As much of the park thaws under the rising spring sun we’ll hit fresh trail toward Avalanche Lake as bears, wolverines, and other mammals take advantage of new spring habitat, avalanche paths, and the melting snowpack. In this course, we will learn about avalanche ecology by observing landscape clues, identify important plants and what they tell us about this violent environment, and scout for the famous grizzlies and wolverines that use the avalanche chutes as a means of nutrition and how their life cycles integrate with the pluses and perils of avalanche terrain. This section of the Continental Divide has perhaps the highest concentration of wolverines in the lower 48 states and they compete with grizzlies for the buried carcasses in the avalanche debris. With some luck, we might get to see some of these or other critters in action, hard at work to put on some calories after a long winter in Glacier.

Dave’s long experience as Glacier’s first ever ski guide informs our study of avalanche ecology and the way that both wolverines and grizzlies interact with this important ecological event. His 38 years exploring and teaching in this area adds a wealth of information to our instruction.

Meeting Place: Glacier Institute Field Camp Meeting Hall (see campus map)

Meeting Time: Saturday, May 30th at 8:00 AM

Cost: $70.00

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