“Missoula Avalanche” is the friends group or nonprofit entity that engages in fundraising and outreach in support of the West Central Montana Avalanche Center. Missoula Avalanche consists of skiers, snowboarders and motorized mountain riders. We strive to be as diverse as possible and are actively looking for motivated members of the winter backcountry community who might be interested in joining our board. Please contact us if you or someone you know might fit this description.
Spencer feels pretty lucky to be “living the dream” with his family in Western Montana. He's currently working hard as the webmaster and general fixer on the MPG Ranch, a... Read More +
Spencer feels pretty lucky to be “living the dream” with his family in Western Montana. He's currently working hard as the webmaster and general fixer on the MPG Ranch, a 12,000-acre former cattle ranch that uses cutting-edge science to explore questions surrounding range restoration and natural history. Spencer has worked as a brand experience manager for a craft brewery, a television commercial producer/director, river photographer and guide, and a night bread baker. As the son of ski patroller and avid skier, snow has been part of Spencer’s world since before he could walk. After 40 years of skiing, he has yet to fix his heels and thus fix the persistent problem with his bindings. As president of the Missoula Whitewater Association Spence championed all forms of river recreation and guided the effort to construct Brennan's Wave on the Clark Fork River in downtown Missoula. Spencer’s one simple wish is to spend more time in the wilds of Montana with his wife Molly, his daughter Elizabeth, and son William (with maybe a little time in Mexico thrown in too).
Justin spends the majority his free time in the mountains and rivers of Montana and Idaho. Growing up in a variety of places, he has lived in Alaska and Montana since 1994 an... Read More +
Justin spends the majority his free time in the mountains and rivers of Montana and Idaho. Growing up in a variety of places, he has lived in Alaska and Montana since 1994 and is a graduate from the University of Montana. As a former member of the Gallatin County Search & Rescue teams, Justin has experience with all manner of first responder rescue and/or recovery responses. He joined the board for WCMAF because he strongly believes in furthering the education of avalanche safety in the backcountry. Justin is a partner with Rocky Mountain Development Group and works to develop affordable housing nationwide.
Ross is a life-long winter enthusiast with four generations of roots in Western Montana. He spent his late teens and early 20's as a professional snowboarder and was lucky en... Read More +
Ross is a life-long winter enthusiast with four generations of roots in Western Montana. He spent his late teens and early 20's as a professional snowboarder and was lucky enough to ride and compete at resorts and backcountry locations across the continental US, Alaska, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe. Spending that time traveling eventually made him all he more appreciative of the incredible (and less crowded) mountains in his home state. He graduated from the University of Montana with an art/media arts degree and puts his creative talents to work as a web developer here in the Missoula valley. He was a founding member of the Montana Skatepark Association that helped construct a $750,000 public skatepark project in Missoula's McCormick Park. He volunteers as much as possible in Missoula and enjoys hanging out with his family, working on remodel projects, and traveling to warm places with a surfboard whenever possible.
After catching the taste for snow in his native state of Pennsylvania, Zachary moved to New Hampshire to attend school and snowboard race competitively. Traveling around the... Read More +
After catching the taste for snow in his native state of Pennsylvania, Zachary moved to New Hampshire to attend school and snowboard race competitively. Traveling around the greater part of Europe and the Western United States, Zachary finally landed in Missoula to attend college and have access to amazing backcountry terrain. After completing a BA in creative writing, he split his time between being a professional musician and recreating in Montana’s back yard. Zach is now owner of The Dram Shop in missoula and supports all kinds of recreation all over Montana. He enjoys exploring regional skiing locales and experiencing everything Montana has to offer with his Family. Wife Sarah, and daughters Gillian and Lucy prove to be his favorite ski partners and are always ready for an adventure.
