NEW - Take our current quiz and win a membership for one month

We are proud to announce a new feature: the Current Quiz. This is available by logging in (for free) using an email address which is on our updates list (and therefore confirmed).

The quiz will change from time to time. Right now we have a five question quiz on precipitation as it relates to avalanches. These questions are from the weather module in the Level 1 course taught through our Avalanche Institute. (This is not the only quiz in the module, there are numerous others. Nor is it the only format used - others use matching, crosswords, submission via drop box, etc.)

You will need to log in with your email address to take the quiz. This is free, and not the same as membership. Your address needs to be on our updates list so that we know it is real and has been confirmed by a person. When you complete the quiz your score, as a percentage, is sent to us along with the email address you logged in with. We will contact you at that address concerning any prizes.

Right now we are offering a one month membership to everyone who gets 100%. Current members will be extended by a month. Along with the membership your address will be added to a pool that is eligible for additional prizes, yet to be determined. These will result from a drawing, cumulative success on additional quizzes, or both.

You can access the quiz from our existing quizzes page in the Education section, where we still have some open access quizzes that have been there for a long time now. When you click on the Current Quiz link you will be taken to a login page where you can enter your email address. If it is not currently registered with us there is also a link on the login page to subscribe to our updates list.

Please feel free to pass the word along and let others know about the new quiz feature. We will be announcing it more widely soon but are starting with this Updates and News blog. The blog is not well established yet, we have not been able to use it as much as we would like to due to all of the other work involved in running the website.

ABS Pack Discounts - Ends Mar 30

ABS Pack Sale

Ends March 30 !

(Click on the image to see a large version in a new window or tab.)

We have an opportunity to purchase ABS packs in advance for next season, but we need to prepay our order and as a grassroots nonprofit don't have much of a cash flow. So we are passing savings on to any customer who wants to join in the order.

While our own purchase is for inventory for next season we will ship yours as soon as we receive our order.

You can save over 20% by participating in this deal. But it ends Mar 30 so act fast!

Contact us at store@csac.org

Pigs - saved from avalanches to become sausage!

It seems the poor pigs just can't win!




First there was this news,

To save human lives and study the effects of being buried in avalanches, researchers buried live pigs while monitoring them as they died. A total of 29 pigs were part of the two-week study. The study was voluntarily terminated and an official statement released.
(See http://www.avalanche-center.org/News/2010/2010-01-07-Austria.php)

Then, a week or two later:

Pigs saved from the chop after public protests stopped them being buried alive in snow by scientists are to end up as sausages, say researchers conducting the tests.
(See http://www.avalanche-center.org/News/2010/2010-01-19-Austria.php)

Read the full details using the links above or go to our News section.

End-of-Year Updates Series and Support Request

During the final days of 2009 (and perhaps into the beginning of 2010) we are issuing a series of updates which highlight the different sections of our website and the many various resources we provide.

We also hope this will encourage people to help support these resources by remembering us in their end-of-year charitable giving plans. Contributions made before Jan 1 can be paid off on next years credit card statements but still deducted on this years taxes. Checks can be deducted if they are mailed (or perhaps dated) before 2010.

The first brief update on Christmas day introduced this series and reminded people to consider contributing to the project. The series can be read online in our Updates archive by starting with Dec 25, 2009 -

http://www.avalanche-center.org/Organization/updates/