Team Members

Dr. Karl Birkeland is the Director of the Forest Service National Avalanche Center, where he provides national direction and guidance for the agency’s avalanche centers and military artillery program. As a part of his job he works to transfer new and emerging technologies to field practitioners within the avalanche community. Karl is also an adjunct Professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University where he supervises a number of graduate students. Karl’s professional work with avalanches as a ski patroller, educator, backcountry forecaster, and researcher spans almost 40 years. He founded the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Bozeman, and he earned both his MS and PhD degrees investigating snowpack variability and related ramifications for avalanche forecasting. When he is not working in the snow, Karl enjoys spending as much time as possible in the mountains and on rivers with his wife and two daughters.

Founder of Avalanche Awareness Program "Know Before You Go". With nearly 30 years of on- the- snow experience, Craig is an integral part of Utah’s snow and avalanche community. Beginning in the mid 80’s he worked as a ski patrolman for 10 years, before becoming a helicopter ski guide. 

This is Craig’s 19th season with the Utah Avalanche Center and he is the sole avalanche forecaster for the western Uinta Mountains. In addition to his forecast duties, Craig regularly teaches dozens of avalanche awareness classes.  

In 2004, Craig created the highly successful Know Before You Go avalanche awareness program and video. All or parts of the program have been adopted by other mountain communities both nationally and internationally and his video is used worldwide as an introductory  awareness film. 

In 2009, Utah was the first state in the nation to offer Craig’s Know Before You Go avalanche awareness program as part of their 8th grade health and phys-ed core curriculum.   

Dr. Karl Birkeland is the Director of the Forest Service National Avalanche Center, where he provides national direction and guidance for the agency’s avalanche centers and military artillery program. As a part of his job he works to transfer new and emerging technologies to field practitioners within the avalanche community. Karl is also an adjunct Professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University where he supervises a number of graduate students. Karl’s professional work with avalanches as a ski patroller, educator, backcountry forecaster, and researcher spans almost 40 years. He founded the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Bozeman, and he earned both his MS and PhD degrees investigating snowpack variability and related ramifications for avalanche forecasting. When he is not working in the snow, Karl enjoys spending as much time as possible in the mountains and on rivers with his wife and two daughters.

Founder of Avalanche Awareness Program "Know Before You Go". With nearly 30 years of on- the- snow experience, Craig is an integral part of Utah’s snow and avalanche community. Beginning in the mid 80’s he worked as a ski patrolman for 10 years, before becoming a helicopter ski guide. 

This is Craig’s 19th season with the Utah Avalanche Center and he is the sole avalanche forecaster for the western Uinta Mountains. In addition to his forecast duties, Craig regularly teaches dozens of avalanche awareness classes.  

In 2004, Craig created the highly successful Know Before You Go avalanche awareness program and video. All or parts of the program have been adopted by other mountain communities both nationally and internationally and his video is used worldwide as an introductory  awareness film. 

In 2009, Utah was the first state in the nation to offer Craig’s Know Before You Go avalanche awareness program as part of their 8th grade health and phys-ed core curriculum.   

 Director of Mount Shasta Avalanche Center. A Northern California native who grew up in Graeagle, CA, Nick Meyers was appointed the USFS Mt. Shasta Lead Climbing Ranger and Avalanche Forecaster in 2010.  His career on Mount Shasta began as a summer internship back in 2002 while attending Feather River and Western State College for a degree in Recreation Leadership and Business.  Nick’s mountain sense and technical skills have developed and evolved much from his own personal climbing and ski missions.  Nick has scaled the Dolomites, skied Colorado’s 14ers and motorcycled the deserts and mountains of the Western United States on his dirt bike. He has surfed up and down Baja and sailed throughout the San Juan Islands and Desolation Sound. If it has to do with adventure and adrenaline, you'll see Nick there.  His adventurous spirit and fearless leadership commands a team of four rangers in the high stress and high risk operations of Search and Rescue on Mount Shasta. As the Director of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center, Nick is issuing avalanche forecasts and teaching awareness and companion rescue courses for the winter months. This year marks Nick's 20th year of employment with the US Forest Service on Mt. Shasta, the longest standing ranger in the history of the program. Needless to say, he loves his job and the Shasta community.

One of Nick's biggest claim to fame is somehow landing his mug on the front cover of Popular Mechanics (March 2015). From that, a couple articles ensued, including a lot of reality TV show phone calls. Click on the links below to check them out and learn more about Nick!

http://www.fs.fed.us/faces-of-the-forest-service/meet-nick-meyers

http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/05/07/lead-climbing-ranger-thrives-on-his-job/#more-58299

 Education and Certifications       Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Science A.I.A.R.E. Avalanche courses level 1, 2 and 3 A.I.A.R.E Avalanche Instructor Wilderness Medical Associates – Wilderness First ResponderRope Works – Advanced Crevasse RescueAmerican Red Cross CPR and BLS    Guide training in Juneau, AK – 2013Mountain weatherExperience25 Years of Snowboarding13 Years Snowboarding/Heliskiing in Chugach Mountain Range of Alaska8 Years Heliski guiding for Points North Heli Adventures 

Originally from Port Townsend, WA, Casey grew up and went to college in the Northwest, but has since lived just about everywhere west of Colorado in the search for snow and adventure. During college Casey got into backcountry skiing and climbing mountains,  passions that have endured to this day. After a pretty bad scare in the Utah backcountry one day, he decided it was time to actually learn how to do things safely. Now, a decade+ later, Casey enjoys sharing his love of the mountains through guiding on Mt Shasta,  as well as helping to teach others how to safely travel and recreate on the gorgeous, snow-covered slopes of sunny California and beyond. When not guiding on the mountains or rivers, working on the wildfires, or patrolling the slopes of the Mt Shasta Ski Park,  you'll likely find Casey attempting to harvest as much corn snow as possible or planning a trip to the next volcano.

