David Reichel

As soon as possible after graduating from UC Berkeley, David threw his snowboard in the car and moved to the mountains. He took his first avalanche course that winter in the Rockies, and he’s been exploring snow covered peaks ever since. Back home in the Sierra he has taught Level 1 and Level 2 avalanche courses since 2000. He has skinned and shredded across multiple trans High Sierra splitboard tours. He is a few days shy of traversing the length of the John Muir Trail, from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite Valley on his splitboard.

During the winter he works for the Sierra Avalanche Center as a Professional Observer, digging snow pits and gathering snowpack data. He is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association. In 2014, he founded and continues to run the California Avalanche Workshop. In addition to his work in the Sierra, David actively guides in the Cascades, Japan, and South America. Carving a 7000 foot springtime descent on Shasta, breaking trail in thigh deep Japow, or pinning it through red granite lined couloirs in Argentina provide ample opportunity to ponder splitboard technology and put equipment to the test.