The West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation, Board of Directors (BOD) is the volunteer Friends Group or nonprofit entity that engages in fundraising, outreach, and program oversight to support the mission. The BOD consists of skiers, snowboarders, and motorized mountain riders. We strive to be as diverse as possible and actively seek motivated members of the winter backcountry community.
Doug Hutcheon
President
Doug moved out to Missoula in 1994 after a childhood of ski club trips to the Poconos to ski in the rain, at night. He was inspired to find somewhere it snowed from the sky i... Read More +
Doug Hutcheon
President
Doug moved out to Missoula in 1994 after a childhood of ski club trips to the Poconos to ski in the rain, at night. He was inspired to find somewhere it snowed from the sky instead of a water hose to go to college. Soon after, Doug discovered telemark skiing and backcountry access. Safe backcountry practices were not instilled during those formative years skiing in the rain, but love for being outside in the winter was. In the years since Doug has continued learning how to safely recreate in the backcountry and works at helping others get outside with new gear as the gear buyer for the Trail Head. Missoula Avalanche’s mission to support avalanche forecasting and education programs for all backcountry user groups is what motivated Doug to join the board with the goal of ensuring others new to Missoula or the backcountry to have the resources and knowledge to safely get outside and back home.
Jason Harby
Treasurer
Jason is a Missoula native with a strong passion for the outdoors. Growing up in Missoula he started skiing at a young age and quickly realized you don’t always need a chai... Read More +
Jason Harby
Treasurer
Jason is a Missoula native with a strong passion for the outdoors. Growing up in Missoula he started skiing at a young age and quickly realized you don’t always need a chairlift to get in some good turns. According to Jason, he stuck around Missoula for College and Law School as it was too hard to leave the mountains. To this day he still hasn’t been able to get himself to leave western Montana. Jason joined the Board because he sees the increasing importance of both, avalanche forecasting and education as the number of backcountry enthusiasts continues to grow. When he isn’t enjoying the region's mountains and rivers Jason represents a number of for-profit and nonprofit developers in affordable housing projects throughout Montana, as well other nonprofit and business-related manners.
Emily Jochem
Secretary
Emily joined the West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation (WCMAF) Board of Directors in 2023 and brings a background in ski patrolling, wilderness medicine education, and wo... Read More +
Emily Jochem
Secretary
Emily joined the West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation (WCMAF) Board of Directors in 2023 and brings a background in ski patrolling, wilderness medicine education, and working with nonprofits. Emily
grew up in Bozeman, Montana and was instilled with a love for skiing of all types at a young age.
She moved to Missoula in 2020 to pursue a M.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. Upon graduating, Emily wanted to find a way to stay involved in the backcountry skiing and avalanche
communities after leaving her seasonal jobs behind. Emily is an avid backcountry skier and is passionate about community education and engagement that help keep the backcountry safe and accessible for
everyone.
When not out skiing or helping with the WCMAF, Emily works as a partnership coordinator with the National Forest Foundation. In this role she helps the Forest Service better integrate community values into public land management, including backcountry recreation!
Ben Adkison
Ben, a Montana native, moved to Missoula in 2005 to pursue his college education. That winter, with borrowed ski gear and boots that were a few sizes too snug, he embraced th... Read More +
Ben Adkison
Ben, a Montana native, moved to Missoula in 2005 to pursue his college education. That winter, with borrowed ski gear and boots that were a few sizes too snug, he embraced the slopes and learned to ski. The following year marked the beginning of his backcountry adventures, seamlessly blending with his lifelong affinity for the outdoors. Ben's journey into the backcountry was not just a passion but a perfect fit, quite like the boots he eventually acquired.
His commitment to exploring the mountains led him to enroll in avalanche courses through the WCMAF. He eventually became an instructor to help raise avalanche awareness. Ben was pivotal in introducing the Know Before You Go Educational Program to schools across western Montana.
After an 8-year hiatus exploring different locales, Ben felt the pull of Missoula's charm and returned, as many often do. Today, he proudly serves on the WCMAF board of directors and helps support avalanche information and education programs for all backcountry enthusiasts.
When he is not facilitating scientific research in the polar regions, he tends his garden and enjoys the bike trails and rivers around Missoula.
Nick Vanhorn
Nick grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, where despite the phenomena that is lake effect snow there were limited options to slide down leaving all that snow useless. A traged... Read More +
Nick Vanhorn
Nick grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, where despite the phenomena that is lake effect snow there were limited options to slide down leaving all that snow useless. A tragedy, to say the least. So Nick went west and did what any bright, educated young man would do, worked seasonal jobs and skied. Now a recovering Ski Patroller whose head is still in the snow Nick is proud to assist the West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation in providing free, informative and accessible avalanche forecasts as well as quality avalanche classes for users of all abilities.
