 She's baaaaack! By now you have likely heard...La Nina is planning a return this winter! While the climatologists are still hedging their bets a little bit, NOAA issued a La Nina Advisory in early September. To quote the folks at NOAA, "La Nina...has re-emerged in the tropical Pacific Ocean and is forecast to gradually strengthen and continue into winter." You know what that means in the Northwest? BIG, COLD DUMPS!
So here we go...hopefully embarking on what could be another great season of skiing and riding in the Cascades and Olympics. We are psyched, but also wary, as big dumps also mean big avalanches. So now is the time to start doing your snow dances, wax your boards, or tune your sled...but it's also time to turn your avalanche brain on; sign up for a class, re-read your Level 1 booklet, do some beacon practice, and most importantly, renew your membership to the Friends and come on out in support of NWAC at our fall fundraising events listed below. It's going to be a fun winter, but let's make it a safe one too!
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Upcoming Events
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 We've got a bunch of great events planned this fall, so get out your calendars and set aside the following dates to catch up with your backcountry buds, enjoy a cold beverage, check out some of the best backcountry film footage you're likely to see anywhere, and/or get a solid dose of avalanche education.
SnowBash! We've changed the location this year as well as the tunes! Join us on Thursday, November 3 at Nectar in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood for the 11th annual SnowBash, a raucous night of tunes with the Tripwires, plentiful raffles and great beer from Alaska Brewing. This event sold out last year, so get your tickets now. And stay tuned on Facebook for updates.
Breaking Trail, this year's dose of powder stoke from Powderwhore, comes to the Northwest this Sunday, October 9 at 4:00 at the North Bend Theater and next Tuesday, October 11 at 8:00 at the Mountaineers in Seattle. Rumor has it that Powderwhore has abandoned their telemark roots, so all you AT skiers out there are welcome too! There will be raffles at both showings to benefit NWAC, so bring some extra cash and take home some gear!
Join the folks from Alpine Experience and The North Face Speaker Series for a special evening with Ingrid Backstrom at the State Theater in Olympia on Wednesday, October 12. Funds from the evening will benefit NWAC. Hope to see you there!
Sweetgrass Productions is coming to town with Solitaire, the result of their two-year adventure in South America exploring areas rarely if ever skied before. Check it out at the Varsity Theater in Seattle's University District at 8:00 on Thursday, October 27 and (for you Bellinghamsters) at Chair 9 in Glacier on Saturday, November 5 at 9:00.
And finally, on the education front, the 4th annual Northwest Snow and Avalanche Summit will take place on Sunday, November 13 at the Seattle REI store. NSAS is a full day of presentations covering the gamut of avalanche topics. It's a great way to tune up your brain for the coming season.
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Time to Renew your Membership
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 It's time to renew your membership to the Friends (or join if you weren't a member last year)! FOAC relies heavily on individual memberships to support NWAC and promote avalanche awareness. Last year, your contributions...
- Paid for $15,000 in improvements to NWAC weather stations.
- Contributed $5000 to NWAC's operating budget.
- Allowed us to implement the "danger rose" graphic and paid for other improvements to the NWAC/FOAC website.
- Helped us conduct 24 avalanche awareness classes throughout the Northwest.
- Helped fund the 4th annual Northwest Snow and Avalanche Summit.
- And most importantly, helped us keep the doors open at NWAC so that we can all rely on their accurate mountain weather and avalanche forecasts this winter.
Interested in more detail about what we accomplished last year and where your money went? Check out our 2011 Annual Report released last month.
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Education Update
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 Unlike some other avalanche centers in the US and Canada, NWAC does not have the staff and resources to do a lot of avalanche education. In an effort to fill this need, FOAC has taken on a larger role in this area over the years and is working collaboratively with NWAC to conduct avalanche awareness classes and spread the word about the importance of checking the NWAC forecast before heading into the mountains in the winter.
FOAC took a big step this summer with our education program and hired an Education Coordinator. Scott Schell comes to us with a background in mountain guiding and avalanche education, as well a great deal of organizational experience as the director of the Certified Guides Cooperative.
Scott will be running all aspects of our education program with a particular emphasis on developing our youth and snowmobile programs, in addition to our adult avalanche awareness classes. Interested in a class? Contact Scott at scott@nwac.us.
Welcome aboard Scott!
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A Final Word from NWAC Director Mark Moore
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Contemplating La Niņa
My, oh My, La Niņa's back-Does this mean an imminent Snow Wars Attack?
While it's too early to tell, our records show-even weak La Niņas may bring lots of snow.
However, it's not just amount we need consider, but how layers relate and wait for a trigger.
Recent accident info seems to suggest, La Niņa snowpacks may be harder to test.
Buried weak layers formed early in winter-may persist for long times and not really sinter.
Infrequent large slides may abruptly go, when stressed to their limit by you or more snow.
Warming or wind can add to the mix, forming an increasing glut of bad snowy tricks.
So use caution ahead in this new snowy season-& use all of your skills and apply good reason.
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The Friends of NWAC
Got a friend who would like to receive updates on NWAC? Help us get the word out by forwarding this e-mail below.
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