Resident ski guide Erik Stevens has launched a website aimed at helping backcountry users in Haines to identify and avoid avalanches.
The “Haines Avalanche Information Center” is a volunteer-driven effort aimed at providing information that in other parts of the country is supplied by government-sponsored outfits.
The site provides a “detailed collection of local observations and a summary of these conditions interpreted by a professional,” according to Stevens. He said it’s not a forecast of avalanche activity but “a way to highlight certain widespread aspects of the current danger to the backcountry traveler.”
Pages on the site include “current avalanche conditions,” “local observations” and “incidents.” Links include ones to the Juneau avalanche advisory and the Forest Service National Avalanche Center.
Stevens said he’s still spreading word about the site and invites backcountry users to contribute to its database. He says the site gets between eight and 10 hits a day from Haines.
“I’m hoping it can be something everybody can check before they go out to know what to expect and then go back online after they get back to report on what they saw,” Stevens said.
The site can be reached at http://www.slopeanglemaps.com/avy.html. Stevens can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].