National Forest launches new avalanche center

The Flathead National Forest’s plans for the Flathead Avalanche Center are coming together. The center will provide avalanche forecasting three days a week as well as reports on incidents in the Flathead and Kootenai national forests and Glacier National Park, said Tony Willits, avalanche and snow specialist coordinator for the center.

The creation of the center marks a divorce of sorts between the Flathead National Forest and the Glacier Country Avalanche Center. GCAC’s website www.glaciercountryavalanche.org posted advisories from the Forest Service and other qualified personnel in the field.

GCAC and the Forest Service have had a falling out over the past few months, and in the end the Forest Service decided to start its own web site.

The crux of the rub appears to be over the timeliness of reports and advisories, particularly accident reports. GCAC is an independent nonprofit organization funded by private donations.

Willits said the new website, www.flatheadavalanche.org, will be updated on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays during the main ski season and less often in the shoulder season. Initial reports on incidents will come in a timely fashion, he said, but in-depth reports will take longer, particularly when they involve a fatality. Interviewing witnesses in those cases can take time, and investigators have to be sensitive in those situations, he said.

Willits also noted the new website will carry reports from Glacier National Park. Park personnel will provide reports, but because of logistical reasons — much of the Park’s backcountry is difficult to access in the winter — not all of the Park will be covered.

The site will also emphasize education and awareness when traveling in avalanche areas.

Last winter, three backcountry recreationists were killed in avalanches — a skier was killed near Wildcat Lake in the Jewel Basin, a snowmobiler was killed near Lost Johnny Creek by the Hungry Horse Reservoir, and a snow biker was killed up Skyland Road.

“To say we’re not going to have accidents, that’s not being honest,” Willits said. “Education is the most important thing.”

The future of GCAC remains in limbo. GCAC president Joe Grabowski is stepping away from the organization, and Brad Lamson said last week he will become president.

Lamson said GCAC is in a wait-and-see mode, but the organization has supported the Forest Service financially in the past and would continue to do so in the future, if the Forest Service is willing to adopt some recognized reporting standards set by the American Avalanche Association.