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Alaska's Chugach Avalanche Center thanks nonprofit for being a friend

February 9, 2022

Snowmobilers stop to check avalanche conditions.
Stopping to check the snow and avalanche conditions. Photo courtesy Andrew Shauer.

ALASKA—The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center in Girdwood, Alaska, has proven itself to be the go-to site for avalanche safety information on the forest. The center’s forecasts and education efforts are key to preventing injuries and fatalities in Alaska’s backcountry.

Aleph Johnston-Bloom standing in a deep area of shoveled out snow.
Former forecaster Aleph Johnston-Bloom at “the office.” Photo courtesy Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center, or Friends of CAC as it is locally and regionally known, is a nonprofit organization created in 2003 to broker congressionally appropriated funds for the center. The organization now supplements government funds with donations from corporate sponsors, partners and more than 500 individual donors.

While a full-time director position is funded by the Forest Service, money brought in by the nonprofit pays the salaries of two seasonal forecasters and covers the costs for safety equipment, professional memberships, website hosting, events, training and weather stations. 

The group also supports the center and avalanche education in other ways. It hosts the Chugach Avalanche website, where avalanche forecasts are posted, and the public can add their own outdoor observations as well. The group also manages Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Through a grant obtained from ConocoPhillips, Friends of CAC has installed “Are you Beeping?” signs. These electronic signs are in popular forest recreation areas and allow for testing of avalanche beacons.

Are you beeping sign marks checkpoint allowing recreationists to ensure their beacons are transmitting.
Are you beeping sign in Turnagain Pass. Photo courtesy Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

The nonprofit organization also owns and operates several weather stations that provide information used to determine avalanche conditions on Forest Service land and elsewhere in southcentral Alaska. The weather stations cover Forest Service land and other popular winter recreation areas. 

Each season, Alaska Mining and Diving “donates” a new snow machine for forecasters’ use. At the end of each season, Friends of CAC buys the machine at a discount and sells older machines, using funds to support operations.

In 2021, the organization funded a short film on the history of the Avalanche Center to bring attention to the center’s work and to help with fundraising efforts. 

Friends of CAC President Michael Smith said he continues to be driven by “the idea of a state-wide network that is valued and adequately funded by land agencies across the state.” 

Executive Director Bryn Clark added, “I want a robust informative avalanche information network for my daughter’s generation.”

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/es/node/636126607