Exposure to the Avalanche Industry
- Gabi Benel
- Apr 29, 2019
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 1, 2020
One of the great aspects of the program was the exposure I got to many different people and aspects of the avalanche industry. I would not have been able to get so involved and learn so much without the connections made through the program.
The faculty themselves represented a diverse mix of backgrounds - John MacKinnon is an incredible ski guide and avalanche educator. Dr. Kelly Elder is a world renowned hydrologist with the US Forest Service. Dr. Ethan Greene leads the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Roger Coit created the Avalanche Science Program with amazing vision.
We toured the facilities of the Colorado Department of Transportation and spoke with Jamie Yount, the avalanche program coordinator for CDOT. We saw the newest remote avalanche control systems he was facilitating the installation of along the I70 corridor and on Berthoud Pass.
We also met with Ryan Evanczyk, the Snow Safety director of the A-Basin Ski Patrol, and learned about how he and his staff designed and managed the expansion of the ski area into terrain that presented many challenges for mitigation.
Ryan also showed us the innovative software his team uses for tracking mitigation efforts.
I also got to spend time with different Colorado Avalanche Information (CAIC) forecasters and learn from their techniques and methods. Blase Reardon, the backcountry forecaster for the Aspen area at the time, and Becs Hodgetts, the highway forecaster in the Sawatch region, both taught me a great deal.
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