In this episode, Sara Boilen interviews Andrea Manberg. Andrea is an economist and researcher who spends her time thinking about human behavior, decision-making, and risk in avalanche terrain. Having survived a pretty brutal avalanche herself, Andrea is passionate about understanding what motivates us toward risk and how we position ourselves to enjoy our pursuits while staying as safe as we want to. She presented at ISSW on her paper, Is it a man’s world? Gendered professional experiences in snow and avalanche safety and came on the podcast to talk to Sara about the reality faced by males, females, and non binary folks in an industry long-dominated by men. The conversation delves into various topics including what makes a good snow and avalanche professional, mentorship, and menstruation. Join us as we deconstruct the myth that it is, and needs to be, a man’s world.

• Website for CARE (where Andrea Works): https://en.uit.no/ansatte/andrea.mannberg There, you can find out more about Andrea and what the good folks at CARE are doing as well as links to Andrea’s publications.

• If you’d like to watch more of Andrea, here’s a link to a great talk she gave back in 2017 with the Sawtooth Avalanche Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7xSutCesLQ

• Read the research by Andrea and her colleagues, as presented at ISSW Tromso here: https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/ISSW2024_O11.6.pdf

Support for this Episode is provided by:

Wyssen Avalanche Control

Gordini

OpenSnow

Propagation Labs