staff

Brad Cosgrove

Brad grew up exploring the rivers and mountains of Idaho and now lives year round on the Turnagain Arm in Alaska pursuing his love of water, frozen or liquid.  As an apprentice guide at the age of 14, Brad began chasing fish and whitewater on Idaho’s rivers leaving him with ample time to hone his ski skills and mountain sense during the winter months.  By the age of 19, Brad was working as a professional guide on rivers, fishing, and back country skiing.  Since then he has worked as a ski touring guide, mechanized ski guide and has experience with avalanche mitigation.  The beginning of each winter finds Brad teaching avalanche courses for Alaska Avalanche School and Alaska Pacific University.   His strengths are countless days in the field both personally and professionally and a strong desire to keep skiing the backcountry.  Brad has been studying snow for 15 years and has taken several avalanche courses in Canada and the U.S.  Most recently Brad has been in hot pursuit of his AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guide certification. When not guiding or instructing, Brad can be found enjoying Alaska with his wife Shannan.

Nick D’Alessio

Nick grew up in New Hampshire and has been skiing and climbing in the mountains since before he even remembers. He appreciates having grown up and skiing the icy North East. However, he made the move to Colorado in hope of more snow and to get his degree in Outdoor Leadership from Colorado Mountain College. Then it was up to Alaska to “check it out” and get his Outdoor Studies degree from Alaska Pacific University. He hasn’t left since and is not planning on it, “Why leave good snow to try and find good snow”.  Nick works year round as a professional mountain guide since 2008. He is also a lead guide and instructor for the Alaska Mountaineering School where he enjoys an annual trip to the summit of Denali. He thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge of safe mountain travel. Nick is an ambitious and passionate ski mountaineer. Along with his extensive experience base he holds a Wilderness First Responder, Avalanche Level 3, Leave No Trace Master Educator and is close to earning his Ski Mountaineering Guide certification through the American Mountain Guides Association. 

Eeva Latosuo

Born and raised in Finland, I have been on skis most of my life. The passion for snow and mountains has landed me in many wonderful places in the world. First I moved to Bellingham, WA, in 1994 and skied and climbed in the Cascades for five years. I worked for National Outdoor Leadership School teaching mountaineering and climbing in the summers. Next stop was Vail, CO, where I worked as a professional ski patroller and EMT-Basic with the the local ambulance service. For the last four years, I have called Anchorage home, where I finally have a “real job” that utilizes my graduate degree in Environmental Science, as a faculty member at Alaska Pacific University.

Teaching in the Outdoor Studies Department keeps me outside as an outdoor educator. Courses like Snow Science, Winter Wilderness Skills, and Backcountry Skiing allow me to share my skills and knowledge about snow with students who love (or learn to love) skiing as much as I do. I started teaching avalanche curriculum with Alaska Avalanche School during the season 06-07, and I am looking forward to learning and teaching more with the School in the years to come. One interesting fact about me is that in my 10+ years of backcountry skiing, I have never been in an avalanche, and I hope to keep it that way. My favorite thing in the winter is to do a ski run in the mountains with my husband Jaime and our border collie Tuuli, who loves to chase snowballs.

Henry Munter

Henry has been backcountry skiing since he was a kid in Sun Valley, Idaho. In 2004, he moved to Montana, learned to snow machine, and worked for four years on the Yellowstone Club Ski Patrol. At the YCSP, Henry did avalanche control work, as well as fieldwork for Montana State University snow and avalanche research programs. As a result of daily observations and thousands of grain-scale snow crystal photos, Henry and his coworkers presented a paper on near-surface faceting at the 2008 ISSW. In 2008 he moved to Girdwood. In Alaska, Henry works as a helicopter and snowcat ski guide for Chugach Powder Guides, an instructor for the Alaska Avalanche School, and a Denali mountain guide for Mountain Trip. When they’re not in the mountains, Henry and his wife, Kelly, like to explore the whitewater rivers of the world. 

