Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop *Weekend* = Nov 6-8, 2015

[Jonathan S.]

Last year I wrote:

Since this is now the fourth annual Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop (“ESAW”), anyone even vaguely avy aware should by now be aware of this.

But this year will be so much bigger as to be almost unrecognizable!

The core though will still be the same: presentations on avalanche safety throughout the day on the first Saturday in November.

As for everything else, well, here's the preliminary outline:

Friday evening/night November 6
Location = IME
Socializing including beverages, snacks, small raffle, perhaps a brief movie, fun slide show, etc. (so similar to what we debuted last year on the Friday evening/night at the Theater in the Woods).

Saturday, November 7
Location = Mount Washington Hotel Grand Ballroom

During the day, ~8:00am-4:30pm = ESAW Presentations
Presenters from outside the NE include Bruce Jamieson, Don Sharaf, Rudi Mair, and Dale Atkins.

Late afternoon, ~4:30-6:30 = Social
The usual hanging out, vendor displays, add'l raffles, etc. that we've previously had post-ESAW at IME (except now in a rather more expansive setting).

Evening, ~6:30 = Dinner (at additional charge)
With movie and Tyrolean Alps slide show, plus speakers including Bode Miller and the mother of one of the two U.S. Ski Team racers who died in an avalanche this past season.

[Whoops, strike that whole Sunday thing that was here previously.]

[neufox47]

Sweet. Will be there. Every year I attend I learn something new.

[cat in january]

Looking forward to the new location

[Jonathan S.]

Website updated:
http://www.esaw.org
... including registration link:
http://www.esaw.org/2015-registration/
... which is $75 for Saturday's presentations (along with Friday evening social event, and Saturday late-afternoon vendor displays), plus a new separate $55 registration for the sit-down dinner (featuring various speakers and presentations).

[_Aaron_]

Damn good speakers.

[Jonathan S.]

And in more detail (with some slight edits from me):

Although winter seems like such a long way off, I suspect we’ll see frozen precipitation in the high country before we know it.
As crystals pile up the peril of avalanches won’t be far behind, so I’m happy once again to announce the upcoming Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop-ESAW 2015 and Dinner on Saturday November 7th.

We have major changes again this year as we grow and evolve.
Through a partnership with the Berlack and Astle families we have moved to the Omni Mount Washington Resort Grand Ballroom in Bretton Woods, NH.
The families, in reaction to the loss of their U.S. Ski Team sons in an Austrian avalanche, are working hard to bring more attention to avalanche hazards and warning systems.
The dinner is in memory of Ronnie and Bryce with a Keynote presentation from Rudi Mair, the Director of Avalanche Forecasting in Tyrol Austria.

The Resort has donated the Grand Ballroom for the event which has allowed us to keep the cost of the Workshop and the Dinner incredibly low for such a remarkable venue.
Registration for ESAW and the Dinner are live at www.ESAW.org.
If needed, you can make any contact with us through at this email address.

The registration fee will once again be $75 for the workshop which includes all the talks, several raffles throughout the day, coffee, donuts/fruit and social at IME Friday night and at the Resort Saturday night before Dinner (which requires an additional $55 fee).
Due to the growing response we have limited seating for ESAW and the Dinner.
So please register soon to secure your spot and get entered into several special raffles if you sign up by October 15th.

The Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop in Bretton Woods NH is a place to bring together avalanche-minded individuals to share their enthusiasm for snow and discuss topics related to the winter in cold steep climates.
ESAW continues to be an annual gathering of avalanche professionals, educators, guides and backcountry skiing and climbing enthusiasts in the Northeast.
Your attendance might be for personal interest, to fulfill continuing education and professional development needs, and/or the impending excitement for the upcoming winter.

Our Agenda is coming together quickly and once again we have an awesome group of speakers!

• Bruce Jamieson, Senior Avalanche Consultant at Snowline Associates Ltd., and Professor at University of Calgary and Instructor at Canadian Avalanche Association, continues to be one of a small handful of individuals doing high-level research helpful for practitioners consistently for decades! It would be hard to believe any person alive is more knowledgeable about Surface Hoar development in his native British Columbia Mountains.
  
  
• Don Sharaf regularly skied the Sherburne out of Tuckerman 25 years ago with the heaviest pack he could just to work on his natural talent on skis. He made every run look like he floating through 4% powder. He went on to do incredible things for NOLS, Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, the American Avalanche Association and now as Co-owner of the American Avalanche Institute in Jackson Hole.
  
  
• Sam Colebeck needs no introduction as a past speaker at ESAW. As a leading Snow Physicist his contributions to the avalanche world are remarkable. He laid down what would be a foundation for so many other researchers in pivotal work. His understanding of changes at the grain and crystal level is unsurpassed. Along with his colleagues he has produced so many parts of what we use today and perhaps take for granted, such as his 1990 hardness scale work.
  
