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Data Exchange
The Data Exchange section ispassword protected and is
reserved forProfessional Members of the American Asso-
ciation of Avalanche Professionals (AAAP) and members
of the Canadian AvalancheAssociation (CAA).The cost is
$25.00U.S.perseason.The Data Exchange section con-
tains:
*Up-to-datemountainweatherdata and asummaryof
daily avalancheactivityfor eachregionin the U.S., plus
hourlydatafromselectedautomated stationsaround
the western U.S.
*Subscribers canalso accessall the historical datawhich
was contributed to Westwideover the years.Each user
can query the database forspecific date ranges, and in
the future subscribers can query by specific conditions.
The WestwideInternetsite containsby far themost com-
plete historical avalancheand mountain weather infor-
mation available forthe western U.S.
*Up-to-date and user-friendly display of SNOTEL infor-
mation for all sites in the U.S. SNOTEL is a network of
snowpack monitoring stationslocated throughout the
mountains of thewestern U.S. andoperatedby theNatu-
ral Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil
Conservation Service).Thishas neverbeen available
beforeina user-friendlyand usefulformat.You can
alsoaccessvariouscolorfulmapsofsnowcoverand
water storage for all U.S. watersheds.
*Avalanche Notes will be published each month online
as well as in The AvalancheReview.AvalancheNotes
is a national summary of mountain weather, avalanche
activity and avalancheaccidents forthe month.
A special Search and Rescue Dogs page
The "Electronic Patrol Shack" featuring news groups on a
variety of subjects which avalancheprofessionals find im-
portant.
Industry Information Exchange
The Industry Information Exchangesectionis designedspe-
cificallyfororganizationswhoare permittedexplosives
users in the avalancheindustry and active regional orna-
tionalavalanche forecasting operations.Thiswouldin-
clude ski areas, helicopter skiing operations, highway con-
trol programsandregionalavalancheadvisory centers.This
sectionismodeledafterthehighly successfulINFOEX,
operated bytheCanadian Avalanche Association.Each
subscriberwillpayafeeof$300.00U.S.andeach
organization will sign an agreement of non disclosure.In
this way, subscribers can feel free to pass along sensitive,
but critical information toothers in the industry without
fearthattheirinformationendupinthemediaora
courtroom.
The Industry Information Exchange includes all of the
services provided in the above two groups plus:
*Timelyemailnotificationtosubscribersofimportant
issuesconcerningexplosives,artillery,avalaunchers,
gazex, accidentsat commercial operations, or anyother
issues avalanche professionals feel are important.For
instance,if one userdiscoversa problemwith an ex-
plosive,caporfuse,asafetyproblemwithan
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avalauncheror if anavalancheaccidentoccursat a com-
mercialoperation, thenall theother users canreadabout
the detailswithinhours of whenit occurred, not through
the old system of telephones and faxes, which areslow
and less secure.
*Details ofdaily avalanche activityat ski resorts,heli-
copter skiingoperations, highwaycontrol programs and
the backcountry.This is separated by regions and in-
cludes a narrative of avalanche activity in any length.
Entries older than 7 days will be deleted.This enables
subscriberstokeepabreastofrapidlychangingava-
lanche conditions not only in theirown region, but in
any other region of the country.
*Secured news group on any subject important tosub-
scribers.
*If they wish,eachsubscribercan have a home page on
Westwide which the subscibercan modify and update
at any time from any remote computer.
AFFILIATION
The Westwide Avalanche Network is run by a committee
under the American Association of Avalanche Profession-
als.However, allfinancialtransactionsarehandledthrough
aseparateWestwide Avalanche Networkaccount setup
under the CenterforSnow Science at Alta (CSSA).The
CSSA is a non-profit,tax exempt corporation established
in1989andhassuccessfully conducted aboutaquarter
milliondollarsofavalancheresearchandavalanche
conferences.TheCSSAiscurrentlyconducting several
avalanche research projects in partnership with Japanese,
Canadian and American researchers.The CSSA board of
directors is also composed of prominent avalanche profes-
sionals from throughout the country.
The Forest Service National Avalanche Center is also a
partnerinthenew Westwide Avalanche Network.The
National Avalanche Center,under the leadership of Doug
Abromeit, has generously provided start upfunds andalso
provides funding for theongoing publication of Avalanche
Notes.Other partners include the ISSW94 committee and
the Quinney Foundation.
Westwide committeemembersrepresent a nucleus of
long-timeavalancheprofessionalsfromthroughoutthe
United States whoalso have astrong computer background
and an interest in developing an exciting new electronic
communicationtoolsuchas this.CommitteechairDan
Judd an ex-Utah Department of Transportation avalanche
forecaster, now operates his own consulting service which
specializesin electronic and computersolutionstoava-
lanche problems.
Although the Internet computerserver resides in Utah
at both Wasatch.com and the UniversityofUtah Depart-
ment ofMeteorology,Westwide tasks are split up among
its various members in different parts of the country.For
instance, Dale Atkins of the Colorado AvalancheInforma-
tionCenterupdates thesection onavalanche accidents,
Mark Moore ofthe Northwest Avalanche Centersubmits
datafromautomatedstationsintheirarea,and each ski
area fromaround the country submitsdata and informa-
tion from theirown operation.
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