Leighan Falley

Leighan Falley, a lifelong Alaskan, has been playing in the snow since she was tiny.  During an eight year stint as a ski patroller, she learned a lot about explosives and even more about the avalanche phenomenon.  She has held an AIARE Level III avalanche certificate since 2006, and is also an AIARE level 1 instructor. Her winters are filled with avalanche instruction and long guiding epics in Chilean Patagonia.  Summer finds her once again in the snow, where she is a lead guide on Denali for the Alaska Mountaineering School.  Known for spending the entire summer in the Alaska Range, she has been able to visit such mountain temples as the Kichatna Spires, the Eyetooth, Mt. Hunter, and more.  In 2008 she was fortunate enough to carry her skis to the summit of North America. She is also a mountain artist, a pilot, and an avid rock climber.. but above all, a skier. 

Mike Janes

Mike Janes is an instructor and apprentice forecaster for Alaska Avalanche Specialists, LLC. in Juneau. He grew up in Juneau, and for years has been one of the most active climbers and backcountry snowboarders in the area. He got started in avalanche work with Level 1 and 2 courses and put in many field days helping the Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center (SAAC) on their research projects. He has completed the Alaska Mountain School's rigorous mountain guide training, guided for several seasons on Denali, and completed the American Avalanche Association AvPro professionals' course. He has worked on the Kensington Mine project, the Juneau urban forecast program, and the Snetttisham power line projects for Alaska Avalanche Specialists and SAAC. He has taught the University of Alaska Southeast avalanche course series with Bill Glude and has taught Alaska Avalanche School courses in Southcentral Alaska.

Tucker Chenoweth

Tucker Chenoweth was born in the high windy mountains of Colorado to a pair of devoted skiers.  Instead of attending daycare with all the other children, his parents sent him out on the slopes to learn the ways of gravity.  After a teenage ski racing career and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, he began pursuing his ultimate passion full time. During a ski patrol career that lasted nine years, he discovered Alaska in 2000 as a volunteer Mountaineering Ranger on the slopes of Mt. Denali.  He was hired as one of the eight paid rangers in 2004, and his adventures have taken him to such exotic locales as the Kitchatna Spires, Mt. Huntington, Mt. Hunter, and many more.  He has also been a part of the AMGA ski mountaineering program and has worked as a ski guide.  The avalanche phenomenon has interested him from the start, he is a professional member of the AAA, an AIARE Certified level one instructor and for the last decade he has studied snow and helped create interest in educating backcountry users.  Tucker enjoys spending his free time with his lovely wife Leighan.

Chris Love

Chris Love is a lifelong skier and outdoor enthusiast.  He began his education in Avalanche Awareness in 1998 when he first came to Alaska.  Since then he has spent many days climbing and skiing throughout Alaska, Montana, and Washington.  In 2006 Chris began teaching Avalanche Awareness courses for NSP and in 2007 started working for the Alaska Avalanche School.  When not guiding or working as a biologist during the summer months Chris works as a ski patroller, NSP Avalanche I instructor, and EMT from his home in Talkeetna, AK where he lives with his wife Colleen. 

Sean McManamy

Like all east-coast kids who love snow, Sean left home as soon as

possible.  After a short tour in the rocky west he came to Alaska for

its' deep snowpacks. Since graduating from Alaska Pacific University

in 2007, Sean’s work history includes: Mountain Guide, Avalanche

Instructor, Dishwasher, Whitewater Photographer, Handyman, A.P.U.

Adjunct Faculty Member as well as volunteering for the CNFAIC Observer

Program. In 2008, Sean presented at the Eastern Snow Conference in Vermont (held in the same room as his senior prom) and the International Snow Science Workshop in British Columbia. Most recently, the American

Avalanche Review published an article on his work with The Avalanche

Terrain Exposure Scale in Alaska. Today he calls the small town of Hope home, and even though backcountry skiing is his passion, Sean does own and operate a snowboard.

