It’s that time of year again, and the Skinny Skis Avalanche Awareness Night is this
Thursday, December 1st, from 6-9pm in the Grand Teton Room at Snow King.
(Details below.)
This event has become quite huge over the years and this year it is slated to be better than ever. Our guest speaker is Karl Birkeland, who is the Avalanche Scientist for the US Forest Service National Avalanche Center and holds an immense amount of knowledge about everything relating to avalanches. I met Karl while attending the National Avalanche School in SLC one year and thought he was great. I think you will too!
As usual, there will be a HUGE raffle. Last year, we (the JH ski community) were able to raise ~$8500 for Teton Country Search and Rescue, as well as our local BTNF Avy Hotline. FNKA, that kicks ass…THANK YOU!!! This year, I am trying to up the ante and top it…maybe even reach the 10k mark. Â While trying to reach that goal, I’ve been busting butt soliciting prizes from all of our great vendors and local resorts, and so far have collected about $13,000 worth of prizes, including full season passes to both Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee, skis from Black Diamond, AT boots from Scarpa, transceivers from BCA, Ortovox, Pieps and Mammut, ski packs from The North Face, Marmot and Camelbak, technical and down jackets from Patagonia, Arc’teryx, Mountain Hardwear and Outdoor Research, bindings from Voile, an altimeter watch from Suunto…and there is lots more.
So please, come on out and have a good time! Learn about the latest trends and gear relating to avy safety and maybe you will win something sweet! At the very least, you know you will be helping and supporting two great organizations that we, as skiers, often rely on and might use quite often. Thanks…and see you there!!! –Steve
$5.00. Pretty nice & it’s for S&R.
Teton Country Search & Rescue:
http://www.tetoncountysar.org/ AND http://www.tetonwyo.org/AgencyHome.asp?dept_id=sar
Donations can be made online, BTW.
thanks dave.
the way it works is that we give all of the entry fee $$$ and some of the proceeds from what we sell at the event to TCSAR. all the money raised by the raffle goes to the BTNF Avy Hotline. raffle tickets will cost $5/each, or 5 tickets for $20.
I’m amazed that it a town like Jackson, 10K for S&R and the Avy center can be a struggle to raise. I mean, so many people in that town could easily write a check for 10k and not even sweat it.
Well done to all that put in tons of time to pull this off, though. Hopefully the deep pockets will show up.
well smokey…i’m sure tcsar gets plenty of high dollar donations from the heavy hitting philanthropists in jh. (i mean, they just built a new HQ w/ heli pad, and there is always talk of even buying their own helicopter.)
but to raise $10k at a ski-bum event in $5-$20 increments is a pretty big feat. luckily the jh community has embraced this event and know the support goes to the right folks.
thanks everyone!
So, it’s not an Avi Class? There will be no information on evaluating conditions, etc. All this fire power and no fire? Just a goodie grab?
I’m reading the Poster text – “valuable information on clothing….policies….guide services….classes…”?
Sounds like marketing not valuable information.
Mark…it is not an avy class. Those cost $250-300 and are taught by some great ocal professionals.
At Avy Night we have local and national speakers that will share information on many aspects relating avalanches.
So, it is not just marketing. Come check it out.
Tossing out the goods- right. That’s exactly what I expect snow wizards Birkeland and Comey to be doing. Marketing… jeez.
Karl and the rest of the GNFAC forecasters are true masters. The level of specificity in their advisories is unmatched IMO, and the sheer amount of ground these guys cover and analyze each week blows me away. I consider myself lucky to live in their forecast area. I wouldn’t think twice about attending any event that had Karl as the keynote speaker.
Mark- do yourself a favor and check it out. Maybe you’ll get some free shit too.
Thanks for the reply. I’ll check it out and decide for myself, I guess.
“Those cost $250-300 ”
Why? As was pointed out in the previous blog post, why not offer up a free avi class? All these ‘true masters’ are working this event, right? They can’t host a free (or $5) avi class?
Lost opportunity to educate the underfunded ski bum.
mark…feel free to come by the raffle table and say hi. i’m sure you will find the event interesting if you decide to go.
usually we get upwards of 500 folks in attendance, so it would be pretty hard to give an “avy class” to that many folks…and in three hours. but hey, at least we are trying to raise awareness and also some $$$ for two great organizations….let alone hook folks up with $13k worth of gear.
Mark, if you’re an underfunded ski bum, go to the library and check out Bruce Tremper’s “Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain” for free. No cost, the effort is all up to you. Or do yourself a real favor and spend 20 bucks at a local bookstore for your own copy. Either way you’ll learn a lot more than anything you could get from a 2 hour talk in the midst of 500 other folks with differing avalanche experience, priorities & expectations.
Bitching that you can’t get a cheap avi class when you can educate yourself pretty damn well for 20 bucks is lame.
Mark:
If you’re a good skier, many of us would be happy to have you join us in the backcountry. I never took any classes or read a single book. My knowledge was gained from friends & strangers who had the time & money to go through avi training and were unselfish about helping others with critical skills.
The Internet, Books, DVD’s, this presentation, and others are useful but field experience with knowledgeable & experienced backcountry users is a lot more fun and, for me, a greater educational value.
The only reason to go through all those official avi courses (very expensive & time consuming) is because your work requires it, or you’re rich enough to afford it.
See you at the event.
Social entrepreneurial organizations need a base of willing and able bodies to help spread the message. $5 each with a goal to achieve $10k is not really a monetary goal but a way to create a stable base of disciples. SAR may be funded by Teton County and the Town of Jackson (I actually don’t know this for sure), and events help to show support, which in turn show the electeds that the issue needs financial support which in turn keeps those public funds continuously flowing akin to beer gushing from the taps @ brew pub.
Mark, hopefully your attendance will help you spur a deeper understanding of avi issues, which, will keep you, your ski buddies, and, if you are sliding on the same slope as me at the same time (perish the thought), will keep me alive as well.
$9,800 raised last night for TCSAR and Avy Hotline.
THANK YOU so much to everyone that attended!!!!