{"id":23436,"date":"2023-12-14T10:32:47","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T18:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nwac.us\/?p=23436"},"modified":"2024-10-25T08:32:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:32:13","slug":"2023-nwac-updates-whats-new-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nwac.us\/2023\/12\/14\/2023-nwac-updates-whats-new-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NWAC Updates: What’s new this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though the season has only just begun, behind the scenes at NWAC we\u2019ve been working for months to roll out a number of big changes. Some of these projects have been underway for over a year, and all were made possible thanks to community support. To learn more about this season\u2019s changes, including new staff, forecast process updates, observations, and an all-new app, read on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

New Staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve got some new faces at NWAC!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz Daniel – Development and Communications Manager<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Liz is the person behind much of our fundraising efforts and communication strategy. She\u2019s responsible for implementing our fundraising campaigns and events – including Snowbash, NSAW, and more! Liz brings with her a background in non-profit operations, including 5 years at the Snow Leopard Trust, where she aided in snow leopard conservation endeavors through grant management and donor relations. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Devon Schoos – Education Coordinator<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Devon coordinates our hundreds of educational offerings, including avalanche awareness classes, professional mentorship programs, Laying Tracks, and more. She also coordinates all of NWAC’s volunteer forces. Devon has worked in outdoor education since 2018, both in the field as well as in program coordination and management. She’s worked in a variety of roles, from climbing instruction and ski patrolling, to managing backcountry expedition programs for youth and other outdoor education programs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Cauri Hammer  – Membership and Communications Coordinator <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cauri coordinates all things communications at NWAC. She crafts blog articles, social media posts, and emails, including the Backcountry Bulletin you receive each Friday. Cauri brings experience working in various outdoor-focused spaces, most recently the Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS), where she was the main point of contact for Washington applicants and their families as they prepared for NWOBS\u2019 wilderness courses. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Of important note – 100 % of our forecast staff returned this year. While we hope to add our team in the future, this allows us to ramp up faster and implement new projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning Forecast Update Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NWAC is one of three centers in North America that publish their forecasts in the evenings. An evening publish time allows users to plan for their days out the night before. It also means that if the weather doesn\u2019t align, we might need to update the forecast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This season we\u2019re formalizing and publicizing a 7:30am forecast update time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we need to update a forecast, it will happen at 7:30am. So, in addition to trip planning the night before, we encourage you to get in the habit of checking the forecast at 7:30am to check any updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes to Elevation Bands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The way elevation bands are represented and categorized has changed for the 2023\/24 forecast season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We constantly evaluate our forecasts and how we\u2019re doing as communicators. For years, we\u2019ve known that our elevation band labels Above, Near, and Below Treeline have been problematic. They\u2019re vague, confusing, and can lead to inconsistencies by the user and even by our forecasting team. One of our goals is to demonstrate how avalanche danger changes over vertical space<\/em>. We want to communicate this concept in a straightforward and consistent fashion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, this year, we joined several other centers in using the elevation descriptors Upper, Middle, and Lower Elevation and <\/em>providing elevation numbers for each band. We utilized concept models to create the elevation numbers for each zone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We hope these numbers more clearly communicate how we visualize danger in terrain and provide consistency. It is essential to recognize that these numbers are \u201cfuzzy.\u201d We know avalanche danger doesn\u2019t change on a magic line, so while using elevation numbers helps us be clearer\u2013 remember\u2013 nature can\u2019t be put in a neat box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following video provides essential details about elevation bands and using them to identify and reduce risk in mountain travel. We encourage you to become familiar with the new elevation bands and watch this video for more information: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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