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Greetings all and Happy Holidays! Winter is ramping up, albeit dominated by a stubborn high pressure ridge at the moment, and NWAC is in full swing providing daily mountain weather and avalanche forecasts.
As 2011 draws to a close, and in the spirit of the holidays, we want to take a moment and say THANK YOU to all of you who have contributed to FOAC and NWAC this year. Whether you donated your money, your volunteer time, or an auction/raffle item, your contribution made us tick and allowed us to continue supporting NWAC and grow our education program. We can't thank you enough.
The Friends of NWAC
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Vertfest 2012
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 Planning for Vertfest 2012 is well underway...Feb 18 and 19 at Alpental.
Come join us for a weekend of clinics, demos, live music and of course the biggest rando rally in the Northwest! It all begins on Saturday, February 18th with the Monica Johnson Memorial Rally. As always, there will be a 2-lap race category for the real hard cores and several one-lap categories (rec, 50+ and splitboard) for everyone just out to have a good time.
Once the fun is over on the mountain, we'll fire up the awards ceremony and gear-filled raffle, followed by, new this year, live music with Head Like a Kite! Even if you don't strap on a bib number, this is sure to be a great apres ski get-together, so come join us for a beer and a great gathering of the backcountry community.
Sunday is clinic day with a great schedule of clinics with some of the best athletes and guides in the business. Clinics will cover steep skiing/snowboarding techniques, avalanche terrain selection, companion rescue, and ski photography.
And don't forget...we've got a great bunch of sponsor companies that will be there both days demoing the latest backcountry gear.
For more details checkout the official Vertfest webpage and stay up-to-date at the Vertfest Facebook page
To purchase tickets, click here.
Thanks to Outdoor Research for once again leading the charge to pull this event together as a benefit of FOAC!
Get ready for 'HurtFest' 2012...same Vert, more Fest!
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Please Consider a Year-End Gift!
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 The end of the year is not far away, and if you have not yet donated this year, now would be a great time! It will help your tax return and it will help us!
Your contribution gets you benefits such as forecasts emailed to you directly, as well as discounts at several local retailers.
Perhaps most importantly, you will be supporting an organization that may someday save your life! We have accomplished a lot this year! We've kept the doors open at NWAC, upgraded and maintained the website, and made great strides in growing our education program (see below). None of this would be possible without the support of our friends.
Please consider a year-end gift as you close the books on 2011. We would be sincerely grateful.
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Decisions, Decisions
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So you've purchased your beacon, shovel and probe and taken an avalanche awareness class...maybe even a Level 1 avalanche class. You have a pretty good understanding of avalanche terrain and know how to dig a snow pit. But now you are standing at the top of a beautiful 38 degree slope full of fresh powder and scratching your head. Or perhaps you're sitting on your sled at the bottom contemplating a high mark. Do you go?
A lot of attention is being paid to decision making in avalanche terrain these days. How do you make smart decisions with the information you have available? We encourage you to take a look at this article for a well written summary of how to make smart decisions and manage risk. The author does a great job breaking down the decision process into six basic questions...
What is the main avalanche issue today?
How easily can the instability be triggered?
How far is an initial fracture going to propagate?
What terrain options do I have to work with?
How will I manage the terrain appropriately?
And finally, am I comfortable with the level of risk?
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Volunteer Spotlight
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 FOAC could not operate without the support of our great group of volunteers! From selling raffle tickets at SnowBash, to gatekeeping at Vertfest, to helping with registration at Snowball, volunteers are critical to the success of the Friends, and thus NWAC! While we are incredibly grateful for everyone who has volunteered in any capacity, there are a few folks who really stand out. Beginning with this newsletter, we'll be spotlighting some of these incredible individuals who give so much of their time to promote avalanche safety.
Heidi Dale Allen is the creative brain behind all of the graphic design that helps market FOAC. We found Heidi when a former colleague of hers at Outdoor Research suggested that she might be willing to design a poster for the second Snowball two years ago. She offered her services with enthusiasm and we haven't looked back. She has created posters for all of our events, advertisements for several magazine publications, and most recently, our new brochure. When not letting her creative juices flow for FOAC, Heidi is in charge of all things creative for Nikwax and also runs her own graphic design company, Probos Creative. If anyone out there reading this is looking for graphic design help, we can't recommend her highly enough. Thanks Heidi!
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Education Update and Upcoming Classes
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As mentioned in our previous update, FOAC took a big step this year and hired Scott Schell as our new education coordinator. Scott has hit the ground running and been busy scheduling adult avalanche awareness classes and developing our youth and snowmobile programs. Our goal is to make awareness level avalanche education FREE, and to spread the word about avalanche safety to the rapidly growing number of wintertime backcountry users. We have already hosted 23 awareness classes this season with a total of almost 1000 students, and we have many more coming up.
Keep an eye on our calendar for a listing of upcoming classes. In addition to FOAC sponsored awareness classes, we try to list all of the Level 1 and 2 courses being offered by local avalanche education providers. If you are looking for a class that fits your schedule, this is the place to look! The next month is a busy time for northwest avalanche education - check out the upcoming classes from local providers:
December 20, 7:00 - Free FOAC Avalanche Awareness class at Redmond REI
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And finally...
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The fourth annual Snowball Dinner and Auction is on the calendar...Friday, April 20 at the Mountaineers. Save the date and stay tuned for more info!
Thanks for the support!
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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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