Juneau Sweats Over Avalanche Risk

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2007/mar/23/032308726.html

Butch Holst and his wife were thrilled in 1978 when they sealed a deal on a downtown home at the foot of Mount Juneau. Thrilled, that is, until someone showed them a photo of their house in a National Geographic article that said Juneau has the highest risk of an avalanche disaster of any city in America.

"That was our first indication that there was a serious problem," said Janice Holst, a dance teacher and grandmother of 12.

Almost 30 years after moving in, she still gets jumpy when winter sets in. And despite her husband's assurances, a barrage of alerts this year from the city's new online avalanche-forecasting system has been particularly unnerving.

Earlier this week, with record snowfall piled up on the mountain above and a storm in the forecast, the Holsts threw together important papers and clothes and spent the night at their son's house in a safer part of town. Nothing happened.

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[Egalitarian]

1. This fella doesn't realize the science that underlies

our current avalanche forecasting methods:

snip

But because avalanches are notoriously difficult to forecast, and years have gone by without a serious incident, other residents have become complacent.

Greg Pilcher, who recently bought his father's house in the avalanche zone, said the Web alerts are a great idea, but he doesn't check them.

"It's almost like the terror rating, like being on `orange elevated.' It's this constant paranoia you are supposed to have," Pilcher said.

snip

I'm a backcountry skier who skies avalanche paths regularly. At times they are safe, in fact most times they are. But when a forcaster says the danger is extreme it's vastly different than a government issued terror alert. Geez. I've been wondering where to put some 401K money. Can I take out a life insurance policy for this guy where I pay the bill and I'm the beneficiary?