We held our Annual Member Meeting during ISSW, and one of the highlights was having the opportunity to acknowledge five outstanding members of our community with A3 awards. Congratulations to each of the award recipients and thank you to A3 Awards Committee Chair, Halsted Morris, for overseeing the ceremony. Learn more about A3 awards, other recipients, and the nomination process.
Doug Chabot, Bernie Kingery Award
After getting his start as a ski patroller at Bridger Bowl, Doug began working as an avalanche forecaster for the Gallatin National Forest Avalance Center. In 2000, he became the Director, a position that he has now held for 24 seasons.
Of his many accomplishments, one of his proudest has been his outreach to the snowmobile community. While some avalanche workers complained that snowmobilers wouldn’t listen to them, Doug met the motorized community on their terms, learning how to really ride a sled and making friends with shop owners, top riders, and industry heavyweights.
Doug has also contributed significantly to avalanche education and mentorship. As a National Avalanche School instructor for the past two decades, he has helped educate the next generation of avalanche professionals. He also started an internship program at the GNFAC, and is justifiably proud of the many interns now working at ski areas and avalanche centers around the country.
Doug’s other outstanding contribution to our community is establishing, growing, and maintaining SnowPilot, the snowpit graphing and databasing program. Originally started in 2004, SnowPilot boasts the largest snowpit dataset in the world. Last season SnowPilot databased between 70 and 100 snowpits from around the world nearly every day. This exceptional dataset is used by avalanche researchers from around the world to answer many interesting questions about snow and avalanches.
The Bernie Kingery Award recognizes the sustained career contributions of dedicated avalanche field professionals, and Doug’s impact is widely felt. Nominated by Karl Birkeland, Ned Bair, Ron Simenhois, Mark Staples, and Ethan Greene.
Janet Kellam, Bernie Kingery Award
Before Janet’s avalanche forecasting career, she was a competitive Nordic ski racer at Middlebury College turned impassioned backcountry skier, and soon after, long-time ski guide in Idaho. In 1996 Janet was recruited by Doug Abromeit and hired as a forecaster with the newly formed Sawtooth Avalanche Center.
Janet’s leadership and dedication turned the fledgling Sawtooth Avalanche Center into a leader among US forecast centers. She tackled a unique urban avalanche problem, building relationships with local emergency services and creating a bi-lingual avalanche safety flyer for maintenance workers who often work outside threatened homes. Near the end of her forecasting career in 2010, Janet was selected to lead A3. With her collaborative nature she aided in the pro-rec education split and was instrumental in bringing avalanche.org under the A3 umbrella. Both are historic contributions.
Janet’s skills, accomplishments, and dedication to her profession inspired many women in the avalanche field. She was the first woman licensed ski guide in Idaho, the first woman president of A3, and the first woman director of an avalanche center.
Nominated by Wendy Wagner, Chris Lundy, Sara Lundy, Lynne Wolfe, and Jaime Musnicki. Thank you for everything, Janet!
L-R: Doug Chabot, Janet Kellam, “Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche,” Caleb Merrill
Steven Siig and Jared Drake, Sue Ferguson Award
Steven and Jared have contributed thousands of hours of their lives working on “Buried, the 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche.” The feature-length documentary details the events that surrounded the catastrophic avalanche on March 31,1982 that took seven lives and affected hundreds more living in Tahoe.
The film is accurate, intense, emotional, and gripping. Steven and Jared did their homework, working right up to the release date to verify its accuracy. The result has been very well received throughout our avalanche community, but more importantly, it has impacted the general public far and wide. There were theater showings in Australia, Canada, and coast to coast in the US. It’s now on Amazon Prime, making the story available to millions.
“Buried” exposes viewers to the dangers, the science, the professionalism, the emotional fortitude, and the psychology of those working in the avalanche/search and rescue world.
Nominated by Bill Williamson, Larry Heywood, Gary Murphy, Tom Kimbrough, and Liam Fitzgerald (many of whom were involved in the 1982 event), we were honored to recognize Steven and Jared with the Sue Ferguson Award at the A3 Annual Member Meeting. Thank you for your storytelling!
Caleb Merrill, Sue Ferguson Award
On February 13, 2017, Caleb began the podcast The Avalanche Hour. In the six years since that first podcast, Caleb and his interviewer team have very effectively fulfilled their mission of creating a stronger community through the sharing of stories, knowledge, and news among people who have a curious fascination with avalanches. Caleb’s understated presence, wry humor, and familiarity with our industry have brought his product into the “must-listen” category in a world filled with media products.
The Sue Ferguson Award recognizes individuals for their contributions in media communications regarding snow and avalanches, and Caleb’s work on the podcast highly impressed our nominators: Lynne Wolfe, Jayne Nolan, Scott Savage, and Halsted Morris.
In addition to his interviewing skills, Caleb is an A3 Professional member and wears many hats in the avalanche world. He works as an avalanche forecaster and teaches avalanche courses for the Wallowa Avalanche Center. He also guides in the Wallowas and Alaska.
