Professional educator, accomplished adventurer and celebrated storyteller Michael Ackerman hails from Colorado’s Western Slope. Embodying over two decades of professional backcountry experience, expert technical skills and hard-earned wilderness wisdom, Ack has made his mark as one of the preeminent adventure guides and outdoor educators in the American West. Since completing a BA in Adventure Education in 1999, Ackerman has worked as a rock, mountain, splitboard and river guide, professional ski patroller, avalanche educator, wilderness medicine trainer, SAR technician, Outward Bound course leader, and collegiate faculty member. Ack leads ski mountaineering adventures, off-piste alpine tours, split-board expeditions, high mountain hut trips, mountain skills/search and rescue/tactical and avalanche training courses. He is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association, veteran Course Leader for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education and serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the San Juans.

Jonathan Cooper (“Coop”) grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been playing in the mountains since he was a teenager. This was about the same time he made the fateful decision to strap a snowboard to his feet, which has led to a lifelong pursuit of powdery turns. Coop started teaching with us last season and brings a great mix of education and guiding. Professionally speaking, he has facilitated many circles of students with Northwest Outward Bound School while leading mountaineering expeditions. During the winter months he can be found chasing snow, and passing on his passion for education and the backcountry through teaching avalanche education for in southwest Colorado. Similarly, his passion for wilderness medicine has led him to instruct for the Wilderness Medicine Training Center. He also writes reviews for wildsnow.com.

Jim is the Director of the Silverton Avalanche School.  Jim oversees the entire program and works on strategic development. He has a Level 3 professional avalanche certification and is an AIARE Level 1 and 2 Course Leader. He oversees the Recreational and  Professional Program teams. He has a life long passion for mountaineering and backcountry skiing.  He develops custom courses and teaches for both the tactical and industrial programs. He loves both the mountains and mountain rescue and has often combined these in his travels and work.  He has an extensive background in emergency planning and management and natural hazards assessment. He is a Certified Emergency Manager for the State of Colorado and is a registered EMT. He has extensive rope rescue and rope access experience and training and holds a SPRAT certification.  Jim is also a registered EMS trainer in Colorado and teaches wilderness emergency medical topics.  He has published scientific research in the field of conservation biology, developed a pioneering project on rescue informatics and has worked and played in a wide range of remote locations in mountainous regions. Jim is the Emergency Manager for San Juan County, coordinates the San Juan County Avalanche Deployment Team with Flight For Life and is Captain of the San Juan County Search and Rescue team.

Andy is a senior instructor for the Silverton Avalanche School and serves as a curriculum adviser. Andy began his avalanche education when he triggered, and was caught in an avalanche in 1984. Since then he has learned as much as he can about snow by getting a Masters Degree at Montana State University studying how terrain parameters affect avalanche frequency and pursuing his doctorate at the University of Wyoming studying bridging in the snowpack. He worked as an avalanche forecaster for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center in Silverton and Boulder, Colorado and as an avalanche forecaster at the Andina Mine in Chile. He has been a teacher for the Silverton Avalanche School since 1995. Currently he teaches at Fort Lewis College. He is the outgoing secretary and member of the research committee of the American Avalanche Association. When he’s not teaching, Andy likes to sled with his kids on any amount of snow.

Angela is one of very few women IFMGA Mountain Guides in the US. She has over 30 years of experience guiding rock, alpine and ski mountaineering endeavors around the world. Angela teaches for our Pro program and our women’s program. She is a lead guide and avalanche forecaster for Telluride Helitrax and forecasts for the Ouray Silver Mine throughout the winter. Angela is an Instructor Team Lead for the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), serves on their Technical Committee and is a co-owner of Chicks Climbing and Skiing. Angela completed the 15-day Canadian Avalanche Association’s Professional Level 2 course and examination, her Level 3 with both AAI and AIARE and holds an explosives license with the state of Colorado. Angela was awarded the 2011 AMGA “Guide of the Year Award.” Read about her perpetual stoke in this Outside Magazine profile. She’s lived in Ridgway, CO for almost two decades and enjoyed 28 seasons of backcountry skiing and ice climbing in the San Juan Mountains.