As the Gartons moved from Washington to Oregon, Montana and Wyoming, one thing was always constant- snow. As a result, Katy was raised on skis all over the Rocky Mountain We... Read More +
As the Gartons moved from Washington to Oregon, Montana and Wyoming, one thing was always constant- snow. As a result, Katy was raised on skis all over the Rocky Mountain West and inevitable ended up a powder enthusiast. Throughout college and graduate school she sought backcountry adventures in Alaska, Peru, Chile, and Argentina, and discovered her inner nerd while digging pits to see the history of a snowpack unfold. Avalanche knowledge and safety quickly became her focus. In 2003, Katy moved to Missoula and feel in love with the Montana backcountry. When not playing in snow, Katy explores the world as a documentary filmmaker. Through her production company Sprout Films, she has traveled around the globe and across the country to capture and share compelling stories. Katy joined the board in 2013 to help WCMAF engage the MT backcountry community in a new way- by providing a multi-faceted multimedia learning experience in which the audience absorbs avalanche safety in an effective and exciting way.
David Bosler moved to Montana in 2005 to go to college at the University of Montana. David realized that school was not for him but the mountains were! David lived the ski bu... Read More +
David Bosler moved to Montana in 2005 to go to college at the University of Montana. David realized that school was not for him but the mountains were! David lived the ski bum lifestyle throughout Montana, Colorado & Utah before returning to Missoula, Montana. In 2009, David and his business partner Luke Morris started LB Snow out of the basement of their house. By offering quality hand ski tunes the two of them began to make a name for themselves. LB Snow has since then grown into a ski and snowboard service shop, with a focus on the backcountry skiing and high end service. In 2015, David took over LB Snow as sole owner and launched a whitewater kayak shop to stay busy in the summer. David enjoys spending as much time as possible backcountry skiing and surfing the waves of Montana in a kayak or on a surfboard! David joined the WCMAF in 2015.
After college Chuck found himself in Western Montana fishing, hunting, biking, and skiing in between work at a ski shop, surveying plants for the forest service, and caretaki... Read More +
After college Chuck found himself in Western Montana fishing, hunting, biking, and skiing in between work at a ski shop, surveying plants for the forest service, and caretaking a Bitterroot Ranch. Nowadays, he works on strategies to improve habitat in degraded rangelands at MPG Ranch. He grew up skiing the frigid lake effect snow of Northern Wisconsin. Any proper technique from his career as a peewee alpine racer has long since atrophied in his pursuit of the backcountry experience with half the binding and twice the excuses. From his first foray in the Alaskan backcountry on a pair Tuas and T2s a decade ago, to his recent trade of an 18-year-old bottle of Dewar’s for a ’96 Ski-Doo Summit 500, he is always searching for whatever experience the snow-covered mountains offer. Chuck currently patrols with the Five Valleys Backcountry Ski Patrol and the Snowbowl Ski Patrol. He is excited to join the WCMAF and create links within the rich winter recreation community.
After being runner-up for a Fulbright Scholarship to translate Polish poetry at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, Emily Walter’s academic career shifted. She ... Read More +
After being runner-up for a Fulbright Scholarship to translate Polish poetry at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, Emily Walter’s academic career shifted. She left teaching English at a British School in the Tatra Mountains to pursue yet another dream: spend a winter skiing the French Alps. With a student visa to “study” French in the grand town of Grenoble, which happens to be a short train ride away from Chamonix, Emily spent the winter skiing. Thusly, Emily began a personal maxim: when in doubt of what to do, go to the mountains and ski. After working and skiing abroad for eight years, Emily returned to teaching English and Creative Writing along with skiing closer to home. Emily explored the backcountry wilderness of Northern Michigan, learned to navigate Southwest Colorado’s sketchy snow pack and later fell in love with a good skin track during the winters of sunned-volcanoes in Southern Oregon. Most recently, she and her partner, Jeff Schmalenberg, lived out of a van and explored ski routes in the fjords of the Troll Peninsula in Iceland. Emily has learned and continues to learn how to mitigate risk while traveling through the mountains, make educated decisions and to keep the ambiguities and uncertainties to just writing poems. Emily really looks forward to being part of the WMA to help inspire and inform other skiers in pursuing mountain pursuits locally and abroad in a safe, expansive and educated manner.
