The Avalanche Hour Podcast

This episode features an interview with Karin Pocock. Karin Pocock shares her journey in the avalanche industry, discussing her experiences in both Canada and the U.S. She reflects on a pivotal avalanche incident that shaped her career and emphasizes the importance of education and training in avalanche safety. Karin also highlights the unique culture at the Silverton Avalanche School and addresse...

In this episode of the Avalanche Hour podcast, Caleb speaks with meteorologist Joel Gratz- founder of Open Snow, about the importance of weather forecasting for skiing and how it pertains to avalanche conditions. They unpack how much to weigh El Nino and La Nina on winter weather predictions, and Joel walks us through what goes into a forecast from OpenSnow. Joel shares insights into the features...

Ken Wylie is a Human Hazard Management innovator, formerly an IFMGA guide, and author of the book Buried.  Ken’s company, Archetypal, provides high-resolution self-awareness tools for people who work in High Potential Consequence (HPC) environments across several industries.  In this conversation, Guest host Brooke Shiny Edwards takes a deeper dive into the heart of Ken Wylie and the vision he has...

In this episode of the Avalanche Hour, host Jake Hutchinson sits down with Gabrielle Antonioli, a forecaster for the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center and founder of the A3’s Resilience Project. They discuss Gabrielle's journey into avalanche forecasting, the importance of mental health support in the avalanche community, and the need for inclusive avalanche education for motorized users. The convers...

In this episode guest host Jason Antin sits down with Vince Anderson.  Vince shares his journey from growing up in Golden, Colorado, to becoming a prominent figure in the alpine climbing and guiding communities. He discusses his early experiences with climbing and skiing, the early days of the AMGA, and the evolution of avalanche education. In this conversation, he discusses the evolution of educa...

We start this episode with Jayne Thompson-Nolan stopping by to give us an update from the American Avalanche Association (A3). She highlights some of the initiatives and achievements from the last year, provides some member updates, and talks about opportunities for grants, scholarships, and continuing education. We then launch into an interview with IFMGA guide Evan Stevens. Evan is the owner of...

In this episode of The Avalanche Hour , host Sean welcomes special guest Jess Shade. A high-altitude ski mountaineer, queer woman, and licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Utah and Michigan. Jess brings a unique blend of personal experience and professional expertise to discuss the intricate relationship between mental health and mountain environments. Together, they delve into the mindset...

Episode 9.2: Dr. Sara Boilen Interviews Cody Townsend. Cody Townsend discusses The Fifty Project , a web series documenting his attempt to climb and ski all 50 classic ski descents of North America. He reflects on the transition from being seen as a fearless, ego-driven skier to showcasing vulnerability and the behind-the-scenes reality of the sport. Cody shares his experience of a traumatic trip...

Fall is here and winter is right around the corner! Welcome back to Season 9 of The Avalanche Hour Podcast. In today's episode, Caleb sits down with IFMGA guide and co-founder/CEO of Aspect Avy , Jeff Banks. Jeff's mission in life is to help people do dangerous things -the safest way possible. He's happiest when he's in the mountain mountains helping people live long & adventurous lives. Jeff...

In the last episode of Season 8, I sit down with Mike Peterson. Mike is an engineer and avid backcountry splitboarder who lives in Salt Lake City. He reached out to the show and wanted to share his experience from an avalanche that left him with a significant injury. Mike provides his honest reflection on trends he saw in his own backcountry habits, outside-of-the-mountain influences, and margins...

Episode 8.29 Unique Summer Careers The Northern Hemisphere winter is over and avy pros are returning to summer jobs. For many, this is forest firefighting – a natural fit with opposing seasons and complementary skill sets. For some, however, the summer provides an opportunity to completely unplug from the challenges of winter work and pursue other passions. In this episode, host Dom Baker speaks w...

In this installment of The Avalanche Hour Podcast; Wes Gregg sits down for a conversation with Australian Ski Guide, Forecaster and Educator, Kyle Boys from Mountain Safety Collective (MSC). MSC is a not for profit in Australia that provides daily backcountry condition reports. These reports help serve a growing community of winter backcountry enthusiasts. We also discuss what the hazards are for...