Sandy is a Certified Avalanche Instructor with the American Avalanche Association and an AIARE Course Leader Level 1 and Level 2 and has attended the new AAA Profession Trainers Workshop Currently, Sandy owns and operates the Pass Creek Yurt offering year-round adventure lodging in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Sandy began the avalanche education portion of her career at: Silverton Avalanche School, Telluride, Babes in the Backcountry (with her hero Betsy Armstrong), CDOT, local SAR, Adams State University – non-motorized and motorized courses. Her first backcountry Level 1 avalanche course 1981 from Norm Wilson, Lake Tahoe, CA. Her background also includes: Wilderness First Responder, Professional Ski Patrol Supervisor, Squaw Valley USA, CA in the ’80’s & 90’s, Professional Ski Patrol and Snow Safety Director, Wolf Creek, CO in the mid-90’s, Mountaineering Course Director for Outward Bound 80’s and early 90’s.  Her passion is understanding why we make bad and good decisions and how we can do better both in our lives and in avalanche terrain.

Leo has taught for SAS for several years. Leo is an EMS Training Captain / RN, ParamedicFirefighter with Durango Fire & Rescue in Durango, Colorado. Much of Leo’s pre-hospital medical experience (over 26 years) has involved both ground ambulance paramedic responsibilities in the Durango area and 9 years as a critical care flight nurse / paramedic with the Air Care Medical Flight Program based in Farmington, New Mexico. He has extensive wilderness medical and mountain rescue experience. Leo has logged more technical rescues than he can count. Leo is the technical rescue advisor for the San Juan County Search and Rescue Team.  Leo has been an active member of the La Plata County Search and Rescue in Durango since 1985. He is also an instructor with Rigging for Rescue based in Ouray, Colorado. He has conducted numerous mountaineering trips in the around the US including Alaska and Canada.

Amy has been a professional ski patroller at Telluride for over 10 years and thoroughly enjoys its terrain, artillery, Class A avalanche area status, and comprehensive snow safety program. She is also a heli-ski guide in Alaska  and has worked as a ski guide, wilderness medicine educator, and field biologist not to mention being an AIARE Level 1 and 2 Course Leader.

Amy has a Level 3 certification and has attended the AAA Professional Program Workshop. She is a member of our new Professional Trainer Program. She has spent 12 years doing technical search and rescue, including public outreach education about mountain safety and spreading her love for rescue & safety education.  

Amy seriously likes explosives and helicopters nearly as much as powder skiing and relishes in calling the San Juans home! 

Karin enjoys sharing her love of the backcountry with others. The mountains are an amazing classroom, and Karin has spent the vast majority of her life learning, growing, and being humbled in the mountain environment. She began working professionally in the avalanche industry in 2003 and has spent the last 15 years as an outdoor educator, avalanche course instructor, technical guide, ski patroller and forecaster.

Karin is a recreational avalanche course leader and a professional avalanche course instructor as well as a full-time ski guide. She’s often found teaching custom AIARE courses designed around both the backcountry skiing and avalanche education needs of her guests and would be happy to work with you in creating your own customized course. She is currently trained by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) in the Ski and Alpine disciplines and is AMGA certified as a rock guide. Karin received her professional training in both Canada and the United States and is trained to the Pro Level 2 standard. She is a professional member of both the Canadian Avalanche Association and the American Avalanche Association. She grew up learning the craft of backcountry skiing and climbing in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, worked throughout western North America and now calls Crested Butte, CO home in addition to working throughout the state. 

Johann is a resident of Stewart, British Columbia, with Cabins in the Cassiar Mtns, and Happy Valley, Coast Mtns. He has worked as an Independent Avalanche Consultant working with some of the leading avalanche company’s providing forecasting, control work, training and mitigation measures. He works for the Canadian Ministry of Transportation on avalanche forecasting and mitigation.  He has worked foor the British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation as a Senior Avalanche Technician for 9 yrs with the last few years as Supervising the Bear Pass Avalanche Program in Stewart. The area is one of the most active avalanche regions in the world.

Johann is a Canadian Avalanche Association Industry Training Program Instructor, and an Instructor for the Canadian Avalanche Skills Program Level 1 and 2. Johann has been teaching Avalanche courses for over 15 years. He is a Canadian Avalanche Association Active Professional Member, Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association Member, Instructor and retired Senior Avalanche Dog Team. He has been snowboarding since 1977 and was the 1st snowboarder to complete the CAA industry Level 1 and 2 courses. He also is an Instructor for the BC Provincial Emergency Program Avalanche Rescue training.

Since he was a child, Andrew has been obsessed with the mountains.  Andrew holds a Level 3 avalanche certification and is a Level 1 and 2 course leader and instructor.  Thanks to several influential mentors, Andrew has gained loads of snow experience skiing in the San Juan backcountry over the last 14 years. Andrew has worked as a backcountry ski guide for Silverton Powdercats,based on Molas Pass. He also guides for Telluride Mountain Guides in the winter.  Andrew works as a snow research technician for the Center For Snow and Avalanche Studies, enabling him to dig very deep snow pits and tinker with weather stations.