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Dear Friend of NWAC,
It's that time of year again...October is coming to a close
and winter is around the corner. The
NWAC forecasters are back at work making sure that the weather instrumentation
is in working order, learning their way around the new website (see below) and generally
getting ready for the snow to fall.
This email is to bring you up to date on the latest
happenings at NWAC and FOAC and get you thinking about the upcoming
winter. First off, we are happy to report that after a
fair amount of arm twisting and begging, and with some cost savings from last
year carried over to this year, NWAC is fully funded for the upcoming season
and is planning to operate into the spring.
That's the good news. The bad
news is that the future beyond this winter is still very uncertain. FOAC has been working overtime meeting with
the cooperating agencies, spreading the word about NWAC and trying hard to
develop new sources of revenue to ensure more stability in the years to come. For more detail about what we accomplished
over the past year, a summary of NWAC and FOAC finances, and a shout out to all
of our supporters, we encourage you to take a look at our annual report on our
website.
And finally, neither FOAC nor NWAC would exist without the incredible
support of the winter recreation community.
We hope that you will continue to support FOAC by renewing your
membership this season or, if you are not already a member, becoming one
now. Just click that button on the right
to show your support. We really
appreciate it!
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New NWAC/FOAC Website - www.nwac.us
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 It's been a long haul and
ALOT of work, but the new combined NWAC/FOAC website is finally here! Work on this project, which was fully funded
by FOAC to the tune of $35,000, began in the spring of 2008 when FOAC and NWAC
first started talking about the need for an improved user interface to make
avalanche forecasts more accessible to the public. After a round of interviews, we selected Web
Collective as our developer and began the process of scoping the project. We surveyed users of the existing site, came
up with our list of needs and got to work.
A year and a half later, we are very excited about the result.
The new site implements an improved interface
with a map of the NWAC area on the home page that links to avalanche forecasts
based on 13 different regions. Each forecast is displayed graphically in addition to the text
version that many of you are accustomed to.
All of the existing educational information has been moved over to the
new site and is organized in a far more obtainable manner. In addition, because the new site is
technically owned by the Friends of NWAC, we are able to offer advertising
opportunities to supportive companies and thus generate revenue to support
NWAC. We encourage you to check out the
site and send us your comments, as we will be embarking on a second phase as
soon as funding allows it.
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El Niņo Doom?
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By Mark Moore, NWAC Director
We all have a vision of what we'd like the winter ahead to
be. It might go something like this-"Powder
here, powder there, powder almost everywhere." That request sounds simple
enough...and this brief discussion of the upcoming winter will attempt only to soften
and maybe lessen, but not dispel that belief. Like any given year, an El Niņo
winter in the NW can be filled with its share of really good powder days (and
we'll look at those statistics soon). But on average, these historical figures
indicate that the number of epic snow days will normally be significantly more
numerous in the Southwest US high country than here in the Northwest mountains...click
here to read the rest of this article on our website. |
Upcoming Events
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With winter around the corner, the calendar is filling up
with snow related events. We hope to see
many of you in the coming months at...
SnowBash 2009 - Friday, December 4 at the Tractor
Tavern. Join us for the 9th
annual season kick-off party with bluegrass from the Tallboys, a gear raffle
and good beer.
Feathered Friends Demo Dayz - come down to the Feathered Friends retail store on Novemebr 7, 14 and 21 to meet with gear reps and learn about the latest backcountry gear. An online auction will benefit FOAC.
Alpine Safety Awareness Program Dinner and Fundraiser -
Saturday, November 7 at 5:00 at the Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham
Avalanche classes - check our calendar for a list of
upcoming awareness, Level 1 and Level 2 avalanche classes throughout the
Northwest.
Vertfest - set aside the weekend of March 6-7 for the new
and improved 2-day Vertfest thrown by Outdoor Research at Alpental. Races, clinics and a Saturday eve party will
be the on-mountain backcountry event of the winter. Don't miss it.
SnowBall - the 2nd Annual SnowBall Dinner and
Auction is tentatively scheduled for Friday, April 16. Stay tuned for confirmation and more details.
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Early Season Avalanche Awareness
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 The late fall and early winter can be sketchy times in the
Northwest mountains. Weather and
temperature vary widely, and we are often surprised to find substantial snow on
the ground while wearing shorts and checking out the fall color. At the same time, we are all starting to
think about the epic powder days ahead, and the first turns of the year often
occur with grass still protruding through the snow. It's a time of transition in the mountains,
and a time when many of us may not be prepared for the hazards that the alpine
environment can throw at us.
Avalanches
are one of those hazards, and while they may be less likely to occur before the
snow gets deeper, the reality is that they do occur in the early season, and we
need to be aware. In fact, there have
already been two avalanche incidents in Colorado this year where skiers were
lucky to escape injury. We encourage you
to check out this article on early season avalanche hazards prepared by NWAC
director Mark Moore.
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FOAC Needs Your Help
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Are you interested in helping us support NWAC and raise awareness about avalanches? FOAC is growing fast, and we have more work than we can handle! We are looking for volunteers to help us with a variety of tasks ranging from helping out at fundraising events to leading several educational initiatives. We are also looking for a couple of board members with the following backgrounds...
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Education - particularly outdoor education
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Marketing - with some expertise in on-line marketing
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Graphic Design
If you don't have experience in these particular areas but have the time and energy to support FOAC and NWAC,
please contact us at Friends@nwac.us. We are always looking
for help.
The Friends of NWAC
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