Bruce Goodlad has been an International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) guide since 2001 and worked as a mountaineering instructor in the UK prior to that. He has guided on skis and foot all over the world working from Antarctica in the south to Greenland in the north. He spends about 100 days a year guiding on skis; there?s nothing he loves more than sharing his time in the mountains with like-minded people. He has a special interest in avalanche education and works each year on a number of avalanche courses for professional and recreational skiers. This is the second book Bruce has written. The first was Alpine Mountaineering - an introduction to alpine mountaineering techniques and the routes to develop them on, also by Pesda Press. Bruce was the Technical Director for British Mountain Guides between 2012 and 2016 when he was responsible for the organisation of training for guides. He is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association (AAA) and a partner in the avalanche education business Avalanche Geeks. Alison Thacker is a British Association of Snowsport Instructors (BASI) level 4 ski instructor - a BASI trainer working on Ski Instructor mountain safety courses. Alison comes from a background in Scottish skiing and has raced at international level representing Scotland. She is now based full-time in the Alps where she runs her off-piste instruction and coaching business. As well as coaching and instructing Alison is a passionate ski tourer and has explored mountains all over the world on skis. Alison has spent many hours trying to iron out all of Bruce's bad skiing habits! Mike Austin is an American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Assistant Ski Guide. He is a Professional Member of the American Avalanche Association, a collective group of dedicated professionals engaged in the study, forecasting, control and mitigation of avalanches, and holds Level 3 avalanche certification. Mike has guided on ski for over 18 years, primarily on the west coast of North America from Alaska to California as well as Norway and Antarctica. In addition to guiding he has worked in a professional capacity in search and rescue programs for government agencies in Antarctica and Scotland. He has made winter ascents of prominent high altitude peaks in Alaska and Antarctica and first ascents in the Pakistan Karakoram and the Cordillera Blanca of Peru. Mike and Bruce are partners in Avalanche Geeks, a Scotland and Alps based avalanche school. Mike co-authored the avalanche and avalanche rescue chapters of this second edition.
