Educational Events with the Sierra Avalanche Center 

The Sierra Avalanche Center offers avalanche education ranging from brief indoor events to several hours of instruction on the snow. See details below, and contact travis@sierraavalanchecenter.org for more info.

General Audiences

SAC can offer brief presentations or interactive sessions for general audiences. We often present at restaurants/bars, ski area events, club meetups, retail shops, SAR team meetings, movie premiers, etc. We can work with you to provide content specific to your event and audience, and we also help with promotion. However, these do take some work on your behalf to be successful. Details vary, but typically:

SAC provides:

  • An avalanche professional with educational training and experience
  • Content specific to your event and audience
  • Help with promotion
  • Raffle prizes and help with raffles that benefit SAC and/or similar organizations

You provide:

  • The venue. Some venues and content types require A/V systems, some do not. SAC can provide a projector and simple PA system if needed.
  • The audience. Although SAC can help with promotion, hosts need to take the lead on this. Attendance is best at events with other attractions, like raffles, movies, parties, etc. 
  • There is no fee, however donations are welcome! Or, we can help arrange a raffle to benefit SAC.

Youth

SAC has a long history of partnering with local schools and other youth-oriented groups to provide avalanche awareness events. Although these can be brief indoor sessions similar to those we offer to general audiences, we prefer them outdoors and on the snow (and we think the kids do too!). 

SAC provides:

  • Avalanche professionals with educational training and experience
  • "Snow science" equipment to tie the study of avalanches to other scientific topics
  • Rescue gear for demonstration purposes only - we won't take youth participants into avalanche terrain
  • Often we invite a dog team from a local ski patrol

You provide:

  • The audience. Group size can vary, but fewer than 20 students grade 5+ is preferred
  • Adults to chaperone kids from the trailhead to the event site
  • Snowshoes and the assurance that participants will be prepared for time on the snow. Occasionally, SAC can help find supplies of snowshoes to loan