Blaine Smith

Blaine began his study of avalanches in 1985 and has worked for the Alaska Avalanche school since 1991. He initially apprenticed under Doug Fesler and Jill Fredston of the Alaska Mountain Safety Center, and he has continued his ongoing avalanche training through a variety of workshops and conferences, including the International Snow Science Workshop. He is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association (AAA) and AAA Certified Avalanche Instructor.

In addition to his dynamic teaching style and avalanche expertise, Blaine brings a long history of working, guiding, and teaching in the outdoors. In 1987 he began his career as an outdoor educator and guide and has since worked for the University of Alaska, Alaska Pacific University, Alaska Denali Guiding, Alaska Mountain Safety Center, and the Alaska Mountaineering School, among others. He has guided several successful seasons on Denali with multiple summits.

When not teaching avalanche courses, Blaine can be found volunteering with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group as an avalanche specialist, skiing in the backcountry, or mountain guiding. Blaine has been published in Accidents in North American Mountaineering, International Technical Rescue Symposium Proceedings, and in Lessons Learned II. Using Case Studies and History to Improve Safety Education

Nancy Pfeiffer

Nancy began her snow experience when she started skiing at just 2 years old. Her outdoor career took a turn when she participated in her first avalanche course at age 18. It was then that she realized the study of snow was something that could hold her interest for a very long time. She has been teaching avalanche classes for 18 years and recently presented at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW), a nation wide study on the effectiveness of avalanche education. To keep current of the development of snow science, she attends the ISSW regularly and is active in The American Avalanche Association (AAA) as a Professional Member and Certified Avalanche Instructor. Nancy stays in touch with the other programs by teaching at avalanche schools and forecasting centers in the lower 48 and Chile. Nancy has extensive experience with avalanches as a guide, instructor, forecaster, and avid skier. Her experience guiding extensively in Alaska and many of the world’s mountain ranges, including New Zealand, Antarctica, and Patagonia makes her one of AAS’ lead instructors.

Bill Romberg

Bill has been active in backcountry skiing, mountaineering, and ice climbing since coming to Alaska in 1990.  He has spent several hundred days in the backcountry all over Alaska, including the Brooks Range, the Alaska Range, and the local Talkeetna, Chugach, Kenai, and Tordrillo Mountains. He is a former president of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, and has more than 10 years of experience in technical rescue and avalanche response with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG), where he spends considerable time coordinating classroom and field training events related to avalanche skills and avalanche accident response. Bill's interest in snow and avalanche education is a direct result of increasing exposure to avalanche terrain through personal climbing and skiing, as well as avalanche accident response with AMRG. When not working, volunteering with AMRG, or teaching with AAS, Bill can found enjoying the Alaska outdoors with his family skiing, climbing, hiking, or rafting.

Joe Stock

Joe is fully certified IFMGA mountain guide with a passion for mountain adventure in Alaska. He has been climbing and skiing around the world for 27 years with an emphasis on alpine climbing in New Zealand, rock climbing in Australia, ice climbing in Colorado, mountaineering in the North Cascades and ski mountaineering in Alaska. Joe has an undergraduate degree in geology and geography from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and a graduate degree in watershed science (snow science focus) from CSU in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to guiding, Joe works as a writer, photographer and hydrologist. He lives in Anchorage with his wife Cathy. 

Kent Scheler

Kent has over 8 years of combined experience in professional avalanche forecasting, mountain education, ski mountain guiding, and remote project logistics. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science (ENVS) with an emphasis on avalanche science from the University of Alaska Southeast. His experience include: 

1. •operational avalanche forecasting

2. •mountain safety education 

3. •recreational ski guiding 

4. •film production support 

5. •remote expedition/project logistics and safety. 

6. •AAA Certified Avalanche Instructor

Kent is currently the Snow Safety Director for Alaska Heliskiing in

Haines, Alaska and Lead Guide for Teton Gravity Research (TGR). 

Kent spends his free time enjoying all that Alaska has to offer.

Cindi Squire

coming soon!

Salvatore Candela

Coming soon!

Becky King

Coming Soon!