The San Juan Snowcast

Winter is officially officially here! Happy Solstice, everyone. On this week’s show, I bemoan our slow start to the season, talk about the spatial variability in our snowpack, and share with you my tip for how to save money on backcountry touring gloves (cuz backcountry gear is expensive!).  Thanks for listening and thanks to Sew Alpine and Mountain Trip for supporting the show! Until next time… T...

On this episode of the Snowcast, we recap the most recent storm, discuss our touchy persistent slab problem, take a mini-dive into “Squelch” and the world of radios, and wrap things up with some funny and fiery hot takes from 4SAW. Enjoy! Like what you hear? Please leave a rating or review!  ‘  Instagram: @sanjuansnowcast Facebook: The San Juan Snowcast Email: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.com 

Folks, the snowpack is growing, the danger is rising, and it’s time to leave the pitiful days of “Early Season” in the rear view mirror, because Winter is here and we are now officially IN avalanche season. In this episode I dive into our first HIGH avalanche danger of the season, the most recent storm, our garbage snowpack, and the Community Calendar! The holidays are here and so is the season of...

Please help support the Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund. You can donate online, it’s super easy, and every dollar helps! Thank you. Link to Donate What do you do when you want to go into the backcountry, but you haven’t really been paying attention to the conditions? Well, listen to this episode and come with me on my journey to track the season’s history through some awesome online resource...

Well folks, I wish there was more snow to talk about on this episode but things have been high and dry for the last week in the Juan’s. So, on this week’s show, we’re going to talk PRE-SEASON PREP, and specifically how to check your gear to make sure it’s ready for another season of touring in the backcountry.  I also sit down with Executive Director of the Friends of the San Juan’s, Evan Tyler, t...

Hey Snowcasters! I hope you enjoyed some of that pow that fell last Thursday. Could it really be that the season of rock skis and coreshots is behind us?! Well, not quite…On this week’s show, we discuss the State of the Snowpack, take a look at some recent avy activity in the Juans, and then dig into a recap of the Four Corners Snow and Avalanche Workshop that went down in early October in Silvert...

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Snowcast!  On this week’s show, we get re-acquainted and stoked up for the coming winter. Topics include how to “run the models” for yourself, the incoming winter storm, new updates to the CAIC website, opportunities for get free money towards your avalanche education,  and more!  Don’t forget to request a sticker by emailing me at sanjuansnowcast@gmail.com and foll...

Well, that’s a wrap!!! Season 1 of the San Juan Snowcast is officially coming to a close. Thanks again for listening and for coming along on the ride! I can’t wait to do it all again next year, so spread the word, and watch out for early season episodes coming back into your feed in October. In this episode, I take a quick dive into the nuances of Spring Ski Mountaineering: what gear to bring, how...

Miracle March is coming to a close and, despite our current stormy weather, the Spring transition is in full swing for our weather and snowpack. But, what is corn? And, how does one harvest it? This episode dives into how our snowpack transforms in the Spring and how we can assess whether conditions have aligned for a beautiful day of backcountry corn skiing. It’s not too complicated, but it ain’t...

Hey folks, this episode is a little different from the usual Snowcast. Last week, we lost someone important to our backcountry community and I spend this episode unpacking how I’ve been processing this tragedy. This show is a bit raw and I’ll offer a trigger warning here, because in this episode, I talk about death and the risk of dying doing what we love in the mountains, which I know can be hard...

Hey folks and welcome to mid-March! On this week’s show, we dive into last week’s storm and see just how much Miracle March has delivered so far for us here in the San Juans. Then, we look at some recent avalanches that happened this past week before we dive into this week’s knowledge nugget: What actually happens after you hit SOS on an inReach for a backcountry emergency?  Thanks to Tommy for sh...

Well, here we are, folks! 20 episodes deep, 7,000 downloads across 24 countries and 400 cities, and the ‘Cast is still going strong. What a ride it has been and thanks to all of you for your support!  On this week’s show, we look at back at last weekend’s big storm, discuss the magic of Miracle March and the importance of updating our Mindsets, and then run out of breath with the first-ever Skintr...

Hello and welcome to March! The meteorological Spring has sprung and on this week’s show we chat about some of the signs we’re seeing in the backcountry that tell us that things are warming up! We take a look back at the last storm’s snow totals, the natural avalanche cycle that followed it, and a look at the weather ahead, before we jump into a Porch Chat discussion about glopping, waxing, the R-...