In this episode, we chat with long time industry professional Colin Zacharias. Colin has spent over 40 years working in the snow, avalanche, guiding, consulting, and education realms. Throughout our interview, Colin talks about some of the trends that he has seen within the industry as well as trends in accidents. He talks about how recreationists might learn from some of the habits of professiona...

EPISODE 8.26 On today’s episode join us as Ellen Bradley and Jossline Jackson share their personal and poignant connections to their indigenous roots through skiing and science, guided by mentor and educator Mike Janes. We delve into the importance of indigenous knowledge in environmental stewardship and explore initiatives that make outdoor spaces accessible and inclusive. Socials: The Avalanche...

In this episode our European contributors, Matthias Walcher and Christoph Mitterer from @ÖGSL, interview Snow Scientists, and current intern at @ÖGSL; Manuel Genswein. Manuel is a one-of-a-kind individual and no stranger to the avalanche industry. As a lone wolf, he has been traveling the world for over 30 years bringing his strategies and ideas to the field of avalanche rescue. In this episode we...

In this episode, Harry Keane interviews one of his mentors, David Lovejoy. We introduce Harry, then turn the mic over to David as he talks about some of his memories of exploring crags, alpine peaks, and snowy mountains across the globe. David attended Prescott College, where he eventually became a faculty member and professor. In the early 1980's, he developed an Avalanche Forecasting course in c...

Episode 8.23 John “Buff” Buffery John “Buff” Buffery has had a long and diverse career in avalanche and mountain risk management, spending time at ski hills, guiding, risk management for highways, movie rigging, and much more. From ski guiding on tele skis back in the early days of his career to building his own split board in the 90s - Buff has pioneered his own path in the mountains. He was Crai...

In this episode, Caleb sits down with Ethan Greene, Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. It is the CAIC’s 50th anniversary this year, and we are happy to have Ethan on the show to celebrate it. Ethan has truly blended the theory and practice of snow and avalanche work through academia and research coupled with his career as a ski patroller-turned avalanche forecaster. We chat abo...

It's been a rough week. I hope you can smile while remembering Matt Primomo through listening to our interview from a few years ago. We lost another great human and avalanche professional last week- Nick Burks. A call to action of our community to reach out to The Avalanche Hour with stories of Nick that can be recorded and put together into a podcast episode. Email theavalanchehourpodcast@gmail.c...

In this episode, Caleb sits down with Jayson Simons-Jones. We chat about Jayson's career as an IFMGA Mountain Guide, a guide service owner, an avalanche educator, and now his new role as the Recreation Education Manager for the American Avalanche Association. Jayson provides thoughtful insights and reflection on how he approaches bringing a deep sense of meaning and connection while taking people...

Ep 8.20 Mentorship and community building What is mentorship? How does it strengthen a community? Is mentorship even the right word? Let’s dive in… Backcountry skiing and riding can be an intimidating sport to get into. We all know the avalanche and first aid courses are a must, but it can be hard to connect with more experienced backcountry users to practice the skills. How does a person find tha...

In this episode, Caleb sits down with forecaster Blase Reardon. Blase talks about his experiences public avalanche forecasting at the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, CAIC, and the Flathead Avalanche Center where he is currently the Director. He reflects on operational forecasting in the early days of the forecasting program for the Going To The Sun road at Glacier National Park. Blase has contributed i...

In this episode, Sean Zimmerman-Wall sits down with John Littleton. John's passion is teaching people about snow science and how to travel safely in the mountains. He is a US Navy Veteran and an American Institute for Avalanche Research & Education (AIARE) Course Leader and Instructor Trainer. John holds his AIARE Level 3 Certification and is a professional member of the American Avalanche Associa...

Sunshine is a certified ski guide, avalanche educator, river guide, father, and husband who currently lives in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley. He talks about his early days of backcountry skiing in Colorado before exploring Oregon's Wallowa Mountains as a ski guide for Wallowa Alpine Huts. 10 years ago, Sunshine was guiding a group of guests out of the Schneider Cabin on the South flank of Cornuco...

EPISODE 8.16 Experience a unique adventure in this episode as Tele Mike and Brooke take us from the exhilarating rush of heated side-by-sides to the awe-inspiring helicopter rides over Alaska's snowy peaks. This episode isn't just about skiing; it's a profound journey of transformation and discovery. Tele Mike's story begins on the East Coast, where a life-altering moment reshaped his destiny. Wit...