The Avalanche Hour Podcast

Join us for our seventh installment of Slabs ‘n Sluff with your hosts Sara Boilen and Dom Baker, joined by Caleb Merrill! The crew discuss spring adventures, summer skiing, and cows raiding Caleb’s food cache at an Andes basecamp!   They also review recent episodes from April and May and preview a few exciting things coming up on the Avalanche Hour Podcast. Tune in to hear from Scott Thumlert and...

Episode Summary: - A conversation with AVSS introduces PAMS, a Precision Avalanche Management System, designed to reliably drop explosives from a drone platform. - The episode explores the prior experience AVSS brings to the avalanche industry from remote drone operations in logistics and military contexts.   - The conversation looks at the development process and field testing with Jasper Nationa...

In this episode of The Avalanche Hour Podcast, host Brooke “Shiny” Edwards talks with Izzy Davis, a first-year avalanche forecaster at the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center. Izzy shares her path into the ski industry, from growing up in Western Colorado to working as a ski patroller, and eventually moving into public avalanche forecasting. The conversation also touches on a significant personal eve...

Tune in for candid stories and a humorous take on the roots of Canadian avalanche work. Bruce Jamieson is joined by Larry Stanier to interview Roddy McGowan. Roddy McGowan is a veteran Canadian mountain guide and avalanche professional who carved out his career the hard way, starting as a ski bum in Whistler in the late 1970s before working his way onto ski patrol at Lake Louise and into the renow...

Episode Summary: - A conversation with Drone Amplified , the team introduces Montis, a drone-based system designed to deliver explosives remotely with greater precision and safety.  - The episode traces the history of avalanche mitigation, from early explosive use in 1939 to modern tools aimed at reducing human exposure. - Technology evolved from wildland firefighting and what makes its electronic...

In this episode of The Avalanche Hour, Caleb Merrill makes another appearance to sit down with Mark Staples, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, and avalanche researcher/educator Bruce Jamieson. The group discuss heavyweight topics in the avalanche industry such as snow-surface energy exchange, near-surface faceting, and communicating avalanche hazard.  Staples recounts his...

Join us for our sixth installment of Slabs ‘n Sluff with  your hosts Sara Boilen and Dom Baker! Sara and Dom discuss the joy of powder turns in low hazard terrain, slope tests on small features and the upcoming spring skiing season.  They also review recent episodes from March and take a look at what is coming up for April on the Avalanche Hour Podcast. Tune in to hear from the ISSW 2026 organizin...

Summary of the Conversation:  -Exploring the societal pressures as human factor on professional athletes -Sasha shares how she balances decision making in the backcountry with a very mindful approach inclusive of her nervous system -Sasha cracks the code on the best Human Factor Hack; creating mindful presence in a meditative, naturalist inquisitive approach to the mountains. -Sasha talks about th...

Join us in giving a warm welcome to Lynne Wolfe for her first official episode as a host with the Avalanche Hour Podcast as she shares a thoughtful and reflective conversation with Eric Trenbeath and Brad Meiklejohn.  A lot has changed about the avalanche industry in 34 years, but one thing we will never lose is the presence of uncertainty when we make decisions in avalanche terrain. On February 1...

Science and experience-built intuition are a composite - they are stronger together than they are separate, especially when we start to see things that we have never seen before.  Join Gabrielle Antonioli and Karl Birkeland for an expansive conversation on the critical factors we weigh each day: uncertainty, decision-making scales, and a reflective discussion on how we are strongest when we embrac...

Join us for our fifth installment of Slabs ‘n Sluff with Sara Boilen and the return of co-host, Dom Baker! Sara and Dom discuss hazard forecasting and the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale.  They also review February and take a look at what is coming up for March on the Avalanche Hour Podcast.  Sara Boilen holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver (2011). Pr...

Caleb Merrill is back to interview Dan Abrams for a reflective conversation on a tragic avalanche accident. Tune in for a conversation that stems from the soul…. soul skiing that is, and the endless search for those perfect powder turns that brings our small community of soul skiers & riders together.  Dan and Caleb center the conversation’s focus on recounting the Tunnel Creek avalanche accid...

Our next episode is out! Joe Stock sits down with Mik Dalpes for a conversation centered around leadership and culture in the avalanche industry. Mik grew up in Minnesota where she formed a passion for skiing. Her career includes spending time as a ski patroller, Outward Bound Instructor, Park Ranger, avalanche educator, and Avalanche Forecaster for the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center. Mi...

