Unfortunately, we just received word that an avalanche fatality occurred yesterday outside of Choteau. Preliminary information is that the individual was in a snowmobile group and not wearing an avalanche transceiver. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims family and friends. Flathead Avalanche Center staff will be...
Time to mark your calendar for Missoula Avalanche’s 12th Annual Pray For Snow Party! This big bash benefits West Central Montana Avalanche Center (WCMAC) public avalanche awareness information and education opportunities. Festivities will include live music, local food vendors, Big Sky Brewing beverages, awesome raffle prizes, fun and more! With an increasing number...
Backcountry Magazine | Press Release: ORTOVOX ISSUES RECALL OF 3+ AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVERS RUNNING SOFTWARE VERSION 2.1
Each US Avalanche Center is supported by an affiliated nonprofit entity, or friends group. In essence, the center provides the structure and technical know-how and the non-profit entity engages in fundraising and outreach. Nationwide, more than 50% of avalanche center operational costs are covered by community donations and other...
🗓 | Today! Event: Missoula Gives Date: May 4th Time: Now – 10 PM MST Location: Join us from anywhere and everywhere through our online giving platform: WCMAF | Missoula Gives Missoula Gives provides a great opportunity to give where you live and support the avalanche center services you rely on. Giving goal...
Education | Fundraising | General | Snowpack | Weather
Avalanche forecasters play a critical role in protecting the public and raising avalanche awareness by communicating the potential for avalanches to cause harm or injury to backcountry travelers. West Central Montana Avalanche Center (WCMAC) forecasters work to keep you informed of the danger avalanches pose by gathering as much information as possible from...
Generating backcountry travel plans without avalanche center forecast information requires knowledge of weather events. Review snotel data for current snow totals and weather station data for temperatures, wind trends, and speeds. With these tools, you can get an idea of the avalanche problems you could encounter on your trip and choose appropriate terrain...
Grab your riding buddies and get trained! Spots still available for the upcoming Mechanized Snowmachine | Avalanche Level 1 Course Dates: 2.23.18 – 2.25.18 Register Now & Secure Your Spot! Details & Registration | Link
Many avalanche victims don’t know they are in avalanche danger and are unprepared to deal with an avalanche. This doesn’t have to happen – the danger signs are usually obvious to those who know what to look for. Just as those in Hawaii learn about the dangers of rip...
We are excited to offer new avalanche education offerings developed specifically for snowmobilers and mechanized mountain riders. These courses are taught from a mechanized perspective by certified avalanche instructors with 20+ years of mountain riding experience and excellent avalanche education skills. These courses are designed for recreational riders, guides, and...
The week started out simply enough, a scattered inch here and there before dramatically shifting mid-week. Wednesday brought a foot of snow to the Seeley Lake area and inch and a half of water. The northern half of the advisory area got the most snow and water from the...
This weeks weather is easier to summarized than the last two weeks. There were no storms bringing feet of snow, just the occasional inch or two here and there. It may come as a surprise considering the lack of any major weather events but this week was marked by...
Has it been a while since you took your Level 1 Avalanche Course? The Level 1 Refresher Course is a great opportunity for refining your skills and catching up on best practices for decision making in avalanche terrain. Check out the upcoming Level 1 Refresher Course while spots are...
The second week of advisories are in the books and boy was it a doozie. The week started cold and relatively calm. Over the Christmas Holiday snow slowly started to accumulate as 3-6 inches of snow accumulated monday and again on Tuesday. Snows tapered slightly Wednesday before picking up...
Education | Fundraising | General | Mechanized | Snowpack | Weather
It’s winter in western Montana and we’re headed into the backcountry. In an effort to make Montana’s winter playground a safer place, Big Sky Brewing is hosting Beers With Your Forecaster. This event is a great opportunity to gain insight on current snow conditions and learn about what goes into generating...
The first week of advisories are in the books and there was a ton of information presented in a variety of forms. If you felt overwhelmed last week rest assured you are not alone. We would like to take this time to explain the different methods that we use...
In conjunction with UM Campus Recreation, the West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation is hosting a free two-part Mountain Weather lecture series. Featuring guest speaker, LeeAnn Allegretto, NOAA Meteorologist and Avalanche Program Leader from the National Weather Service. Both sections are open to the public and will be held in the...
Education | General | Mechanized | Snowpack | Weather
Courses are filling fast! Check out Registration/Details
AVALANCHE AWARENESS LECTURE – Tonight! Time: 6pm Location: North Underground Lecture Hall 101, UM Campus Cost: FREE Join Josh Tapp, Avalanche Education Coordinator from the West Central Montana Avalanche Center for an introduction to avalanche awareness and safety. The presentation will include video, slides, discussion and Q&A session. Topics covered will...
