Expert Instructors, Real-World Lessons
CMC Faculty Partner with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center
Highly regarded industry experts developed the Avalanche Science program. Their invaluable experience in the nation’s most active snow sports region shaped the curriculum. This expertise is available to you through CMC’s partnerships with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, nearby ski areas, and leading industry professionals who will teach you both in the classroom and on the mountain slopes.
During your field internship, you’ll have the opportunity to monitor, track and measure mountain snowpack over two full winters and observe how snow behaves in various weather conditions.
Hands-on learning activities include:
- Performing high-altitude fieldwork in the Rocky Mountains
- Observing snow behavior at CMC’s on-campus snow study plot
- Tracking data from two remote-sensing weather stations: one on campus and one in the nearby Sawatch Range
- Using state-of-the-art equipment in daily lessons
- Meeting in “smart” classrooms that deliver the latest technology
- Learning in hybrid classes that combine online and on-site education to fit the schedules of working students
- Access to a regional forecasting office and personnel
Dr. Jeremy Deem
Associate Professor970-989-1339 | jdeem@coloradomtn.edu
Pronouns: He/Him
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, History, The Ohio University
- Master of Arts, History, Colorado State University
- Wilderness EMT, Doctoral Candidate University of Northern Colorado
Awards
- Faculty of the Year, 2019-2020 and 2014-2015
Publications
- Deem, J.R. (2022), College Students’ Perceptions of the Desert Canyons of the Colorado Plateau
Professional Associations
- American Avalanche Association Professional Member
- Professional River Guide & TL
- International Mountain Bike Association
- National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician-Basic
- American Whitewater Association
- American Heart Association
- Wilderness Medical Society
Personal Interests
Indigenous Peoples' History and Rights, Mountain Rivers, Alpine Skiing, Mountain Biking, Ocean Surfing, History, Sustainability, Avalanche Studies, Economic and Environmental Equity, International Studies, Wilderness Medicine, Authorship.
Family
Wonderful wife, one dog, two questionable cats.
History & Social Sciences, Outdoor Studies, Wilderness EMS, Sustainability Studies, Avalanche Science
Dr. Kelly Elder
Instructor, Avalanche Science; Research Hydrologist, USDA Forest Service719-486-2015 | elderrmrs@gmail.com
Education
- B.A. Physical Geography, University of Colorado
- M.A. Physical Geography Hydrology, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Ph.D. Physical Geography Hydrology Statistics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Professional Certifications and Associations
- American Avalanche Association, Certified Instructor
- American Geophysical Union
About
Dr. Kelly Elder is a research hydrologist with the USDA Forest Service at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins, CO. He studies water distribution and the water yield from mountain snowpacks and his specialty is snow. He has worked to develop information and methods for measuring snowpack properties, distribution of snow cover and water equivalents in alpine and subalpine basins. Dr. Elder’s passion for snow hydrology and mountain climatology can be found in his numerous scholarly articles and professional publications.
In addition to his research efforts, Dr. Elder served as a faculty member for the Colorado State University Watershed Science Program from 1995 - 2000. He has taught courses on snow, avalanches, snow hydrology, physical geography and the geography of water resources.
As an expert in the snow science field, Dr. Elder was involved in the development of the Avalanche Science program from concept to curriculum. He hopes that students graduate the program with a fundamental working knowledge that will allow them to pursue careers in the industry and benefit from the hands-on, applied approach.
“The Colorado Mountain College Avalanche Science program is designed to prepare snow and avalanche professionals for career paths in a new comprehensive fashion not available in any other venue.” says Dr. Kelly Elder, “It will change the way we train and prepare people for the professional snow worker industry.”
When he isn’t “buried” in avalanche and hydrology research or teaching students, Dr. Elder enjoys skiing at Arapahoe Basin, and spending time with his children and dogs.
Dr. Ethan Greene
Instructor, Avalanche Science; Director, Colorado Avalanche Information Center719-486-2015 | emgreene@coloradomtn.edu
Education
- B.S. Meteorology, University of Utah
- M.S. Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
- Ph.D. Geosciences, Colorado State University
Professional Certifications and Associations
- Wilderness First Responder
- State of Colorado -Type I Explosive
- Certified Instructor, American Avalanche Association
- Pro I and II Instructor, American Avalanche Association
- Avalanche Operations - Level 3, Canadian Avalanche Association
- Mountain Meteorology, American Meteorological Society
- American Meteorological Society, Member
- American Avalanche Association, Professional Member
- International Association for Cryospheric Sciences - Snow and Avalanches, Division Head
About
Dr. Ethan Greene has been the Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) since 2005. He currently lives in Leadville and grew up in Boulder, skiing Colorado’s Front Range. Prior to his time with the CAIC, Ethan spent several winters in the San Juan Mountains, at Big Sky Ski Resort as a ski patroller and at the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center as an avalanche forecaster. Ethan approaches snow and avalanches from both a practical and theoretical perspective.
Ethan has studied meteorology at the University of Utah and Atmospheric Science, specifically snowdrift formation, at Colorado State University. He has also examined and researched the microstructure of snow and its metamorphism in Colorado and Switzerland, earning a Ph.D. in Geosciences. Ethan has published various scholarly articles on snow, weather and avalanches and been a member of national and international working groups on snow and avalanche projects.
Dr. Ethan Greene is one of the original supporters of the Avalanche Science program and helped with the initial efforts to design and approve the curriculum. As an avalanche professional, Dr. Greene recognized the need for an experiential based program geared towards industry professionals.
He specifically looks forward to showing students how to define and address avalanche safety problems and preventing avalanche tragedies in Colorado.
“The Avalanche Science program gives students a chance to dig into the fundamentals of snow, avalanches and provides time to learn, experience and experiment.” says Dr. Ethan Greene, “I look forward to meeting, teaching, and working with a fantastic group of people.”
Brian Lazar
Instructor, Avalanche Science; Deputy Director, Colorado Avalanche Information Center719-486-2015 | blazar@coloradomtn.edu
Education
- M.S. Civil Engineering, University of Colorado
- B.S. Environmental Science and Biology, University of Colorado
Professional Certifications and Associations
- Wilderness First Responder
- American Avalanche Association (AAA), Certified Instructor Pro 1 and 2
- AIARE, Curriculum Developer, former Executive Director, Board Member
- AIARE Course Leader Levels 1 - 3
- Snowmobile Safety Instructor, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- AMGA training, Ski Mountaineering, Rock, Alpine
- Type 1 Explosives training, Permit for Avalanche Control, Colorado Dept. of Labor and Employment
About
Brian has been the Deputy Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) since 2010. Prior to his work with the CAIC, Brian was an avalanche educator and curriculum developer as well as the Executive Director with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and former member of the American Avalanche Association Education Committee.
After more than a decade of guiding in a variety of snow climates on both sides of the equator, Brian returned to graduate school where he studied snow and ice mechanics in Alaska’s Chugach Range, and conducted research at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.
Thanks to a collaboration between Colorado Mountain College and the CAIC, Brian brings his years of expertise in avalanche education to the Avalanche Science curriculum. He looks forward to assisting in individual student development through the program’s unique mentorship structure.
“My hope is that students leave with a core skill set and competency that allows them enter the role as an avalanche professional,” says Brian, “and can easily accept and Incorporate training and mentorship.”
See more: CAIC staff bio