Bob recently retired from the US Forest Service after 37+ years. He spent the last 25 years as the Winter Sports Specialist on the Truckee Ranger District. Among his duties was the administration of the permits of the local ski areas (Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Boreal, Donner Ski Ranch, Royal Gorge) on National Forest lands and the avalanche forecasting program (as it was known at that time). He coordinated the military artillery used in avalanche control for Region 5 of the Forest Service (California). He usually spent much of the summer months managing large fires as an Operations Section Chief or Safety Officer across the west.

Professionally Bob was one of the early members of the American Avalanche Association, served two terms as a Director with Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and was one of the founding members of the Avalanche Artillery Users Committee of North America. He was nominated and elected to the B-77 ANSI committee for tramways representing recreation within the Forest Service. Bob was the advisor to the Forest Service Regional Office in explosive and artillery use for avalanche control and winter sports.

In 2005 he put together the concept of the Sierra Avalanche Center which stared with Brandon as a volunteer forecaster to assist him in the forecasting duties. Previous to that Bob was a one person shop putting out avalanche advisories when the hazard was HIGH or above for 20 years. He served as the Forest Service advisor/representative to the board in the early years ensuring that Forest Service support and resources were available. He was the supervisor of the forecasters until his retirement setting the direction of the program.

He has been married for 33 years, has two grown children and 1 Golden Retriever Dog who travels with him in the backcountry. He has lived in the Truckee/Tahoe area for 38 years.

Todd Offenbacher is an adventure climber, skier, and TV host for the Resorts Sports Network in Lake Tahoe. He has climbed first ascents around the world including 14 routes on El Captain in Yosemite, two with a disabled climber. He is a recipent of the Mugs Stump Award and the Lyman Spitzer Grant from the American Alpine Club. Todd skis the backcountry and local resorts during winters in Lake Tahoe. Todd has completed his AIARE Level 2 Avalanche training.

I grew up skiing at a small hill in Western Massachusetts called Mt. Tom, where both my parents were longtime ski patrollers.  Following in their footsteps I began ski patrolling at the age of 15.  I was able to work summers and during college breaks while earning a B.S. in Recreation Management from Thomas College in Waterville, ME.

After college I relocated to sunny southern California with some college friends before pursuing a career in the ski industry.  After enjoying the summer off I moved to Lake Tahoe where I took a job as a ski patroller at Heavenly Valley.  In the spring of 1987 I was given a golden retriever puppy, Doc, from a fellow patroller and began training and searching with WOOF Search Dog Teams.  For over 10 years we responded to hundreds of searches through out the west. 

During the summer months of 1989 I was fortunate enough to work at a small ski field outside of Queenstown, New Zealand as a Ski Patroller.  Though The Remarkables was very small, only 3 lifts, the avalanche exposure and mitigation program was extensive.  Upon returning to the States I realized working as an avalanche professional was what I desired to do.  Though involved in the Avalanche Program at Heavenly, I knew it wasn’t enough for me.  In 1990 Doc and I began work with the Kirkwood Ski Patrol.  It was here during the winter of 92-93 when Doc located avalanche victim Jeff Eckland.  At that time it was reported to be only the third time in North America where a trained avalanche dog had located an avalanche victim alive.  To this day Jeff sports a tattoo over his heart of Doc.

In the mid to late 90’s I was fortunate enough to work on exchange in Australia at Falls Creek Ski Resort located in northern Victoria for several seasons as a ski patroller.  Upon returning to the states I was offered the Risk Management position at Kirkwood which I held for three years.  Though I was able to still assist in the Snow Safety program from time to time, I missed being directly involved in the avalanche program.  In 2003, when the position as Asst. Ski Patrol Director was offered to me, it was an easy decision to make.  I was asked to join the Sierra Avalanche Center in 2004 and have been enjoying the additional challenges ever since.

Jeremy Jacobson resides in Truckee, CA and is employed as the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association’s Leisure Sales Manager in Tahoe City.  Originally from Los Angeles, he first discovered Lake Tahoe on a high school ski trip and dreamed of making it his home, which it has been for the past nine years.

Jeremy is a “lake-wide” expert, having worked for many years as Kirkwood Mountain Resort’s Sales Manager before moving north in 2006 to work for NLTRA representing all of the ski resorts in North Lake Tahoe.

After years of viewing snow advisories on the SAC site, Jeremy volunteered his time and became a Marketing Advisor to the Board of Directors in 2006.  In 2008, Jeremy was nominated onto the Board of Directors.  He is elated to have the ability to help fellow backcountry enthusiasts stay safe by assisting SAC with ski resort, community and industry donations.

Jeremy “lives” to snowboard.  All of his free time is spent riding the Tahoe resorts and the amazing and extensive surrounding backcountry.