The West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation would like to reiterate its sincere thanks to Gull Boats & RV for their continued support of avalanche safety, awareness and education. With over 400 in attendance, Mike Duffy delivered an outstanding snowmobile avalanche awareness and skills introduction. We are excited to have Mike back...
Missoula Avalanche presents the 12th Annual Pray For Snow Party!! Join your friends on Friday October 5th from 5:30pm – 10:30pm at Caras Park in downtown Missoula to Celebrate the upcoming frosty time of year! This year’s fundraiser brings great music from Jameson and the Sorrid Seeds, 2 giant...
We have had two public observations of wind slabs in the Bitterroot. Take a look before you head out. Remember identify wind slabs and avoid them. These slabs are on many different aspects, and some slopes are cross-loaded due to the changes in wind direction over the last couple...
In conjunction with U of M Campus Recreation we will be hosting a free Mountain Weather Class. Featuring guest speaker, LeeAnne Allegretto, Meteorologist and Avalanche Program Leader from The National Weather Service. The class will be in the North Urey Underground Lecture Hall from 600pm -800pm Part 1 on January 12...
Winter Weather Update: Large snow totals predicted. As this system enters our area we will update the advisory as needed.
The West Central Montana Avalanche Center (WCMAC) has announced the following staff changes for the upcoming 2016-2017 winter avalanche season. Travis Craft, has assumed leadership responsibilities for the center. Steve Karkanen, director of the center since 2006, retired at the end of the 2015-2016 season. Karkanen, an avalanche specialist...
Skip Horner has guided worldwide adventures for more than 40 years, including scaling the highest mountain on every continent, rafting over a dozen wild rivers on five continents,and skiing the highest peaks in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The Rimo 1 expedition was a multi-national expedition into India’s remote...
Avanet is a new online platform that allows people to record and share mountain safety observations in real time. Currently you can sign up for free as a recreational user and have access to all of the mapping, route planning and observation tools that it offers. You can sign...
In the past week, 4 individuals have died in avalanches in CO, WY, UT and here in MT bringing the season total to 10 as of January 23. The accident in SW MT Tuesday hits close to home as it involved an avalanche professional. Darren Johnson, a professional ski...
Hey folks, We are in the process of expanding our education program! We realize that there are a lot of well educated people out in the backcountry who are looking for a course to update their avalanche skills. We are super excited to be able to offer a Level 1 Refresher course...
We are sad to report that the first Montana avalanche death of the 2015/16 season occurred over the weekend in Cooke City, MT. See Video The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center is investigating the incident and a full report will be archived in the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s web data-base....
The American Avalanche Institute is teaming up with missoulaavalanche and the University of Montana Outdoor Program to offer a Level 2 Avalanche class in Missoula. A level 2 course is designed for students with level 1 avalanche skills. Participants will go deeper into the science of snow metamorphism, and...
The mission of the West Central Montana Avalanche Center and its friends group, missoulaavalanche, is to provide avalanche information for west central Montana. That is accomplished by providing avalanche advisories and avalanche education programs. It is the beginning of March and educators with the Center have racked up some...
This is excellent! Take the time to fully read the subtitles in the interviews and hear how many precautions are taken and how many resources made available before the decision is made to jump in. Even with the best available information, it’s never a 100% certainty that the snow...
Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 4th and join us for a mid-season brew-for-a-cause! The Kettlehouse Brewery continues to support MissoulaAvalanche.org with its Community UNite “Pint Night” tradition…and we couldn’t be more appreciative. They have helped so many Missoula organizations and non-profits since introducing this fundraising option so many...
On Sunday January 18th, we will have one of our instructors available from 10am to 2pm (mountain time) to demonstrate how transceivers work and how you can quickly and efficiently find a buried companion. This clinic will be at the Beacon Park next to the visitor center. Just show...
Missoulaavalanche and the West Central Montana Avalanche Center are offering a unique education opportunity on January 21 from 6-8pm at the Trailhead, 221 Front St. in Missoula. Avalanche Hazard and Weather Forecasting for Back-country Recreationists A free presentation designed to improve your avalanche hazard and weather forecasting skills! Sponsored by Missoulaavalanche, the West Central...
In this video we shot on December 21, 2014 I get a result of ECTN 6 in my Extended Column Test. I had just remotely triggered a medium / large wind slab avalanche on approach to this area. The “bull’s eye” data is clear; the snowpack is unstable. The...
This 10 minute video From the Utah Avalanche Center captures these 5 essential points regarding backcountry avalanche safety. Get the gear Get the training Get the forecast Get the picture Get out of harm’s way The video was produced by the UAC with financial support from the International Snowmobile...
