The San Juan Snowcast

February is here and so is the pow! Huge totals from this last storm have buoyed our snowpack and brought it back to average. In this episode, I do a deep dive on the Storm Recap and the State of the Snowpack, before I nerd out on “crust-facet-combos” and your Word of the Day (it’s German!). I also offer a brief “Chairlift Chat” on why I chose to ride the resort during this recent storm cycle, and share some upcoming events that you should put on your calendar!THINK SNOW!Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund- Jagged Edge Mountain Gear - Telluride Mountain ClubMusic on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos“Suave” by Offthewally“Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

What a week of weather it has been across the Juans! I’ll kick things off this week with a storm recap and an investigation as to why Sunday’s storm caught so many of us off guard. Then we’ll dive into a super informative conversation about public land management and some of the local issues facing the San Juans, with Hilary Eisen of the Winter Wildlands Alliance and Mason Osgood of the Sheep Mountain Alliance. These folks advocate for the continued access and preservation of our backcountry recreation areas and, not only that, they’re backcountry skiers too! Give it a listen, I guarantee you’ll learn a thing or two. Learn more at: winterwildlands.orgsheepmountainalliance.orgMore storms are coming in the next few days and Juanuary is off to the races… THINK SNOW! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund- Jagged Edge Mountain Gear - Telluride Mountain ClubMusic on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos “Cissy  Strut” by The Meters“Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

Happy New Year! On this week’s show we discuss the current State of the Snowpack and how it will hopefully change soon, highlight some local events in the Community Calendar, and then sit down for a chat with Maddie Crowell, local ski guide, avalanche educator, and couloir hunter. Maddie gives us an update on the variability of snow conditions above treeline and why the couloirs of the San Juans make for some excellent ski mountaineering. THINK SNOW! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund- Jagged Edge Mountain Gear - Telluride Mountain ClubMusic on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos “Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

Happy Winter Solstice! In this episode, we lament our slow start to the season, and the shallow and weak snowpack… but then see a glimmer of hope in the form of a Santa Slammer Holiday Snowstorm that arrives on Saturday! The main focus of this episode, however, is RADIOS. We’ll talk about the new channels for the Telluride Radio Program, and I’ll share some tips for proper radio etiquette so we can all level up our backcountry radio game. THE CHANNELS HAVE CHANGED. Make sure you and your partners know about it and use the new channels if you play in the Telluride backcountry. Thanks for your help in getting the word out. For more information, go to www.telluridemountainclub.org/radios Happy Holidays and THINK SNOW!Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund- Jagged Edge Mountain Gear Music on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Funky Christmas” by Snoop Dog“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos “Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

It’s December, and its finally looking like Winter! On this week’s episode, I recap last week’s storm and take a peak and the weather before taking a DEEP DIVE into electromagnetic interference and it’s effect on our avalanche transceivers. It’s time to get technical and make sure we’re tuned up and tuned in for the Winter to come. THINK SNOW! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education Fund- Jagged Edge Mountain Gear Music on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos “Octopussy” by Juanitos“Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

Coming atcha with a quick bonus episode this week! This one highlights some Community Calendar events before diving into some gear talk with Kyle Siegel of Raide.I’ll be back next week with a proper Snowcast episode all about PRE-SEASON PREP, the  State of the Snowpack, and, of course, a look at the weather! Music on the show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Cool Reggae Party” by Juanitos “Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets

IT SNOWED! Finally. In Episode 2, we dig into a recap of this past weekend’s storm before exploring the TOP TEN COOLEST THINGS I learned while attending 3 different Snow and Avalanche Workshops this past October. Thanks for tuning in and THINK SNOW! Our next storm arrives on Friday of this week.Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education FundMusic on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets“Octopussy” by Juanitos“Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

Welcome to Season 3 of the San Juan Snowcast! On Episode 1, we take the Snowcast pledge (raise your right hand…) before recapping just how good last winter truly was, and we why should probably temper our expectations for this year. Also, we discuss why most “season outlooks” don’t actually mean much, before diving into, you guessed it, a season outlook and what the impending El Niño could mean for snowfall across the San Juans! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-DicksonThanks as always to my sponsors!  - Mountain Trip- Silverton Avalanche School- The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education FundMusic on this week’s show: “Ghetto Funk” by Queens Community Show Band“Rugged Walk” by The Rugged Nuggets“Octopussy” by Juanitos“Mondo Whack” by Juanitos