Be More Selective, Not More Careful: Hot Takes from the Avalanche Industry  Interview Highlights: - A terrain-first avalanche education reset : clear language, fewer false certainties, better decision framing. - Real-world mentorship you can actually build : “friendtorship” structures, debrief prompts, and partner feedback that scales from rec to pro. - Inclusion that’s operational, not performati...

Interview Highlights:  - Coming home each day is always the goal, and debriefing seems to be a helpful tool in adding expertise to our experience.  - Debriefing can look many different ways. It can happen in real time during an outing, known as a rolling debrief, or it can happen at the end of  the day, and even at a later time.  - Ian and Sara posit that our debriefing skills are in need of atten...

Join us for our fourth installment of Slabs ‘n Sluff with Sara Boilen and guest co-host, Sean Zimmerman-Wall! Sara and Sean review January and take a look at what is coming up for February in the Avalanche Hour Podcast. We also hear an update from Dom.  Sara Boilen holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver (2011). Professionally, she works with individuals who have had...

Pascal Haegeli’s career path is anything but conventional. After completing his Master’s degree in Switzerland, he moved to Canada in the mid-1990s – where he found the opportunity of a lifetime. There he built an academic career and became a very influential researcher in avalanche risk management, shaping safety practices across North America and beyond. Today, Pascal is an Associate Professor a...

Joe Stock and Luc Mehl have been on many adventures together. Join them for a great conversation about risk management in wild places. In Joe's words: Luc Mehl is one of Alaska’s foremost adventurers, filling the gap between Roman Dial and Dick Griffith. He’s been at the forefront of ski traversing, packrafting, wild ice skating and now wilderness risk management.  Luc grew up in rural Alaska and...

“Science is What We Do to Keep from Lying to Ourselves” ~ Richard Feynman.  In this conversation, Bruce Jamieson is back to interview Dr. Karl Birkeland and Joe Stock for a deep dive into snow science. Jamieson brings us with him on a snow science journey alongside two of the industry’s top authors and experts on snow avalanches. Their conversations comment on the importance of the science side of...

Morgan Dinsdale is a professional ski guide, writer, holistic nutritionist and the Founder and Executive Director of the State of the Snowpack, a public safety non-profit dedicated to connecting avalanche professionals with their local communities across the mountain communities of Canada. A Canadian Ski Guide Association (CSGA) Level 2 Ski Guide and the first Level 2 ever elected to the CSGA Boar...

In this episode, Matthias Walcher sits down with Jürg Schweizer for a deep dive on a career focused on snow science.  Jürg Schweizer studied environmental physics at ETH Zurich and joined SLF, at that time still up on the Weissfluhjoch, after completing his PhD. He spent a formative year conducting research at Rogers Pass in Canada. He rose from researcher to head of the world’s most renowned inst...

In memory of Judson Wright, this is a special re-airing of a Season 6 interview with him.  Judson was a father and a husband first, and the founder and lead guide of Kootenay Backcountry Guides.  He was the co-founder of State of the Snowpack, and lead guide of White Grizzly Snowcat Skiing.  He was also the most enthusiastic crossing guard you ever met.   Judson guided with the principle that if y...

This panel discussion was part of the Bend Snow & Avalanche Workshop (BendSAW), hosted by the Central Oregon Avalanche Center and originally recorded on November 8th, 2025. The panel brought together Margaret Wheeler, Liz King, Jason Boone and Kevin Grove, moderated by Sara Boilen.  Dr. Sara Boilen is a psychologist based in Northwest Montana and a familiar voice from Slabs and Sluffs . In thi...

Episode Highlights: - A wide ranging conversation touching on community, connection, loss, grief and decision making. - Field updates from Snow and Avalanche Workshops from Utah ProSAW, South Central AK SAW and Bend SAW - Highlights from episodes from November and upcoming episodes in December - Current community events - No more AI art! This is a sneak preview of our new Season 10 artwork - stay...

Do all heroes really wear capes? No, and the professionals who specialize in avalanche rescue never would - although they often wear red...sans tights - but they deserve a heartfelt thank you. This episode is a special opportunity to hear directly from those who show up when we need them most. We hope to never have to call them, but should listen closely to what they have to share with us.  In thi...