“We’re all backcountry skiers by heart,” said Chris Bilbrey, forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “That’s why we enjoy doing this.” (Reuben Schafir/Durango Herald) 
Chris Bilbrey, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, offers a look at the size and shape of snow crystals from a snow pit near Andrews Lake. “It’s sort of like a cat-and-mouse game with the snowpack,” he said of his work. (Reuben Schafir/Durango Herald) 
Chris Bilbrey, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, digs a pit with Rebecca Hodgetts, southern mountains lead forecaster with the CAIC. (Reuben Schafir/Durango Herald) 
“It’s a storybook from the beginning to the end, and the narrative changes every time,” said Chris Bilbrey, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. He gets to know individual persistent weak layers well throughout the season. (Reuben Schafir/Durango Herald) 
Chris Bilbrey, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, digs between 80 and 110 snow pits each year and becomes intimately familiar with the San Juan Mountains’ snowpack. (Reuben Schafir/Durango Herald)
SNOW JOB: Forecasting Colorado avalanche is a packed adventure