It’s storming, folks! In this episode, we dive into the mid-storm weather and snowpack update, and talk about how it’s time to change our mindsets and how we approach the backcountry.  As old Bobby Dylan says, the conditions “they are a-changing”, and we need to adapt our mindsets accordingly.  This week’s episode was sponsored by Mountain Trip. Check out mountaintrip.com for more information on o...

On this week’s show, we’re back you our regularly-scheduled programming with a look at the current state of the snowpack, a mini-dive into weather models, a look at the forecasted storm arriving later today, and we’ll finish it off with an optimistic glance at what could come in March! The winter sure ain’t over yet, folks, and with some new snow in the forecast, it’s time to check in and make sur...

Welcome back, folks! It was a good two weeks away but I’m psyched to be back behind the mic. In this week’s show, I dive into talking about just how dry January was here in the Juans, then I take a look at an upcoming event, I close the loop on a topic brought up in Episode 15, and I dig into the avalanche education nugget for the week: mapping tools! This week is jammed-packed with information an...

Hello! Well, 4” of new snow last night sure was a nice change of pace! On this week’s show we’ll talk about the state of our snowpack and the riding conditions out there across the San Juans, take a look at the Community Calendar, listen to some Hot Takes from the audience, and dive into an incident that happened up in the Tetons and how we can learn from it. Thanks to Mountain Trip for supporting...

Hey friends, well if you’re at all like me then you’re probably a little disappointed in our current weather pattern. Yup, its the dreaded January Thaw… To lighten up the mood, this week’s show is a bit different than normal! This show is all about HOT TAKES. Coop, Slator and I cut loose one night during a recent avalanche course and decided to talk about the things we see in backcountry skiing th...

Hey team! On this week’s show, I’ve got some life updates to share, and then I dive into the state of the snowpack and what I’ve been seeing in pits and observations. Then, we get a glimmer of hope from Joel Gratz’s Colorado Daily Snow, a challenge to the skiers of the Juans to keep up  our trend of no major avalanche incidents, and a discussion/reminder on why its important to establish your tour...

Happy New Year! This week’s episode  of the Snowcast digs into a recap of the big storm that ended 2021, a look at how the new snow load is affecting our snowpack across the San Juans, and we’ll unpack a few recent near-miss avalanche incidents to find the common trends. Then, I invite some friends and fellow snow professionals over to my front porch for a conversation about the “Spooky Moderate”...

Hello everyone and welcome to the last show of 2021! We’ve had some EPIC snowfall lately and avalanche danger has spiked to High for several days this past week. On this week’s show, we dive into how what all this new snow is doing to our snowpack, take a quick look at the recent avalanche incidents happening across our zone, and share some upcoming events happening in our community. And then, we...

Happy holidays, everyone! Here we are, 10 episodes in to the 2021/2022 winter season, and it just officially became Winter yesterday! On this week’s show, we take a quick look at our growing snowpack, recap some of the recent avalanche incidents that have happened locally and across the country, and then I introduce some Mindsets that we can assume to better keep our heads in the game when we’re o...

WINTER IS HERE! And with it, sketchy avalanche conditions (whomp, whomp, whomp….).  Last week’s storm kicked our winter into high gear and radically changed our snowpack. On this week’s episode, we’ll take a look back at the storm, get an update on the state of the snowpack, and dive into a valuable debrief of a local avalanche incident that happened this past Saturday. I’m joined by Jonathon Coop...

Hey everyone, IT SNOWED! On this week’s show, we revel in the glory of seeing snow again and take a close look at the snowpack structure throughout the San Juans. We also check in with the big storm that’s currently on our doorstep, I give a shout out to OG avy podcaster Doug Krause, and I share my thoughts on mindfulness and its role in backcountry touring.  The winter is kicking into high gear a...

On this episode of the Snowcast, we wrap up our mini-series on emergency preparedness by talking repair kits and rescue sleds! Accidents happen. It’s as simple as that, and we can stack the odds in our favor by carrying the things we need to deal with whatever incident we could encounter on a backcountry tour.  We start things off in this episode by taking a look at what I carry inside my ski-spec...