Keeping your sense of wonder about the snow with Janet Kellam

In this knowledge-packed episode, Brooke Maushund sits down with Janet Kellam, who received the American Avalanche Association Bernie Kingery Award for lifetime achievement at ISSW in 2023 after serving as the former Director of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, President of the American Avalanche Association's board, and being involved in the early days of the USFS National Avalanche Center. She was also the first woman licensed ski guide in Idaho, the first woman president of A3, and the first woman director of an avalanche center.

Janet doesn’t just have decades of experience—she gained expertise in niche corners of the snow industry across the globe. From work as a winter specialist on a 1990 documentary film sailing to and spending 6 weeks skiing on the rarely visited Antarctica peninsula, to being a licensed backcountry and heli ski guide, Janet didn’t leave much idle time in her career. In this episode, Janet shares nuggets of knowledge from her more than 36 year career in the avalanche industry, her remaining curiosities about avalanche mechanics, where she sees the industry going next…but most importantly, she tells us how she kept her sense of wonder about the snow over the years: always, always taking care of others. 

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• ISSW 2012 Paper: The Urban Avalanche Interface and Community Impacts a Case Study: Ketchum, Sun Valley & the Wood River Valley, Idaho

• Avalanche Education for All, High Country News Article

• USFS National Avalanche Center

• National Avalanche School

• Sawtooth Avalanche Center

• American Avalanche Association Resilience Project

• Responder Alliance

Crew:

• Host: Brooke Maushund (@brookemaush)

• Guest: Janet Kellam 

• Producer: Caleb Merrill (@theavalanchehourpodcast)

Sponsors:

• Wyssen Avalanche Control
• Gordini
• OpenSnow
• PeakVisor

🎶 Music by Ketsa: Get Me Out, Snowing in Spring, Reach the End