The Avalanche Hour Podcast

Joe Stock and Luc Mehl have been on many adventures together. Join them for a great conversation about risk management in wild places. In Joe's words: Luc Mehl is one of Alaska’s foremost adventurers, filling the gap between Roman Dial and Dick Griffith. He’s been at the forefront of ski traversing, packrafting, wild ice skating and now wilderness risk management. 
Luc grew up in rural Alaska and has traveled over 10,000 miles of the state by foot, ski, pedal, paddle, and ice skate. Luc's work has earned several national awards, two for The Packraft Handbook, and others for public service in boating safety and leadership in wilderness risk management. Luc's business, Triple Point Training, provides wilderness risk management and rescue training. 
Luc’s Triple Point Training: https://triplepointtraining.com 
Luc’s Podcast and blog: https://thingstolucat.com/ 

Interview highlights
Luc grew up in rural Alaska and it shaped his life ahead. 

Luc shares the story of a few of his big mountain ski trips including road to road ski traverses of Denal and Mount Logan. 

Over the past 20 year Luc’s relationship with risk has evolved from pushing the envelope of what’s possible to finding peace with his place in the mountains. Part of this evolution included life-changing experiences with avalanches that have left him no longer comfortable going into avalanche terrain. He’s now at the cutting edge of wild ice skating and ice rescue. 

Our conversation concludes with his new projects and work in wilderness risk management. 

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 Use code: avalanchehour for 30% off a year of onX Backcountry Elite or Premium Membership.

Episode Sponsor:
Propagation Labs

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

“Science is What We Do to Keep from Lying to Ourselves” ~ Richard Feynman. 

In this conversation, Bruce Jamieson is back to interview Dr. Karl Birkeland and Joe Stock for a deep dive into snow science. Jamieson brings us with him on a snow science journey alongside two of the industry’s top authors and experts on snow avalanches. Their conversations comment on the importance of the science side of the industry as “understanding how things work allows us to anticipate conditions that are outside of our experience.” 

Interview Highlights:
- Stopping to dig a snow pit or review & interpret observations helps groups engage with the snowpack, fosters curiosity, and encourages collaborative decision-making
- Long-term practitioners often become humble and curious due to encountering surprises and unknowns in avalanche work
- The amount of science needed depends on the individual and their goals; more knowledge can help practitioners and recreationists make better decisions, especially in unfamiliar conditions   
- People benefit from a tiered training framework: core skills in main courses coupled with more science topics through CPD and ISSWs. 
Joe Stock is an IFMGA mountain guide who has distilled decades of skiing, climbing, guiding and teaching avalanche courses into a step-by-step system outlined in The Avalanche Factor - a handbook for recreational skiers and climbers who want to get into backcountry avalanche terrain using their own power.

Karl Birkeland’s The Starting Zone is an e-book specifically targeting avalanche professionals and advanced recreationists. It’s an essential resource for avalanche professionals, blending cutting-edge science with practical avalanche application.

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:
Open Snow

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

Morgan Dinsdale is a professional ski guide, writer, holistic nutritionist and the Founder and Executive Director of the State of the Snowpack, a public safety non-profit dedicated to connecting avalanche professionals with their local communities across the mountain communities of Canada.

A Canadian Ski Guide Association (CSGA) Level 2 Ski Guide and the first Level 2 ever elected to the CSGA Board of Directors, Morgan spends her winters guiding for Whistler Heli-Skiing and Selkirk Snowcat Skiing. Her career blends her deep love for skiing with heartfelt storytelling, mentorship, and a passion for creating more connection, compassion, playfulness and transparency in the backcountry. 

Outside of guiding, Morgan is a devoted long-distance thru-hiker, having walked thousands of miles around the world, from New Zealand's Te Araroa to the Continental Divide Trail. She feels most herself in truly wild places, often with her beloved dog, Teddy Bear, by her side. 
In a profession often defined by grit and bravado, Morgan brings her own form of mountain strength—rooted in tenderness, intuition, mindfulness and the color pink. She believes femininity and wildness belong together, and that leadership in the mountains can be both grounded and graceful.

