The Avalanche Hour Podcast

Episode Summary:
- A conversation with AVSS introduces PAMS, a Precision Avalanche Management System, designed to reliably drop explosives from a drone platform.
- The episode explores the prior experience AVSS brings to the avalanche industry from remote drone operations in logistics and military contexts.  
- The conversation looks at the development process and field testing with Jasper National Park.
- A glimpse at the next 12 months of testing through an early-adopter program.
In this episode of The Avalanche Hour Podcast, hosts Caleb Merrill and Dom Baker sit down with the team at AVSS for a conversation about the development process of creating a drone based avalanche control system from the ground up. 
You will hear how this technology aims to create opportunities for greater worker safety, reliability of avalanche hazard management and the evolving list of use cases. The episode also examines how these tools could fit into existing avalanche mitigation strategies and what their growing presence signals about the future of the field.
Josh from AVSS discusses the field testing process with avalanche control programs in Western Canada and the plans for an early adopter program for winter 2026/27 to further refine the workflow and ensure the technology meets the needs of the avalanche industry.
A huge thank you to AVSS for being a Legacy Sponsor of the podcast this season. We couldn’t keep the mics on without them! 
Resources from the Episode: 
Check out AVSS’s homepage here
Check out a story on CBC Radio with Josh from AVSS 
LinkedIn
YouTube

In this episode of The Avalanche Hour Podcast, host Brooke “Shiny” Edwards talks with Izzy Davis, a first-year avalanche forecaster at the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center. Izzy shares her path into the ski industry, from growing up in Western Colorado to working as a ski patroller, and eventually moving into public avalanche forecasting. The conversation also touches on a significant personal event: the sudden loss of her partner, Willy Bartlett, while they were skiing together. Izzy reflects on what it was like to be present during the incident and how that experience has influenced both her personal life and her professional direction.
Izzy discusses how she has navigated grief while continuing her work in the mountain environment, and how that process has shaped her outlook over time. She speaks about the importance of recognizing the fragility of life, finding moments of gratitude, and continuing to engage meaningfully with her work. The episode offers a thoughtful look at how personal experiences can influence professional roles, particularly in fields like avalanche forecasting, where decision-making and communication carry real weight.
 Summary of their conversation:
- Izzy shares an intimate first responder’s account of losing a partner while at work as a ski patroller
- We delve deeply into the navigation of grief and the ensuing nervous system injury that can occur when this grief is interlaced with the work of a first responder
- Izzy shares how her patrol and mountain leadership provided significant support during her season following Willy’s death
- Her overarching theme was the gratitude for the gift of presence that she fully embodies and demonstrates throughout our conversation
Thanks to the sponsors of the show.
Legacy Sponsors:
Darren Johnson Avalanche Education Memorial Fund
AVSS
Drone Amplified
Partner Sponsors:
CIL Avalanche
Safeback
onX Backcountry
Episode Sponsor:
IPA Collective
Music: Ketsa
Artwork: Mike Tea 
Production: Angie Lake

Tune in for candid stories and a humorous take on the roots of Canadian avalanche work. Bruce Jamieson is joined by Larry Stanier to interview Roddy McGowan.
Roddy McGowan is a veteran Canadian mountain guide and avalanche professional who carved out his career the hard way, starting as a ski bum in Whistler in the late 1970s before working his way onto ski patrol at Lake Louise and into the renowned avalanche program at Rogers Pass. Known for his persistence, he failed multiple guiding courses before eventually earning his credentials and going on to guide, and complete major ski traverses across western Canada. Over decades in the mountains, he combined hands-on experience while collecting a lifetime of stories—from early dirtbag winters to serious close calls that shaped his perspective on risk and decision-making. Now retired from guiding and living in Japan, Roddy stays connected to the mountains, still observing snow and reflecting - often with wit - on a career in the mountains.
Larry has worked in the avalanche patch since 1982, beginning his career as a ski patroller in the early years at Blackcomb ski area. He started ski guiding in 1986 and is a long standing IFMGA Mountain Guide, working all over the world from Kyrgyzstan to the Japanese Alps. He also then worked for many years in the avalanche consulting business for Chris Stethem and Associates, and for over 20 years taught courses for the Canadian Avalanche Association. Larry has also conducted inspections of helicopter and snow cat skiing operations for Helicat Canada and HeliskiUS.
This episode contains lessons on how avalanche safety knowledge developed through experience, mentorship, mistakes, and reflection—not just formal science