  
• Rudi Mair, Director of the Tyrol Avalanche Crisis Center in Innsbruck Austria, will bring us International flavor and a unique perspective in managing large populations of residents living in Avalanche-prone mountains as well as people coming from all over the world to ski his famous Austrian terrain. We look forward to his workshop talks and his Dinner keynote.
  
  
• Jerry Isaak, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Expeditionary Studies at Plattsburgh State University, brings us his expertise from the field and work in human factor issues affecting decision making. His time as an AMGA guide, educator, and writer -- including pieces in The Avalanche Review -- will benefit our understanding and terrain choices in the snow. He brings a contemporary look at how social media and our technology landscape may have a bigger influence in our field decisions than we realize.
  
  
• More to Come!

Any remaining funds will go to The White Mountain Avalanche Education Fund set up to educate kids of the northeast about avalanches:
http://www.mountwashingtonavalanchec...ducation-fund/
If you are a teacher or a coach of High School students please let me know if you are interested in your young adults attending ESAW at no charge.

We look forward to seeing all of you at ESAW 2015 (at IME-USA in North Conway NH Friday night, and at the main event on Saturday at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods)!
Please forward this to anyone you feel may be interested.

[BFD]

congratulations looks likea good program. small correction pretty sure Don Sharaf works for Valdez Heli ski guides. As of yet there is no Chugach Heli Guides.

[Jonathan S.]

^ Yipes, thanks for the correction -- I've now changed the original text that I had received.

[bern43]

Program looks good this year. I really enjoyed last year's program and am going to try and make it again this year.

[Jonathan S.]

And the agenda:

[Jonathan S.]

Some skiable natural snow might be arriving over the weekend, and a bullwheel might be turning after the weekend, so ... time for another ESAW update!

All the details I've been posting about previously are now up at the revised website:
http://www.esaw.org

But if you plan to attend, please pretty please (Please PLEASE) register here:
http://www.esaw.org/2015-registration/
... for the presentations and dinner now Now NOW!!!
(Was that sufficiently subtle?)

More specifically ...
The new venue at the Mount Washington Hotel Grand Ballroom will be spectacular, BUT it comes with a complicated set of financial commitments.

The more accurate the head count we have ahead of time via on-line registration will help us walk the fine line between having enough food for everyone (both during breaks throughout the presentations, and then after that so we don't have to turn anyone away from the dinner) versus overordering and running at a loss (which would necessitate a price increase for 2016).

Okay, back to checking the long-range wx fx discussion for the weekend...

[cat in january]

Nice to have BW across the street.

[Jonathan S.]

And a final (?) update (as emailed by Chris Joosen, then modified by me):

As we enter the final week before ESAW, if you plan to attend then please register now. Our move to a phenomenal resort (in the "Grand Ballroom") requires us to commit to a certain amount of coffee, dinners, etc. Historically, about a third of our attendees sign up in the final ten days, which can make planning with our new host very difficult. We’re already at last year’s final count, but please still spread the world to any potential newcomers that ESAW is the place to be for snow lovers as we bring people together to learn about snow, network with vendors, and pitch our avalanche questions to so many snow-smart people.

Lunch though this year will be a challenge with over 200 people, so we'll need to spread out. The hotel has two restaurants on site, Fabian's is five minutes away, and the AMC Highland Ctr is ten minutes, as is the Town of Twin Mtn w/ add'l options. You can of course bring your own humble brown bag to eat (in the not-so-humble "Great Hall"), and for the next couple days you can even order a bag lunch from the ESAW registration page -- staying on site will also allow you to visit any vendor displays that are already set up for our expo (in the "Conservatory").

And before then, join us Friday evening for entertainment and socializing at International Mountain Equipment in North Conway. Visit our website for the complete schedule.

[cat in january]

Three Cheers to Jonathan, Chris and all the others who worked to put on the event. The location was very upscale and the presentations excellent. They have done an excellent job of keeping the format fresh each year.

Don't know what Bode's deal was. You would have thought he could have made it for the families.

Rudi Mair is a funny guy.

[Jonathan S.]

Great seeing so many TGR'ers at ESAW!

For those of you who weren't able to attend the dinner, I'll quote here the most moving line from one of the two mothers of the two U.S. Ski Team racers who died in the Austrian avalanche incident earlier this year (which is also how I'll conclude my article for the American Avalanche Association's The Avalanche Review):

We want to keep you from suffering our loss.

[Jonathan S.]

For those of you who missed ESAW, here's a sneak preview of my article for the American Avalanche Association's "The Avalanche Review" publication (which BTW is well worth the subscription cost).
http://nealpinestart.com/2015/11/21/...workshop-esaw/

[Jonathan S.]

Thread for 2016 ESAW is now here:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...hop-November-5