We are breaking records with this storm! Yet another blizzard is dumping snow on the San Juan Mountains, and this winter has officially crossed the threshold into uncharted territory for our 30-year average snowpack! We dive into the State of the Snowpack before sinking our teeth into this year’s HOT TAKES segment. Four friends join me on the pod to chat about what we love and what we hate in our backcountry ski culture. It’s a doozy, but please don’t take it too seriously (we certainly ain’t trying to offend anyone!). Please leave a rating and review, and share the show with your friends! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-Dickson

Hello everyone and welcome to Episode 15! It’s currently dumping snow across the Juan’s and the powder stoke is HIGH. On this week’s show, I break down the State of our Snowpack, this current storm, and then dive into a conversation with two local avalanche forecasters: Jeff Davis, with Helitrax, and Elyse Parcell, with the Telluride Ski Patrol. We go deep in to the perilous world of “Moderate” danger and bust some myths around the avalanche danger ratings. It’s a good convo full of nuggets of wisdom! Thanks as always to my sponsors:MountainTrip.comThe Pi Avy FundSewAlpine.comEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comInstagram: @sanjuansnowcastVenmo: @Chris-Dickson

Well, I’m back after a week off from the pod. And a lot has happened in the last week, including several fatal avalanche incidents in our mountains. In this week’s show I discuss the wind, the dust, and the snow we’ve been getting, before I unpack the sad avalanche accidents that occurred this past Saturday.  This is a somber episode but sometimes we need to remember what’s at stake when we travel in avalanche terrain. Hopefully, this helps remind us all to continue to travel cautiously in the backcountry this winter, and to not let our guards down, even when the avalanche danger is moderate. Stay safe out there, friends! 

What a storm!!! Man, this winter is just… AWESOME and I am loving it. On this week’s show, we’ll dive into a recap of our latest storm, check out the state of the snowpack, talk Hand Shears and other on-the-fly snowpack obs, and then discuss the dangers around President’s Day Weekend in Colorado (spoiler alert: this is the most dangerous week of the entire winter in terms of avalanche accidents in Colorado!). Step it back a little bit, the low danger days are over, for now… Thanks for listening and please leave a rating or a review! 🙏Email: Sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-Dickson

And… we’re back! I’m currently rebounding from COVID (Round 2) but I’m ready to dive back into the San Juan snowpack! On this week’s show, I welcome a new sponsor, take a look at the state of the snowpack, and then sit down for a chat with Matt Steen and Jeff Davis, Director and Assistant Director of HeliTrax’s Snow Safety Team to discuss all the ins and outs of dropping bombs out of helicopters to trigger avalanches! Thanks to those guys for coming on the show! Check out Helitrax for an awesome day of heli-skiing in some of the coolest terrain in the San Juans. Also, a big thanks to my sponsors: Mountain Trip (www.mountaintrip.com)The Peter Inglis Avalanche Education FundSew Alpine (www.sewalpine.com) Check me out on the following platforms and tell a friend about the show! Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastFacebook: The San Juan SnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-Dickson 

On this week’s episode, I’m trapped in my hometown by a very large natural avalanche over the road! Literally as I was writing this episode, a natural avalanche knocked out my power and internet and trapped myself and my neighbors in by covering the only access road in 20 feet of debris. So, I adapted, and this week’s episode became covering the widespread avalanche cycle that occurred just outside my front door. Check out the CAIC for my field report with photos. This week’s new “FUNK BREAK” is by The Limp Twins, a song titled “Another Day in the Life of Mr Jones”. Instagram: @SanJuanSnowcastFacebook: The San Juan SnowcastVenmo: @Chris-Dickson 

If you or someone you know has experienced a traumatic incident, or is struggling with grief, please reach out to someone for help. Survivors of Outdoor Adventures and Recovery has a great website with some resources to check out: http://soar4life.org/ . In this episode, I provide an update on the last two weeks of snow and avalanche activity, before diving into a debrief of a full burial avalanche incident that happened recently in our mountains. It’s powerful to learn from incidents and like these  and I’m grateful to these folks for being willing to share their story. Instagram: @sanjuansnowcastEmail: sanjuansnowcast@gmail.comVenmo: @Chris-Dickson