Funding held steady for the Utah Avalanche Center this winter, even as low snow conditions pulled attention away from avalanche safety.
The nonprofit runs on a mix of funding from corporate partners, community donations and programs that bring in revenue. One of the biggest is its discounted lift ticket program, built in partnership with ski resorts across Utah.
Resorts donate lift tickets to the nonprofit, which are then resold at a discount to the public and funneled back to support forecasting and education. That program alone brought in more than $115,000 this year, with Park City Mountain tickets from the Utah Avalanche Center’s partnership with Vail EpicPromise accounting for nearly half of that total.
“We’re thrilled to have that community support still, even even in these thin snow times,” said Development Director Kate Waller.
Even in a historically lean snow year, the tickets still sold out, just like they do every year. That revenue feeds directly into the organization’s core operations, particularly forecasting and education in the Park City area. With the help of those funds, the center produced roughly 350 daily forecasts for the Park City zone alone this year, said Waller.
“From a forecasting perspective, nothing’s changed,” Waller said. “The forecasters are still out there every day, and, regardless of anything else, there’s always some sort of avalanche problem to discuss.”
Fewer storms and a shorter season made avalanche safety less urgent to casual recreationists, evidenced by how people engaged with education. Waller said the center’s on-snow courses did not sell out this year as they have in years prior.
“It just wasn’t front of mind for a lot of people,” said Waller.
Waller said that while the Utah Avalanche Center’s work does not change with conditions, public urgency does. In lean snow years, fewer people sign up for formal training, even though avalanche risk still exists.
Maintaining daily forecasts ensures that backcountry users have up-to-date information about snowpack instability, terrain hazards and weather patterns that could trigger slides. And while paid course participation dipped, free educational outreach saw an increase this year.
The center delivered 138 “Know Before You Go” presentations statewide this year, a free avalanche awareness initiative aimed at both students and adults, 40% more than they offered last winter. The nonprofit held 14 presentations in Summit County alone.
These presentations serve as a first step for many people heading into avalanche terrain, covering basic decision-making, hazard recognition and risk management.
Funding from the center’s partnership with Vail EpicPromise helps make that possible, directing support specifically toward forecasting and programs like “Know Before You Go” so the Utah Avalanche Center can offer them free to the public.
The organization’s year-end campaign exceeded its goal by nearly $45,000, while its spring campaign fell short by about $10,000 — a gap Waller attributed to an early shift out of winter recreation.
Those campaigns are driven in part by online and in-person auctions — with the help of their sponsors and corporate partnerships — where the Utah Avalanche Center sells donated items like lift tickets, golf rounds, dining credits and gear.
The auctions run multiple times a year, including preseason, holiday and spring campaigns and are typically promoted through the center’s website and fundraising events.
“Looking at that across the fundraising spectrum for the year, we held strong, which is great. And again, this is a huge testament to the community,” said Waller.
Even as spring funding tapered off with the start of an early mountain-biking season, the organization ended the season in a relatively strong position, buoyed by consistent community support and long-standing partnerships.
Looking ahead, the Utah Avalanche Center is working to expand beyond traditional outdoor industry sponsors and build up its membership and individual giving programs, aiming to keep funding steady and support its work keeping people safe on snow, even in the worst of winters.
“Now we start our summer work. We’re looking at how we can refine or improve any of our programs,” said Waller. “From a fundraising perspective, we are looking at how we can bring more non-outdoor industry corporate partners into our sponsorship sphere, improving our membership program, and then we’re going to hope that next winter brings a little bit more snow.”