Friends of Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center: Powder Patrol

By Alison Grey, 11-29-07

	Caption: The Ridge at Bridger Bowl Ski Resort. Photo courtesy of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

“Good Morning. This is Doug Chabot from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center with an early season Avalanche Information Bulletin...”

Before most of us head into the backcountry in Southwest Montana in search of powder and great turns, we count on this familiar voice to inform us on snow pack and mountain conditions. With daily updates and avalanche advisories on the Gallatin National Forest, which encompasses some 10,000-square-miles and five major mountain ranges, Chabot and the crew at the Avalanche Center, provide skiers, boarders and snowmobilers with the necessary information to make better, and safer, decisions in the backcountry.

Founded in 1990, the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (Friends of GNFAC) is a non-profit with a mission to promote avalanche awareness in Southwest Montana and financially assist the GNFAC in their operations. With 11 board members, a part-time education coordinator and several avalanche awareness instructors, the Friends lead avalanche lectures and classes, as well as support GNFAC through funding equipment purchases and educational materials as well as contributing to their operating costs.

Treasurer and Education Coordinator Jay Pape, expands on the organization and its efforts.

NewWest.Net: Why and how did your organization come into being?

FGNFAC: The Friends were founded to help support the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. The GNFAC was founded in 1990 by Karl Birkeland (an MSU graduate student) and Kimberly Schlenker of the United States Forest Service. Since that time, GNFAC has grown from one staff member who provided four advisories each week, to three staff members providing advisories every day of the week. This has occurred with generous support of other agencies like the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Gallatin Country Search and Rescue, as well as private donations. The Friends of the GNFAC was founded in 1990 to support the future growth and operations of the Center.

NewWest.Net: Why is this organization in Bozeman? What are the advantages and challenges of operating in this area? Are there other non-profits in this area that you partner with or would like to?

FGNFAC: Bozeman is a hub for backcountry activity and the Gallatin National Forest is one of the most heavily used recreation areas in the country, so it is vital to have an avalanche center providing up-to-date, daily information for recreational users on backcountry conditions. By providing the public with current snow pack and mountain weather information, it allows people to make more informed, and safe, decisions.

We currently partner with the Montana Outdoor Science School. With their focus on educating children and adults about the natural history and ecology of our region, it is a natural fit.

NewWest.Net: Where are you directing your resources?

FGNFAC: Currently we are directing our fundraising efforts to provide free or inexpensive avalanche awareness education to all backcountry user groups, be it people out snowshoeing, skiing or snowmobiling.

NewWest.Net: What is your annual operating budget, and can you please break that down between administrative and fund-raising versus program expenses?

FGNAC: The majority of our budget is dedicated to education and community outreach. Last year $10,500 was directed towards 73 avalanche lectures and classes that reached 4,598 people. The other part of our funding goes towards funding Avalanche Center operations. They will tell us what they need, and we will do our best to fundraise that amount of money to provide them with things like the purchase of state-of-the-art remote weather stations, computers and software.

We have two major fundraisers every year: The Powder Blast, a party, silent auction and raffle event, that directly supports the operations of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, and the King and Queen of the Ridge held at Bridger Bowl every February, where participants gather pledges for each “Ridge hike” they do. The event has grown in popularity and the fittest of Bozeman’s backcountry skiers push their limits of endurance in this slog-a-thon. All proceeds go directly towards providing inexpensive or free avalanche awareness education in Southwest Montana.

NewWest.Net: How are you fulfilling your mission statement?

FGNFAC: During the winter of 2006 and 2007, the Friends hired an education coordinator for the sole purpose of promoting, organizing and conducting avalanche awareness classes. Outreach includes local schools, clubs, search and rescue groups.

NewWest.Net: What is your most recent success story?

FGNFAC: Recently we gave an avalanche awareness lecture to 200 seventh graders at Chief Joseph Middle School! This is an age where kids are starting to be interested and exposed to the backcountry. Working with local schools to provide avalanche awareness, helps us get the message of safe backcountry travel and recreation to these kids at a young age, so as they get older and venture further into backcountry, they will have a certain level of avalanche education.

We are also distributing the film, A Dozen More Turns, by Amber Seyler. It is a powerful documentary about backcountry skiing, avalanches and how the human factor - non-scientific, emotionally-spurred miscalculations – can have dire, and potentially fatal, consequences. It is based on a true story about five friends, experienced outdoorsmen who collectively possessed significant avalanche training and expertise, who venture off on a multi-day hut trip in Southwestern Montana. The film powerfully depicts how their pursuit of powder and desire to eek out a few extra turns results in tragedy. All proceeds from the film go to the Friends of GNFAC.

NewWest.Net: Thank you!