Our Mission

Founded in 2010, the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center Foundation is the non-profit organization that helps fund the operations of the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center. Each year, the Foundation helps raise 70% of Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center (BTAC) funding through private donations and grants. Wyoming State Trails, Grand Teton National Park Foundation and many volunteers provide critical support to help achieve our collective goal of providing avalanche and weather information to recreationalists around the region. The Foundation work tirelessly to raise awareness of the BTAC’s essential contributions of daily, detailed avalanche forecasts, snow and weather data and avalanche awareness education for Northwest Wyoming.

Each year, over 70% of the Avalanche Center’s funding is derived from community donations or grants from the State of Wyoming.

If you are a winter backcountry skier, snowboarder or snowmobiler, and value the free, scientific, decision-guiding information the BTAC provides, please help support our work.

BTAC Foundation

Dwayne Meadows, Executive Director

Board Members

  • Mitch Dann, Chair
  • Stewart Johnson, Treasurer
  • Paul D’Amours, Secretary
  • Tana Hoffman Cook
  • Chris Harder
  • John Klaczkiewicz
  • Dave Landes 
  • Bob Peters
  • Jen Reddy
  • Jenn Sparks
  • Lynne Wolf
  • Mark Snell

BTAC Forest Service Forecast Staff

Frank Carus

Frank started with the US Forest Service at the Mount Washington Avalanche Center in 2011 and has been the Director of BTAC since 2021. Frank worked a SAR team leader and Incident Commander in the for many avalanche and mountain rescues on Mt Washington and has investigated more avalanche incidents and fatalities than he would like. He has an obvious passion for learning and has taken the AMGA Alpine, Ski, and Ski Mountaineering guide courses and has been a certified Rock Instructor since 1996. Working vacations take him around the country to teach technical rope rescue, fight wildland fires, or work as a mountain guide. The human relationship to risk-taking is an endless source of fascination for Frank.

frank@bridger-tetonavalanchecenter.org

Gabrielle Antonioli

Gabrielle grew up in the mountains of Montana and though she started out in the biological sciences, is finishing an MSc. in Snow Science from Montana State University. She founded & manages the American Avalanche Association (A3) Resilience Project. She has worked with the Boise State University CryoGARS group and SnowEx campaigns, and has guided and educated across the mountains of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. You’ll find her forecasting for the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in Montana in the spring. In the summer, she enjoys painting, climbing, and running in the sun.

Alex Drinkard

Alex grew up near Spokane, WA where his fascination for mountains and deep powder snow began. His career with the US Forest Service started in silviculture while obtaining a BS in Environmental Science from Portland State University. Transitioning to wildland fire enabled him to spend winters gaining extensive backcountry knowledge by blending his passion for splitboarding and snowmobiling. Since 2020, he has worked for the Bridger-Teton National Forest with the avalanche center and snow ranger programs. Alex enjoys working with all the incredible snow enthusiasts across the forecast zones to evolve and improve BTAC.

Mike Rheam

Mike works as the avalanche hazard reduction leader for Jackson Hole Ski Patrol and as a forecaster for the Bridger-Teton NF Avalanche Center. Mike is the coordinator and lead instructor for the JH NAS Field Session. He has had extensive experience heli-ski guiding and forecasting and is currently a guide and snow safety consultant for a backcountry lodge in the Alaska Range. Mike floats, fishes, hikes, and skis with his wife and daughter, both of whom ski better than he does.

Travis Baldwin

Travis grew up in the Green Mountains of Vermont. He attended the University of Wyoming where he studied engineering and started climbing on the granite domes of Vedauwoo. He spent much of the last 15 years working for the National Park Service running trail crews in Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park and more recently as a climbing ranger in the North Cascades and currently on Denali. He started mountain guiding several years ago on Denali’s West Buttress but now enjoys living and working in the Tetons. Travis’ position is funded by a generous grant from the Grand Teton National Park Foundation.

Noah McCorkel

Noah grew up on the Front Range of Colorado as the child of two talented rock climbers. He was exposed to the mountains at a young age and first climbed the Grand Teton at age 13. This was a formative experience for Noah and ultimately led him to return to the Tetons for good after graduating from the University of Colorado in 2017.

Noah is passionate about all forms of skiing and climbing and has pursued them at a high level from South America to Alaska. A bit of a dual personality, Noah also enjoys science, obtaining a MS in Geospatial Information Science and Technology from the University of Wyoming in 2023. Most of all, Noah loves teaching and sharing his excitement for the mountains with those around him.