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]]>Your Contribution Supports Several Important Initiatives:
- Increase partnerships throughout the state to strengthen connections throughout our communities in support of our mission
- Strengthen operations at each Regional Avalanche Center to best meet the needs of their unique communities
- Encourage the implementation of a statewide avalanche program
- Increase scholarship opportunities for avalanche safety education for all users
Our Annual Fund keeps dollars going towards services that are essential for each Regional Avalanche Center, and to ensure public access to resources and information which allow users to make informed decisions before traveling in the backcountry. We continue to see tremendous growth in participation in winter backcountry recreation which inspires every aspect of our work.
We Hit Some Major Milestones this Year!
- We adopted the National Avalanche Forecast Platform on our website for both Valdez & Haines.
- Backcountry Preparedness Program, with funding support from DPS & AK State Troopers, and in collaboration with Alaska Safe Riders, reached over 5600 participants last year.
- Gulkana Glacier Weather Station is completed and operational, thanks to a grant from the Avalanche Aliance.
- Provided funding to reduce the registration fees to $25 for Avalanche Fundamental courses, taught by Alaska Avalanche School in Valdez, Haines, Fairbanks, and Cordova.
- Valdez Avalanche Center has their own snowmachine now-thanks to funding from the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and the support from Delta Powersports!
The Annual Fund is a big part of our success, so please consider giving generously this year. Together we can keep this momentum going and Live to Ride Another Day!
Your Donation Will Help Ensure:
- The consistent support for Regional Avalanche Centers in Valdez, Haines, Fairbanks & Cordova
- Essential Administrative & Operational work for the entire organization
- Insurance; Accounting; Website; Permits & Licenses; Payroll for forecasters, instructors, & administrative staff
- Detailed & timely avalanche danger bulletins and forecasts
- A variety of public outreach programs and trainings to a growing diversity of backcountry users
- Ongoing support & maintenance of remote weather stations
- Public Observation platform
- Online Resource Hub for information & data
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]]>The post Welcome New Team Members to VAC appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>Welcome Annie Hughey – Annie (on left) has joined VAC as our new Communications Director. With a strong background in website optimization and digital strategy, Annie brings a wealth of technical know-how to the team. She will be leading VAC’s social media and marketing efforts, coordinating communications with event stakeholders, and assisting with grant writing to support our programs.
Welcome Morgan Sobek – Morgan (on right) has come on board to spearhead planning for our much-anticipated Spring Fling Fundraiser at Growler Bay this March. She will be leading the popular Silent Auction and helping us create another memorable community event.
We are thrilled to have Annie and Morgan on the team and look forward to the impact they’ll bring to our mission of providing avalanche forecasting and education in Valdez, Thompson Pass, and the Copper River Basin.
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]]>The post South Three Pigs Weather Station Project appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>A huge thanks to forecaster Gareth Brown, who teamed up with DOT on site prep and installation over the spring and summer.
Key Details
- Name: South Summit Weather Station
- Location: Three Pigs Summit (also known as 42 Mile Peak), in the Chugach Mountains, Alaska.
- Purpose: To provide real-time weather data for avalanche forecasting and safety, especially for the high-risk areas on the Richardson Highway.
- Significance: It is the highest elevation weather station in the Chugach Mountain Range.
- Installation: Installed by the Alaska DOT&PF Avalanche Program in late August 2025.
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]]>The post AAIC Members Save 20% on Rocky Talkie Radios appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>Not a member yet? Join today and take advantage of this discount—along with the knowledge that you’re supporting avalanche safety and education across Alaska.
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]]>The post Winter Hazards Remain appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>With more snow and southeast winds in the forecast, the new snow may not bond well initially and will add load to buried weak layers. Stay alert out there and use extra caution while the snowpack adjusts and the season’s shift.
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]]>The post February Accidents in Alaska appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>On February 2nd a heliski client triggered a loose snow avalanche (sluff) on his first turn down a slope. He was caught in the moving snow, which entrained additional snow as it moved downhill. The skier was pushed into a rock band and seriously injured. He was flown to a hospital in Anchorage, where he later died. Alaska News Source story can be found here.
On February 13 a group of backcountry skiers triggered an avalanche while ascending a slope. All three members were caught and carried in the avalanche. Two of the three people involved sustained injuries and the third did not survive. The avalanche was roughly 150 feet wide and ran for 700 vertical feet, failing on a layer of weak faceted snow roughly 2 feet deep at the crown. More details can be found on the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center webpage.
- Details and information courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
- Image courtesy of the Chugach National Forest Avalanhce Information Center.
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]]>The post The Avalanche Factor Book appeared first on Alaska Avalanche Information Center.
]]>Topics include:
- Avalanche Terrain
- Weather and Snowpack
- Problems and Danger
- People and Making Good Decisions
- Margins For Safety
- The Avalanche Avoidance System
- Climbers and Avalanches
- Rescue
Joe’s uniquely Alaskan flavor lends itself to an easy to digest modern text on avalanche safety and compliments other seminal avalanche safety texts that include other books such as:
- Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, 3rd Edition by Bruce Tremper
- Snow Sense by Doug and Jill Freston
Other e-books available online are :
- Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose in the Avalanche Path by Bruce Kay
- Avalanche Craft by Bruce Jaimeson and Terry Palechuk
Field guide and handbooks include:
- Avalanche Search and Rescue: A Backcountry Field Guide by Alexis Alloway
- The Avalanche Handbook, 4th Edition by David McClung
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