How Healthy Is Utah's Backcountry Culture?
What happens to a community when the mountains get more crowded but the snowpack gets thinner? Ski guide and avalanche educator Jenna Malone...
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Utah Avalanche Center Podcast
The podcast that helps keep you on top of the snow rather than buried beneath it.
Episodes
20 of 64 episodesFinding the Goldilocks Zone for Uncertainty in the Avalanche Forecast
The avalanche forecast is shot through with uncertainty. The variables of terrain, snow, and weather, dispersed across vast areas, are simpl...
AI, Machine Learning, and the Value of Expert Intuition at the Utah Avalanche Center
In late winter, 2025, a new AI tool developed by the Utah Avalanche Center flagged a layer in the snowpack as posing a potential risk. Then,...
Bill Glude Wants You to Ride Hard and Die Old
Bill Glude is something of a trans-Pacific snow monk, with a deep knowledge of the winter mountains in both Alaska and Japan. He's spent mor...
Bill Glude Wants You to Ride Hard and Die Old
Bill Glude is something of a trans-Pacific snow monk, with a deep knowledge of the winter mountains in both Alaska and Japan. He's spent mor...
An Oral History of the Friends Who Keep the UAC Humming
The Utah Avalanche Center is more than just a corps of extraordinary forecasters. Since 1990, a group of dedicated, visionary, and hard-work...
An Oral History of the Friends Who Keep the UAC Humming
The Utah Avalanche Center is more than just a corps of extraordinary forecasters. Since 1990, a group of dedicated, visionary, and hard-work...
Brett Kobernick Knows It in His Bones: Nobody is Immune from Getting Killed in an Avalanche
Brett Kobernick's nickname may be "Kowboy," but he's actually something of a Leonardo da Vinci of the snow. A garage tinkerer who builds the...
Dave Garcia on Having and Having Not Loads of Info
If you were looking to move somewhere because you love to ski, Moab, Utah likely wouldn't be anywhere near the top of that list. Dave Garcia...
Dave Kelly on the Nuances of Public Forecasting
Dave Kelly's career on snow has included stints forecasting for a remote narrow-gauge, trans-national railroad on behalf of the Alaska DOT....
Craig Gordon and the Zen of Solo Touring
More often than not, UAC forecaster Craig Gordon heads into the backcountry alone. He loves it. the solitude. Moving at his own pace. Spendi...
Toby Weed on Sharing the Joys of Powder Snow
If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's snow. In his 20-plus years as a UAC forecaster for the Logan region, Toby Weed has seen snow'...
Paige Pagnucco on Effective Messaging in Culturally Complex Terrain
There isn't any hard data on this, but it seems safe to say that Paige Pagnucco is one of very few people who are both full-time avalanche f...
Eric Trenbeath on the Communal Impact of a Tragic Avalanche
The La Sal Mountains of southeastern Utah erupt out of the surrounding red rock desert. They sport steep slopes and big alpine lines that ju...
Greg Gagne on Developing a Conservative Mindset and Cultivating Community
Greg Gagne is a self-described conservative backcountry skier. His greatest satisfaction comes from putting in the work before entering aval...
Nikki Champion on Forecast Accuracy and Finding Your Way
UAC forecaster Nikki Champion knows first-hand the challenge of charting a career path in snow and avalanche science. She joins us to talk a...
Drew Hardesty on Stories, Storytelling and Safety Communication
This season, something a little different on the podcast. We want you to get to know the UAC forecasters, so, Drew is handing over the host'...
Laura McGladrey on the Keys to a Long and Healthy Career in the Mountains
Laura McGladrey, the founder of the groundbreaking non-profit Responders Alliance, works with front-line teams who witness and experience tr...
Snow Monk Jerry Roberts on a Lifetime in the Mountains
Unlike a lot of snow and avalanche professionals, Jerry Roberts spent a fair amount of time hanging out around San Francisco, soaking up the...
Chris Lundy on the Four-Letter Word of Decision Making
At the end of nearly every episode of the podcast, Drew asks his guests, "To what do you attribute your longevity?" The answer he hears more...