RIP Dr. Sue Ferguson

I learned today that Sue Ferguson, former head of the NWAC and co-author of The ABC's of Avalanche Safety (Third Edition) with Ed LaChapelle, succumbed to cancer on December 18, 2005. She was a pioneer in snow and glacier study in the US, helping put the "science" in the term snow science. In her self-description at her 20th high school reunion (we were in the same class at Mercer Island High) she called herself an "itinerant ski bum, with papers . . . "<br><br>There's a thread on T-Tips here www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=15534

I'm sorry to hear this. I didn't know Sue Ferguson personally.<br><br>I was not aware that Sue was involved with NWAC. I thought Mark Moore and Rich Marriot were the founders. (Ken White was involved early too. Ed LaChapelle was their mentor.) <br><br> This desciption of "The ABC's of Avalanche Safety, 3rd Ed." summarizes Sue's career this way:<br><br>

Sue Ferguson directed the Utah Avalanche Center. She founded the Avalanche Review and co-founded the American Avalanche Association.

<br>Does anybody know for sure if she was involved in NWAC? Garth?<br><br>My condolences to Sue's family and friends.

I can't vouch for the veracity of the NWAC link, I was reiterating what was posted on T-Tips, and never spoke with her about it.

Dr. Ferguson was part of NWAC and a forecaster through the early 90's-around 1992. If I recall correctly, she left NWAC for a postion at NOAA (?). She also was involved in the American Association of Avalanche Professionals (now the American Avalanche Asso.). She was the original Editor of The Avalanche Review, the industry periodical. The Avalanche Review continues to be published by the American Avalanche Association.<br><br>Dr. Ferguson made important contributions to avalanche science. She was a highly respected leader in the avalanche community.

Very sad to hear this - I heard from a mutual friend in early December that Sue was very sick, but her death kind of rushed up on me.<br><br>I knew Sue quite well in the early/mid 80s when we were both students at the University of Washington - Sue was Ed LaChapelle's last student before he retired from UW. Sue was not an original founder of NWAC (Mark and Rich were), although she worked for them in the early 90s, as Randonnee mentioned earlier.<br><br>Sue did found the Avalanche Review, though - created it on her desk in Seattle in 1982, I think, just in time to report on the Alpine Meadows avalanche. The paper was a one-person operation for the first few years (Sue took a trip to to Switzerland to work at Davos in '83 and recruited Don Perovich and me to edit and assemble one issue - no other staff!). The American Avalanche Association grew out of AR after AR had been running for a few years, if I remember right.<br><br>Sue also worked for many years at the Snowdome station at Blue Glacier at Mt. Olympus, and was involved in glaciology field work before focusing on avalanches. The Snowdome hut was covered with her cartoons. After graduating from UW Sue worked for the USFS Fire Interactions Research and Engineering team, and as a forcaster at NWAC , the Alaska Avalanche Center, and directed the Utah Avalanche Center, although I don't know the dates of those. Altogether Sue spent nearly as much of her carrer working on weather and climatology as she did on avalanches.<br><br>I last saw her about 10 years ago - wish she was still around.

I was also very sorry to hear of the death of Sue Ferguson. I remember she taught an upper level avalanche class at the U of W in the mid-80's. I recall meeting her at the Atmospheric sciences building while doing library research on dry snow metamorphism. She suggested a number of papers. I also spoke with her a number of times while she was working as a forecaster. Although I didn't know her well, I know she had many friends in the community and will be missed.