The San Juan Snowcast
The San Juan Snowcast is a podcast all about snow, avalanches, and backcountry skiing in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. Stay up-to-date on what's going on in the sky and on the ground this winter by tuning in!
The San Juans are notorious for having one of the most dangerous snowpacks in North America, as well as some of the most incredible backcountry skiing in the state of Colorado. The Snowcast aims to help local backcountry skiers and riders make safer decisions by sharing current conditions reports, avalanche incident debriefs, and backcountry educational nuggets.
New episodes drop semi-weekly throughout the Winter to keep you up-to-date with the current conditions in the San Juan backcountry!
Follow along on Instagram @sanjuansnowcast and share the show with your touring partners.
THINK SNOW!
Episodes
57 episodes
Season 3, Episode 15 || Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 || Season’s Recap and an Avalanche Survival Story
Well folks, this is the final episode of the 2023-2024 winter season! On this week’s episode, I reflect on this past winter and provide a seasonal snowfall history and a recap of this year’s avalanche statistics. But the heart of this episode i...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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1:20:41
Season 3, Episode 14 || Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 || A Tale of Two Snowcasts!
Hey everyone, I’m back after taking last week off… the skiing was just too good!!! It’s a beautiful time in the San Juans and the backcountry is currently FIRING. On this week’s show, I recap the storms, provide an update on the State of the Sn...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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38:09
Season 3, Episode 13 || Thursday, March 14th, 2024 || The HOT TAKES Episode
Man, the last week was pretty epic in the San Juan backcountry! The snowpack is finally trending in the right direction and we’re getting to ski and ride some steep lines in the alpine! On this week’s show, I present to you the HOT TAKES EPISOD...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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1:00:56
Season 3, Episode 12 || Wednesday, March 6th, 2024 || My Avalanche Close Call Story
Hey folks, I’m back after taking last week off! In this episode I catch up on the State of the Snowpack and the latest backcountry conditions, before sharing my own personal avalanche story. 7 years ago this May, I triggered an avalanche that c...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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54:49
Season 3, Episode 11 || Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 || The Future is Bright
Spring’s around the corner, there a storm in the forecast, and the kids are alright… the future is bright! In this week’s episode I discuss the state of the snowpack, stepping out, recent avalanches, El Niño, the pole penetrometer, and mu...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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27:33
Season 3, Episode 10 || Tuesday, February 13th, 2024 || Weekly Avalanche Update + “Snow to Flow” with Adrian Bergere
Episode 10! We’re trucking through winter and the high pressure is back. In this week’s episode, I provide an update on the State of the Snowpack, dig into our weekly Avalanche Report, and then share a conversation that I had with the Executive...
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39:17
Season 3, Episode 9 || Friday, February 9th, 2024 || In-Depth Storm Recap and Why, Occasionally, It’s Nice to Ride Chairlifts…
February is here and so is the pow! Huge totals from this last storm have buoyed our snowpack and brought it back to average. In this episode, I do a deep dive on the Storm Recap and the State of the Snowpack, before I nerd out on “crust-facet-...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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29:19
Season 3, Episode 8 || Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 || Local Avalanches Recap + The Do’s and Dont’s of Ski Cutting
It’s been a HOT ONE! Warm temps and strong sunshine prompted a natural avalanche cycle this past week across the Juans. In this week’s episode, I recap the natural and human-triggered avalanche activity we had this past week, before diving into...
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37:21
Season 3, Episode 7 || Wednesday, January 24th, 2024 || A Fatal Avalanche, Our Sketchy Snowpack, and Important Observations
This episode was a tough one. We’ve had a number of avalanche incidents that should serve as a wake up call to us all, culminating in the first fatal avalanche in Colorado this season, right here in the San Juans. In this episode, I give ...
