Juneau’s avalanche forecasters are gearing up for winter. The state Department of Transportation and the local electric utility re-installed scientific instruments to help them predict avalanche risk at their largest research site in town.

Last month, avalanche forecaster Mike Janes rode the Goldbelt Tram, pulled on a harness and climbed a metal weather tower on the north-facing slope of Mount Roberts in the pouring rain.

“It gives us a baseline,” Janes said about the research site. “Here’s what the snowpack at this elevation in a sheltered area is doing.”

Janes works at Alaska Electric Light & Power. He sets up sensors that will help predict the threat of avalanches once Juneau’s famous rain turns to snow.

Mount Roberts and Mount Juneau loom over downtown. The steep slopes are marked

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