As the sun begins to return to our northern latitude in Alaska, the snowpack continues to undergo changes despite winter being over. Red flags include: increasing freezing levels, warming daytime temperatures, lack of an overnight freeze, strong solar radiation, rain-on-snow and more snowfall all contribute to springtime avalanche conditions. Unconsolidated surface snow that heats up […]

Now is the time to donate or submit observations to be entered in this year’s Support Raffle! Win prizes by submitting public snow, weather and avalanche observations, or contributing a $50 membership to the avalanche center of your choice (Valdez, Haines, Eastern Alaska Range, or Cordova), visit AlaskaSnow.org. Each public observation and/or membership puts you […]

Avalanche safety and education are a preventative service. Often times the need for funding these operations is overshadowed by the lack of response to avalanche accidents and incidents. The reality however is often that those services are working. This season multiple options are available to donate, become a member of a regional center, or provide […]

An upgraded observation platform from the National Avalanche Center is live for all AAIC regional avalanche centers at AlaskaSnow.org. The new system is easy to use and does a great job of visually displaying field observations, avalanches observed, and cracking/collapsing on the map view. Users are able to filter results based on date, avalanches, signs […]

November marks avalanche awareness month in Alaska. It is time to get excited about winter, but it is important to remember that enough snow to ride, is enough snow to slide. Early seasons avalanches can happen and often catch riders off guard. It’s the perfect time to practice and prepare. Here are some things you […]

In the field of avalanche safety and research, analyzing decision making often boil down to data collection. For human aspects to backcountry travel in the mountains surveys are an easy way for researchers to obtain information.   An important Alaskan research project called the Winter Backcountry Traveler Survey is requesting backcountry users to fill out […]

A unique early season setup with low snowfall and cold temperatures in the mountains surrounding Valdez has produced several remarkable avalanche cycles this season, see the Valdez Avalanche Center website for more information and current conditions.   The lack of snowfall in the fall weakened snow at the surface through a process known as faceting. […]

North American motorized accident statistics and recent case studies were covered in an hour long presentation sponsored by the Alaska Department of Public Safety and Alaska State Troopers. This was presented by Tim Thomas, a forecaster and educator with the the Haines Avalanche Center who specializes in sled specific avalanche education and is a mechanized […]

Laura McGladrey, a NOLS Wilderness Medicine instructor and Nurse Practitioner with dual certification, practicing both emergency medicine and psychiatry has adapted The Stress Continuum as a way of managing stress. The continuum is a self-assessment tool and can help those affected by a single incident, or cumulative stress, to detect early and late changing reactions […]

There have been lots of changes at the Alaska Avalanche Information Center over the past two years. Like everyone else, the pandemic made a big impact on our operations forcing us to take steps back to regroup and meet this new challenge. We are excited for the upcoming season and look forward to providing backcountry […]

This upcoming season the AAIC will be working in collaboration with the Alaska Avalanche School and Alaska Safe Riders to bring you a wide host of training opportunities. If you are new to the backcountry and looking for some introductory training or you’re ready for a Level 2, we can help. No matter what you […]

The AAIC is a not-for-profit 501 c3 organization and relies on public support to operate. We could not provide this life-saving service without your help and support. Thank you to all of our members, donors and sponsors who make this effort possible. We invite you to join us to ensure we are able to continue […]