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40:29
Season 3, Episode 6 || Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 || The “Sunday Surprise” Storm + Public Lands and Backcountry Advocacy
What a week of weather it has been across the Juans! I’ll kick things off this week with a storm recap and an investigation as to why Sunday’s storm caught so many of us off guard. Then we’ll dive into a super informative conversation ab...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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48:34
Season 3, Episode 5 || Thursday, January 4th, 2024 || Alpine Conditions + Coulie Huntin’ with Maddie Crowell
Happy New Year! On this week’s show we discuss the current State of the Snowpack and how it will hopefully change soon, highlight some local events in the Community Calendar, and then sit down for a chat with Maddie Crowell, local ski guide, av...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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35:05
Season 3, Episode 4 || Friday, December 22nd, 2023 || State of the (shallow) Snowpack + Telluride’s Backcountry Radio Program
Happy Winter Solstice! In this episode, we lament our slow start to the season, and the shallow and weak snowpack… but then see a glimmer of hope in the form of a Santa Slammer Holiday Snowstorm that arrives on Saturday! The main f...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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29:21
Season 3, Episode 3 || Wednesday, December 6th, 2023 || Electromagnetic Inference and Avalanche Transcievers
It’s December, and its finally looking like Winter! On this week’s episode, I recap last week’s storm and take a peak and the weather before taking a DEEP DIVE into electromagnetic interference and it’s effect on our avalanche transceivers. It’...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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28:28
Season 3 || BONUS EPISODE || What ACTUALLY Makes Backcountry Gear “Fast and Light?” / Gear Talk with Kyle Siegel of Raide
Coming atcha with a quick bonus episode this week! This one highlights some Community Calendar events before diving into some gear talk with Kyle Siegel of Raide.I’ll be back next week with a proper Snowcast episode all about PRE-SEASON...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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34:10
Season 3, Episode 2 || Tuesday, November 21st 2023 || The Top 10 Takeaways From This Year’s Avalanche Workshops
IT SNOWED! Finally. In Episode 2, we dig into a recap of this past weekend’s storm before exploring the TOP TEN COOLEST THINGS I learned while attending 3 different Snow and Avalanche Workshops this past October. Thanks for tuning in and THINK ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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22:41
Season 3, Episode 1 || El Niño is BACK, but does it even MATTER?!
Welcome to Season 3 of the San Juan Snowcast! On Episode 1, we take the Snowcast pledge (raise your right hand…) before recapping just how good last winter truly was, and we why should probably temper our expectations for this ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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24:57
Season 2, Episode 16 || Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 || The HOT TAKES Episode!
We are breaking records with this storm! Yet another blizzard is dumping snow on the San Juan Mountains, and this winter has officially crossed the threshold into uncharted territory for our 30-year average snowpack! We dive into the State of t...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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59:43
Season 2, Episode 15 || Friday, March 10th, 2023 || Avalanche Forecasting with Jeff and Elyse
Hello everyone and welcome to Episode 15! It’s currently dumping snow across the Juan’s and the powder stoke is HIGH. On this week’s show, I break down the State of our Snowpack, this current storm, and then dive into a conversatio...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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34:10
Season 2, Episode 14 || Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 || A Tragic Weekend in the Juan’s…
Well, I’m back after a week off from the pod. And a lot has happened in the last week, including several fatal avalanche incidents in our mountains. In this week’s show I discuss the wind, the dust, and the snow we’ve been getting, before I unp...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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31:45
Season 2, Episode 13 || Thursday, February 16th, 2023 || Storm Recap + “On the Fly” Snowpack Obs
What a storm!!! Man, this winter is just… AWESOME and I am loving it. On this week’s show, we’ll dive into a recap of our latest storm, check out the state of the snowpack, talk Hand Shears and other on-the-fly snowpack obs, and then discuss th...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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22:06
Season 2, Episode 12 || Wednesday, February 8th, 2023 || On “Stepping Out”
For the 1st time this season, a majority of the San Juan Mountains have a Low avalanche danger rating. On this week’s episode, I dig into why that is, what’s up with the current State of the Snowpack, a look at some upcoming events on the Commu...
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30:14
Season 2, Episode 11 || Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 || Dropping Bombs! An Interview with the Helitrax Snow Safety Team
And… we’re back! I’m currently rebounding from COVID (Round 2) but I’m ready to dive back into the San Juan snowpack! On this week’s show, I welcome a new sponsor, take a look at the state of the snowpack, and then sit down for a chat with Matt...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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50:46
Season 2, Episode 10 || Thursday, January 19th, 2023 || AVALANCHED IN!
On this week’s episode, I’m trapped in my hometown by a very large natural avalanche over the road! Literally as I was writing this episode, a natural avalanche knocked out my power and internet and trapped myself and my neighbors in by coverin...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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31:00
Season 2, Episode 9 || Wednesday, January 11th, 2023 || Surviving and Saving: The Story of a Recent Avalanche Burial
If you or someone you know has experienced a traumatic incident, or is struggling with grief, please reach out to someone for help. Survivors of Outdoor Adventures and Recovery has a great website with some resources to check out:
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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49:17
Season 2, Episode 8 || Wednesday, December 28th, 2022 || STORM REPORT + The Uphill Update and Backcountry New Year’s Resolutions
Happy holidays, folks! This is the last episode of the year, so it’s a bit of a long(er) one. We’ve got a huge multi-day storm barreling down on the San Juans! The snow is stacking up, the avalanche danger is rising, and our snowpack may just b...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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39:36