​Tune in to hear stories from the Canadian avalanche industry of the 80s and 90s - including Blackcomb and Rogers.
​Roddy McGowan reflects candidly on the “human factors” leading to a significant avalanche burial of a snowcat.
​The development of avalanche science and standards under the rigorous leadership of Fred and Walter Schleiss at Rogers Pass.
​Stories from ski traverses with minimal equipment by modern standards, and the ensuing adventures.

Thanks to the sponsors of the show.

Episode Sponsor:
⁠Propagation Labs⁠

Legacy Sponsors:
Darren Johnson Avalanche Education Memorial Fund
AVSS
Drone Amplified

Partner Sponsors:
CIL Avalanche
Safeback
onX Backcountry Use the code avalanchehour to receive 30% off a year of onX Backcountry Elite or Premium

Music: Ketsa
Artwork: Mike Tea
Production: Angie Lake

Support the Show, Buy some Merch!

Episode Summary:
- A conversation with Drone Amplified, the team introduces Montis, a drone-based system designed to deliver explosives remotely with greater precision and safety. 
- The episode traces the history of avalanche mitigation, from early explosive use in 1939 to modern tools aimed at reducing human exposure.
- Technology evolved from wildland firefighting and what makes its electronic ignition system a significant advancement.
- A forward-looking perspective on how emerging technologies like drones may reshape the industry in the years ahead
In this episode of The Avalanche Hour Podcast, host Caleb Merrill sits down with the team at Drone Amplified for a conversation rooted around a single question: how can the avalanche industry continue to use effective avalanche mitigation strategies while reducing the significant hazard exposure for avalanche workers? They explore the evolution of avalanche control technology and introduce Montis, a drone-based system designed to deliver explosives remotely with increased precision and safety.
You will hear how this technology originated in wildland firefighting, the advantages of electronic ignition systems, and what makes drone deployment a potential game changer for reducing worker exposure. The episode also examines how these tools could fit into existing avalanche mitigation strategies and what their growing presence signals about the future of the field.
This episode offers both a grounded look at the realities of avalanche work today and a forward-looking perspective on how emerging technologies like drones may reshape the industry in the years ahead.

A huge thank you to Drone Amplified for being a Legacy Sponsor of the podcast this season. We couldn’t keep the lights on without them! 

Resources from the Episode: 
Check out Drone Amplified’s homepage here
Check out a video on their technology, Montis

Music: Ketsa
Artwork: Mike Tea 
Production: Caleb Merrill, Angie Lake

In this episode of The Avalanche Hour, Caleb Merrill makes another appearance to sit down with Mark Staples, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, and avalanche researcher/educator Bruce Jamieson. The group discuss heavyweight topics in the avalanche industry such as snow-surface energy exchange, near-surface faceting, and communicating avalanche hazard. 

Staples recounts his path from powder skiing to avalanche work, his research on snow-surface energy balance, and his experience connecting with varied user groups. Jamieson describes collaborating with Staples on educational videos and credits Karl Birkeland’s 1998 papers for focusing attention on near-surface faceting. Staples also contrasts surface hoar (vapor deposition) with near-surface facets (metamorphism of existing snow grains), and they cover conditions that promote growth, including cooling to a clear sky and relative humidity. The conversation also explores simplifying avalanche problem types, terrain-based risk management, the public’s interest in science, and learning from accidents. 

Thanks to the sponsors of the show!
Legacy Sponsors:
Darren Johnson Avalanche Education Memorial Fund
AVSS
Drone Amplified

Partner Sponsors:
CIL Avalanche
Safeback
onX Backcountry

Episode Sponsor:
Arva

Music: Ketsa
Artwork: Mike Tea 
Production: Caleb Merrill, Bob Keating