Interview Highlights: 
Morgan Dinsdale shares the history of her non-profit, State of The Snowpack

Morgan shares how her team at Selkirk Snowcat Skiing re-created The Stress Continuum to fit their decision-making model in their guide meetings

Morgan shares some profound wisdom from a recent near miss avalanche accident

We would like to dedicate this show to Judson Wright, co-founder of State of The Snowpack with Morgan who just passed away of a heart attack on Saturday, November 15, 2025. 

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: Caleb Merrill, Bob Keating

In this episode, Matthias Walcher sits down with Jürg Schweizer for a deep dive on a career focused on snow science. 

Jürg Schweizer studied environmental physics at ETH Zurich and joined SLF, at that time still up on the Weissfluhjoch, after completing his PhD. He spent a formative year conducting research at Rogers Pass in Canada. He rose from researcher to head of the world’s most renowned institute in the field, leading pioneering work that shaped modern avalanche science. Along the way, he mentored dozens of young scientists who now advance our understanding of snow and avalanches worldwide.

Interview highlights:
- How avalanche research has changed over the decades.
- What it takes to build a career in avalanche science.
- Why 4,000 feet of snow pits still hold surprises.
- The importance of good mentorship.

Resources cited in the conversation:
https://www.instagram.com/whiteriskslf/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/slfdavos/?hl=en
Links to many of his publications can be found here: https://www.slf.ch/de/mitarbeitende/schweizj

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:
Open Snow

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

In memory of Judson Wright, this is a special re-airing of a Season 6 interview with him. 

Judson was a father and a husband first, and the founder and lead guide of Kootenay Backcountry Guides.  He was the co-founder of State of the Snowpack, and lead guide of White Grizzly Snowcat Skiing.  He was also the most enthusiastic crossing guard you ever met.  

Judson guided with the principle that if you are doing it for yourself then you are no longer guiding.   He loved to share the joy of powder skiing and seeing people light up as they fall in love with it.

We’re going to miss you Jud.  Rest in Powder. 

Summary of the Episode: 
- Wisdom shared from years of guiding and moving through the mountains
- Philosophies on good guiding and instruction 
- At the end of the day, it’s just skiing.  We all need to come home to our families.  

The Judson Wright Legacy Fund was established by Judson’s wife Kelly. This fund will support initiatives that reflect Judson’s values, including backcountry awareness and education. Find the fund here: https://ospreycommunityfoundation.ca/funds/judson-wright-legacy-fund/

Resiliency Resources for Grief/Loss Listed in the Episode:
Canada
- Canadian Mountain Community Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) 
To find out more or get in touch with a Peer Responder: mountaincism.ca, [email protected] or the Dispatch Line (for immediate support): 604-670-2772
- Mountain Muskox 
mountainmuskox.com
- Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
British Columbia Broader Regional Mental Health & Community Resources: bc.cmha.ca
- Center for Loss and Life Transitions
An organization dedicated to helping people who are grieving. Books and resources about grief: centerforloss.com
- MyGrief.ca
MyGrief.ca is an online resource to help people move through their grief from the comfort of their own home, at their own pace. It can help you understand your grief and approach some of the most difficult questions that may arise.
- Lumara Grief & Bereavement Society
A BC based organization that runs programs for youth and families navigating grief and loss: lumarasociety.org/about-us
United States
- The American Avalanche Association Resiliency Project
https://www.americanavalancheassociation.org/resilience-project
- Survivors of Outdoor Adventure Recovery (SOAR)
Instagram page @outdooradventuresandrecovery or website soar4life.org
- American Alpine Club, Climbers Grief Fund
https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund
- Redside Foundation, supporting guides in MT, ID, CO, WY
https://www.redsidefoundation.org/
- Brooke Shiny Edwards - Resiliency Coach 
https://wildworldwanderings.com/coaching

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

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