Recreational and Professional Avalanche Training Courses in Leadville

December 16, 2020

Avalanche Training Today: The Professional/ Recreational Split

Anyone interested in exploring the backcountry should seek out formal avalanche training. Whether you are skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, or simply hiking around some of your favorite trails it is important to have an understanding about avalanche safety, awareness, and emergency strategies. Read more: Recreational and Professional Avalanche Training Courses in Leadville

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Avalanche science program earns international attention

December 10, 2018

Avalanche science program earns international attention By Mike McKibbin At the conference, CMC student Rogers, who works on the ski patrol at Monarch Ski Area, and Vessella, a backcountry ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park, answered questions about a poster that outlined the college’s program. LEADVILLE — For a two-year-old, Colorado Mountain College’s avalanche science program gets around. You could say it has gone international. Two second-year students and two faculty members participated in the recent International Snow Science Workshop 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria. Students Rich Rogers and Tara Vessella made the trek to Europe with Dr. Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, and Dr. Kelly Elder, U.S. Forest Service research hydrologist. The conference brings together researchers and practitioners worldwide and rotates among the U.S., Europe and Canada. The goal is to offer an exchange of ideas and experiences between snow science researchers and practitioners. At the conference, CMC student Rogers, who works on the ski patrol at Monarch Ski Area, and Vessella, a backcountry ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park, answered questions about a poster that outlined the college’s program. “It was not a scientific presentation, but the poster presented the CMC program to the international community,” said Roger Coit, program faculty leader at CMC Leadville. Coit called CMC’s avalanche science program “a novel model, perhaps the only one of its kind in the world,” and the only one of this duration and content. Students take courses online and make three multi-day visits throughout each winter season to the college’s 10,200-foot-elevation campus in Leadville. On campus and in the rugged mountains that overlook the campus, they meet for intensive classroom time and field studies. While in Austria, Rogers and Vessella also gained contacts and networked with industry officials. These interactions can help the students land jobs… Read more: Avalanche science program earns international attention

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CMC Leadville to Launch Avalanche Awareness Twitter Campaign #CMCAviAware

February 23, 2018

CMC Leadville to tweet backcountry tips and avalanche facts Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2018 Expert avalanche forecasters are describing current avalanche conditions in Colorado as dangerous, rare and risky. Colorado Mountain College, home to the Avalanche Science program based in Leadville and developed through a partnership with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), sees these precarious conditions as an opportunity to spread awareness. From February 25 – March 3, CMC Leadville will be tweeting avalanche safety facts and figures to spread awareness for backcountry safety, under the hashtag #CMCAviAware posted to the @cmcleadville Twitter account. CMC’s Avalanche Science program, launched in 2017, was created through a partnership between Colorado Mountain College and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The program has expanded educational opportunities for avalanche professionals, like ski patrol, rescue groups and outdoor leaders. Students observe and analyze snow pack conditions throughout the curriculum, including the exceptionally dangerous snow pack year that Colorado has experienced in the 2017/2018 season. “We have very tricky conditions right now,” says Ethan Greene, Director for the CAIC and faculty for CMC’s Avalanche Science program, “This thick, hard upper layer of snow makes it so we can ski, snowboard and snowmobile across it without much of an issue, but if you hit just the right spot, you will start an avalanche. And because there’s this thicker, harder layer on top, it ends up triggering much bigger and more destructive avalanches.” The unique conditions in large portions of the Central and Southern Mountains should cause alarm for backcountry users. Recent storms and new snow have exacerbated the risk for deadly Persistent Slab avalanches. North and east-facing slopes at higher elevations are most dangerous. “In the Sawatch Range,” says Brian Lazar, Deputy Director for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center and an instructor for CMC’s Avalanche Science… Read more: CMC Leadville to Launch Avalanche Awareness Twitter Campaign #CMCAviAware

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