 Tasha Thomas is a year-round outdoor adventure enthusiast. She works for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District as a Physical Education Specialist. During the summers, she coaches Mountain Biking workshops and camps for LTCC. She also is a Professional Mountain bike racer, racing in both enduro and downhill disciplines. She has been an outdoor enthusiast her entire life and began fulfilling her love for the outdoors in the Adirondacks and White Mountains on the eastern coast of the states. Her passion for rock climbing, mountain biking and exploring the larger mountain ranges lead her to the Sierra Nevadas over 12 years ago where she decided to settle in South Lake Tahoe. Her desire to be out in the bigger terrain has molded her to become passionate about Avalanche Awareness and educating others around her. Tasha is AIARE Pro Level 1 certified and will become a certified instructor this winter. She has invested the time an energy into becoming an avalanche professional through many courses and training. She is a Polaris Team Ambassador and her top choice of winter excitement to satisfy the adrenaline is on her snowmobile which undoubtedly involves entering terrain with risk. Tasha has a strong mission to uphold safety for those around her as well as herself and is adamant about avalanche education. She is an Ambassador of Fun and has a strong love for snow science. She is extremely devoted to avalanche awareness for all group users of the backcountry, especially in the motorized sector. 

I’ve been snowboarding professionally for most of my adult life, and have worked with dozens of different film projects. I ride for Burton, Red Bull, Go Pro, Von Zipper, LRG, DVS, House of Marley, Mammoth Mountain, Wave Rave, and Jax Union. I was awarded rider of the year and video part of the year by transworld snowboarding and snowboarder mag, in 2010 and 2011. These days I have mostly transitioned from touring the contest circuit to exploring the backcountry making snow movies. We do a lot of work in Alaska and British Colombia. In the summer of 2012 my brother and I did a project with Red Bull called Brothers on the Run, where our goal was to drive from Alaska to Argentina, snowboarding the northern and southern hemispheres while combining a slew of other action sports we love through our long arc of travel.

 I learned about the Nickolay Dodov Foundation through their Slopestyle event in Bear Valley along with their avalanche classes that were occurring.
I started creating video content for NDF in 2017 for their slopestyle and rail jam events. Ever since then, I was a part of the team in a way. As of 2018, I am a official team member creating content for NDF in photo/video form. I redesigned our website and am taking action to make NDF content with the intent of sharing the moments and help promoting our work to educate others and hopefully get more people involved. 

 Lexie, a Sierra Nevada native, has been an outdoor enthusiast her entire life. Her initial passion in avalanche & snow safety began when she was attending Western State Colorado University & was a member of the Mountain Rescue team. While there, Lexie completed her masters in High Altitude Exercise Physiology & pursued any outdoor adventure in the Rockies that she could get her hands on. She has since carried her passion for the outdoors & overall health & wellness with her back to the Reno, NV and Arnold, CA areas. She is an avid mountain biker & skier & also enjoys dirt biking, paddle boarding, fishing & climbing. She spent the last couple years as a full-time patroller at Mt Rose Ski Resort and is now excited about helping serve the NDF in many fundraising aspects! 

I am 20 years old and I was born in Sacramento, CA and moved to Arnold, CA at the age of 10. I had never snowboarded before, but it quickly became a part of me after moving close to Bear Valley Ski Resort. I spent all my free time in the winter at the ski area making memories with my friends on the freestyle team, and later went on to work in the terrain parks. I currently reside in Santa Cruz, CA where I work and am going to school for a degree in Radiology along with Welding, but my roots will always be in Arnold/Bear Valley. I am always eager to pickup any new activity that I can that involves being outdoors, I enjoy mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, surfing, dirt biking, fish by and of course still get up to the mountains as much as I can to snowboard!

 Michelle Harvey lives in Lake Tahoe with her husband/best friend, Joey.  She bought her first season pass at Mammoth Mountain in 1996 and has made a lifestyle out of these passes ever since.  Michelle is an avid snowboarder who likes riding her snowmobile for  backcountry access.  She always has her avalanche safety gear with her.  She also loves her downhill mountain bike.  Michelle believes the mountains restore her soul.  For the past 17 years, Michelle has worked in the animal field, more recently with captive  bears, tigers and elephants. She is hopeful that we can bring an end to unnecessary suffering and cruelty to animals.  

My name is Stanimira Karadocheva everybody knows me as Sunny - snowboarder and adventurer. As a snowboard rider I am leading Wildberries Crew girls to safe  extreme sports.  We try to spent most of our time in the mountains. Being in the mountains and riding the extreme terrain  we should all be educated and acknowledge the danger.  We would like to support avalanche educational programs and spread the word to keep everyone safe.