As skiers, we drop into freshly-opened terrain at the ski area or drive a mountain pass on our way to a backcountry trailhead and often, we barely recognize that someone—a quiet, invisible hand—has put in hours of effort early that morning to make sure that roadway or that slope is safe for us to travel through. Sure, we nod to the ski patrollers at the rope drop as a way of saying thanks or we donate to our local avalanche centers to show our gratitude for the forecasts, but do we really understand how much these people have done in the name of keeping us safe while we play in the mountains?
This series, which is a collaboration between Flylow and the American Avalanche Association, is a five-part series that’s meant to highlight some of those hard-working, behind-the-scenes women and men who’ve dedicated their lives and careers to making sure we can access avalanche-prone areas in a responsible manner. They are the forecasters, transportation workers, educators, rescuers, ski patrollers, and more who work long hours behind the cloak of darkness to help keep us safe out there. They are the invisible hands of avalanche work and it’s about time we paid them a proper tribute.