Avalanche Forecaster: This Is My Job

• weather
• This Is My Job
• mountains
• skiing

Chris McCollister Jackson Hole, Wyo. Years on Job: 5

There's no such thing as total avalanche safety in Bridger-Teton National Forest, but Chris McCollister does what he can to improve the odds for the area's skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers. The 37-year-old geographical information system specialist in Jackson Hole, Wyo., crunches historical and real-time weather data, and analyzes avalanche records and information from 13 remote sensing stations like this one to provide avalanche forecasts. "We don't tell people what to do — but we give them the best information available," he says. "It's up to them where they go."

Comment Title
Your Name
Email Address
Website	make public
Comment
Please enter the characters shown below:
	Make sure your comment is relevant to the topic discussed. Comments not relevant to the topic will be deleted. Neither you nor Popular Mechanics has the ability to make your e-mail address public. However, we ask that you submit your e-mail address to us just in case we need to contact you. Thank you for your understanding--The Editors.