email you in late December to get you set to participate in the research. https://forms.gle/gfgRBXrQiDpX8jEz9 Questions? Email Eeva Latosuo elatosuo@alaskapacific.edu Research methods have been approved by Alaska Pacific University.

Time for another look to the other side of the Atlantic- the Alps. This third episode by the Austrian Avalanche Association starts off with avalanche forecasters Matthias Walcher and Christoph Mitterer chatting about a challenging early season snowpack concerning most of the Eastern Alps. With a persistent weak layer close to ground, strong winds, significant loading and ski resorts still partially closed due to a nation wide lockdown, Austria already claims 4 tragic avalanche fatalities. The second part of this episode features 3 x Freeride World Tour Winner Arianna Tricomi and FWT Open Faces organizer and mountain guide Markus Kogler. Listen in to find out more about these Freeride events and the safety measures surrounding their organization. Austrian Association for Snow and Avalanche www.oegsl.at - die Webseite der ÖGSL Follow us and our sponsors on the socials: @wyssen_avalanche_control @10barrelbrewing @interwest_insurance @theavalanchehourpodcast Episode produced by Wes Gregg @wesleylgregg on Instagram Music provided with permission from the artist: Ketsa - Full Hands Empty Heart Artwork provide by Mike Tea