AVALANCHE AWARENESS

CHAPTER CHANNEL

Carl Skustad, recreation tech and snow ranger from the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, in Anchorage, Alaska, spends over 150 days per year in Turnagain Pass alone. As guest speaker at the Anchorage chapter's January meeting, he offered first-hand perspective on avalanche safety and the center's role in Alaska.

Skustad explained that the need for the Avalanche Information Center became particularly clear after a snow-machine-triggered avalanche killed six people in Turnagain Pass in March 1999. To get the center up and running, Skustad worked with avalanche centers in other states. He also contacted the Alaska railroad, Alyeska resort, …