The perilous avalanche season the West is witnessing this winter should provide plenty of fodder for discussion during a rare convergence of avalanche experts who will descend on Ketchum next week.
The public presentation and panel discussion will take place at the nexStage Theatre, 120 S. Main St., on Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 7-9 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door.
The theme of the night will be a discussion of the benefits that advanced avalanche research provide to the average backcountry adventurer, said Janet Kellam, director of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center in Ketchum. Kellam will moderate the two-hour discussion.
Ketchum's Wattis Dumke Foundation and Friends of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center are sponsoring the avalanche presentation and discussion.
The panel will include Karl Birkeland, a Montana-based avalanche scientist with the U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center; Hans-Peter Marshall, assistant professor with the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University; Christine Pielmeier, from the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research; and Ian McCammon, an instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Each of the avalanche experts will present findings from his or her own subject areas—ranging from detailed studies of snow science to the science behind human decision-making and how that impacts avalanche accidents—and follow up by taking questions from the audience.
"It's a really unique opportunity," Kellam said.
She said the presentations and basic follow-up questions should take up about an hour, after which there will be a 10-minute break. People with more advanced or technical questions will have the opportunity to ask them after the break.
"They're all Ph.D.s, but they all work well with those of us that aren't," she said.
The panel discussion will take place prior to Avalanche Awareness Week, which runs during the last week of January. On Jan. 27, the avalanche center will conduct a one-hour avalanche awareness program at the Community Campus, at 1050 Fox Acres Rd. in Hailey.
The short program from 7-8 p.m. will help would-be backcountry travelers understand why and where avalanches occur, avalanche warning signs and the basic concepts of what to do if you or your partner is caught.
The avalanche center will also provide a free two-hour avalanche beacon and rescue training clinic during avalanche awareness week. The clinic will take place at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 31, at the avalanche rescue training park in the large field east of the Catholic Church on Sun Valley Road. Participants should bring their own beacons and avalanche probes and dress warm enough to spend up to two hours outside.
For additional information call the center at 622-0095.
