The Avalanche Hour Podcast

The Avalanche Hour

Podcast by Caleb Merrill

  1. Sep 25

    Almost 200 Years of Explosives Manufacturing - Austin Powder: Sponsor Highlight

    Season 11 is just around the corner, kicking off October 1st.  Join us for a shout out to one of our sponsors - Austin Powder, a major manufacturer of explosive products for the avalanche industry.  Hear a bit about the history of the company, a time when the North American avalanche industry was close to starting a winter season without an explosive supplier, and stay tuned until the end to hear some observations and insights on cornice blasting and case charging.   Learn about the history of the Avalauncher, and how mining rock blasting and avalanche control blasting are more similar than it might seem.   Host Dom is joined by Braden Schmidt, Austin Powder Avalanche Global President and Michael Blancher, Austin Powder Technical Manager.  Both Braden and Michael have decades of experience in the avalanche industry and bring their expertise to their role supporting avalanche operations with technical blasting challenges.   Braden Schmidt has worked in Explosives Avalanche Control Operations since 2004. He is a Professional Member of both the Canadian Avalanche Association as well as the American Avalanche Association, and a member of International Society of Explosives Engineers. He sat on the Explosives Advisory Committee of the Canadian Avalanche Association for 3 years before moving into his current role with Austin Powder Avalanche in 2018. He has conducted Avalanche control mission in Canada, USA and Europe and has also consulted on jobs in Iceland, Japan and New Zealand. Michael Blancher has spent 29 years in the avalanche patch hunting frozen forms with the Ski Patrol at Whistler Blackcomb, then MOT Hwy’s Avalanche Weather Program Supervisor, now proudly serving the community with fresh Austin Powder.   Episode Summary: - Learn about how a nearly 200 yr old privately held company is helping keep ski hills, highways and infrastructure open by supplying explosives for avalanche control. - Hear about the evolution of the Avalauncher, as well as insights on better techniques and technology for case charging and cornice control.   - Consider how surface rock blasting and avalanche control blasting have more in common than it might first seem. - Tune in to catch up on the latest from one of the avalanche industry’s best supporters. Thanks to Austin Powder for supporting the show! Music: Ketsa Artwork: Mike Tea  Production: Dom Baker, Angie Lake

    Almost 200 Years of Explosives Manufacturing - Austin Powder: Sponsor Highlight
  2. Aug 12

    Imagining the Worst Case Scenario with Chris Kaipio and Jordy Shepherd: Delivering Adventure Podcast

    Summer Series #3 We continue our summer series with a cross-air of one of our favorite podcasts, ⁠Delivering Adventure⁠. Why is it so important to imagine the worst-case scenario? What happens when we don’t? In this episode of Delivering Adventure, Chris and Jordy share a few examples from their adventure industry careers to illustrate the importance of considering the worst-case scenario. They also talk about some of the factors that can compromise our ability to foresee what can happen if things don’t go to plan and how we can avoid falling into these traps. Chris Kaipio has been working in the adventure guiding industry as a guide, instructor, trainer, manager and content developer since 1991. Jordy Shepard is an internationally certified ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide, guide trainer, an avalanche educator, rescue specialist, and a former park warden. Key Takeaways How we can imagine the wort-case scenario: Consider What can Reasonably Happen: This involves asking ourselves what all the possible negative outcomes could be and identifying if we are prepared if they come to pass. Be detail oriented: The difference between a professional and an amateur is being detail oriented. Considering all the details before hand gives us an opportunity to identify and plan for all the likely outcomes that may happen. Think ahead: This can require us to step away from complex situations so that we can fully consider the situation and what lies ahead. Ask if we are Missing Anything: Is there information that we might be missing? This is something that we should always be asking ourselves. This helps to avoid developing tunnel vision. Do your research: This can involve talking to others and looking at case-studies. Training and Simulations: This can give us firsthand experience with what can happen. Communicate the Risks Thoroughly: This creates an opportunity for everyone to understand what hazards they can expect to encounter. Guest Bios Chris Kaipio is the produce and co-host of Delivering Adventure. He has worked in the adventure industry as an instructor, guide, trainer and manager since 2001. Chris is currently developing the Managing Risk on Snow eLearning Certification for the Professional Ski Instructors of Canada. When complete, this will be a robust four level online risk management and decision-making certification for guides and Instructors. Chris has written the book Power to Influence: How to get the best out of ourselves and others. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. This is where he met Jordy Shepherd. Jordy Shepherd is the co-host of Delivering Adventure. Jordy is an internationally certified ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide, guide trainer, an avalanche educator, rescue specialist, and a former park warden. His work experience includes Canadian Avalanche Association Course Leader for Avalanche Search and Rescue Advanced Skills, Provincial Park Ranger, National Park Warden, Wildlife Conflict Specialist, Wildland and Structural Firefighter, Mountain and Industrial Rescue Specialist, Heli-skiing Operations Manager and Lead Guide, and Licensed Real Estate Agent.  In addition to all of his work in the adventure guiding industry, Jordy runs a successful real estate company in Canmore Alberta where he currently lives with is family. Follow, Subscribe and Listen to more Delivering Adventure Podcasts here.

    Imagining the Worst Case Scenario with Chris Kaipio and Jordy Shepherd: Delivering Adventure Podcast
  3. Jun 18

    Slabs 'n Sluffs: Season in Review

    Join us for our seventh installment of Slabs ‘n Sluff with your hosts Sara Boilen and Dom Baker, joined by Caleb Merrill! The crew discuss spring adventures, summer skiing, and cows raiding Caleb’s food cache at an Andes basecamp!   They also review recent episodes from April and May and preview a few exciting things coming up on the Avalanche Hour Podcast. Tune in to hear from Scott Thumlert and Simon Horton of the ISSW 2026 technical committee to learn more about the process of getting 100s of abstracts ready presenting next fall in Whistler.  Avalanche Hour Podcast hosts Brooke Shiny Edwards, Sean Zimmerman-Wall and Joe Stock leave messages for the crew to shout out learning moments and moments of gratitude from their seasons. Episode Summary: Sara, Caleb and Dom discuss spring adventures, summer skiing and the challenges of keeping a food cache away from a herd of hungry cows. Review of the last month of programming, highlighting interviews that captured the hosts imagination or got us thinking The joys of gravel riding, paddling and hiking for hours in the dirt to find summer snow. The ISSW 2026 technical committee members Scott Thumlert and Simon Horton drop by for a chat Voicemails from Avalanche Hour Podcast hosts Brooke Shiny Edwards, Sean Zimmerman-Wall and Joe Stock. Thanks to the sponsors of the show. Legacy Sponsors: Darren Johnson Avalanche Education Memorial Fund AVSS Drone Amplified Partner Sponsors: Austin Powder Safeback onX Backcountry Music: Ketsa Artwork: Mike Tea  Production: Caleb Merrill, Angie Lake

    Slabs 'n Sluffs: Season in Review
  4. May 26

    Partner Highlight: AVSS

    Episode Summary: - A conversation with AVSS introduces PAMS, a Precision Avalanche Management System, designed to reliably drop explosives from a drone platform. - The episode explores the prior experience AVSS brings to the avalanche industry from remote drone operations in logistics and military contexts.   - The conversation looks at the development process and field testing with Jasper National Park. - A glimpse at the next 12 months of testing through an early-adopter program. In this episode of The Avalanche Hour Podcast, hosts Caleb Merrill and Dom Baker sit down with the team at AVSS for a conversation about the development process of creating a drone based avalanche control system from the ground up.  You will hear how this technology aims to create opportunities for greater worker safety, reliability of avalanche hazard management and the evolving list of use cases. The episode also examines how these tools could fit into existing avalanche mitigation strategies and what their growing presence signals about the future of the field. Josh from AVSS discusses the field testing process with avalanche control programs in Western Canada and the plans for an early adopter program for winter 2026/27 to further refine the workflow and ensure the technology meets the needs of the avalanche industry. A huge thank you to AVSS for being a Legacy Sponsor of the podcast this season. We couldn’t keep the mics on without them!  Resources from the Episode:  Check out AVSS’s homepage here Check out a story on CBC Radio with Josh from AVSS  LinkedIn YouTube

    Partner Highlight: AVSS
4.9
out of 5
199 Ratings

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Podcast by Caleb Merrill

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