Meet Our AIARE Team
At Bluebird Backcountry, we believe in better backcountry, which is why we offer avalanche education for every level. Our world class AIARE program will help you achieve your education goals — whether you are just starting your journey to a safer practice, need a refresher on your current skillset, or want to take your knowledge to the next level. Our professional, outgoing, and experienced team will help you achieve your avalanche education goals.
Karen Ranieri
I am so excited to be a part of the Bluebird Backcountry team again this season! I live in Silverthorne, CO and skiing and snow are some of my favorite things, next to my incredible dog Phineas. The most amazing place I have ever skied is Iceland, I can’t wait to go back. I am certified Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Technician and have been an AIARE instructor since 2020. I own my own medical device education consulting company and I am the founder of lumihealing, a non-profit organization that helps people diagnosed with breast cancer thrive with snow based activities. Check us out on Instagram @lumihealingforbc and take a peek at our website: lumihealing.org. Think snow!!
Lucas Mouttet
Lucas spends most of the winter out of Steamboat Springs, CO, working for Bluebird, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Never Summer Outdoor School as well as an instructor trainer for AIARE. In the summer he gets to spend time with his family (amazing wife and two shredder girls), play music, run and bike in the hills and float on the wet stuff.
Karin Pocock
Karin began working professionally in the mountains in 2002, and has spent the last 20 years as an outdoor educator, technical guide, ski patroller, avalanche forecaster, and course director/ staff trainer for Outward Bound schools across western North America.
She is currently trained by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) in the Ski and Alpine disciplines and is an AMGA certified Rock Guide. Active full-time since 2003 in the avalanche industry, Karin is trained to a Professional Level 2 standard and is both AIARE course leader as well as a course instructor and course lead for professional avalanche courses.
When not at work, Karin can be found rock climbing splitter cracks in the desert, overnight bike-packing single track through the mountains or curled up with her guitar.
Roger Coit
Roger has been leading avalanche safety courses since the mid-1990s, has been an AIARE Course Leader since 2014, and is currently on the AIARE instructor staff. He recently served as the Colorado Mountain College Avalanche Science Program Director and was a full-time faculty at the college for 12 years teaching outdoor studies and wilderness and urban EMS. He has been an educator since 1995 and has worked variably as a paramedic, EMS agency director, assistant ski patrol director, snow safety coordinator, and manager of a whitewater rafting operation on the Arkansas River.
Roger lives in Salida, CO with his wife Kate and currently works as a full-time paramedic with Chaffee County EMS.
Kelli Rohrig
I’m a Colorado native, 2nd generation ski bum. I’m extremely lucky to have been put on skis (free babysitting) at the age of 2 when my family lived at Copper Mountain. I’ve been skiing the backcountry since high school and have been an avalanche educator for almost 20 years. With little BC education available “back in the day,” I fell into the role of educator by default. I’ve been an AIARE instructor since 2011, a lead instructor since 2014.
I live in the Vail area and am very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to ski around the world.
Gary Osteen
I teach AIARE Avalanche classes for Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs and Bluebird Backcountry. At CMC I lead bikepacking, fly fishing, backcountry navigation, and ski guiding courses.
I get to guide skiing, fly fishing, and hunting at threeforksranch.com, and slide on snow at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School coaching rally driving skills. I always strive to learn more about my favorite subjects and share the good word with good people. I seem to be attracted to gliding on snow, standing in moving water, sneaking through the woods, floating by riverbanks, and wasting time with a guitar.
Favorite Bluebird Quote, “The Bluebird carries the sky on his back” by Henry David Thoreau.
Eddie Schoen
Eddie is an IFMGA Mountain Guide and AIARE Course Leader with a problematic dependency on good coffee and pizza. From Denali to Hokkaido, he loves to share the amazing breadth of experiences across rock, snow, and ice that the world’s mountains offer up. He has worked extensively in the Pacific Northwest, Tetons, Colorado’s Front Range, Japan, and Alaska, and completed professional level avalanche training in both the U.S. and Canada. The art of moving through the mountains is a life-long pursuit, and Eddie loves sharing what he has learned so far with each and every guest no matter the medium. Outside of guiding, Eddie works on the industrial side of the snow and avalanche world as a project manager for Wyssen Avalanche Control. He currently resides in Golden, CO, but splits his time between there and the Pacific Northwest.
Graham Kane
I started skiing at age 5 and learned to backcountry ski in college while working as a research associate at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research. After graduating from the CMC Avalanche Science Program, I became an AIARE Instructor in 2020. I work as a Paramedic and also with Vail Ski Patrol and Vail Mountain Rescue Group. I’m currently working on the UIAA/ICAR Diploma in Mountain Medicine through the Wilderness Medical Society. This is my 3rd season working at Bluebird Backcountry.
Chris Denne
Chris is a lifelong snow rider with deep roots in our Rocky Mountain West. He has taught avalanche safety and rescue courses in Colorado since 2004, is a National Ski Patrol Avalanche & AIARE Instructor, has performed many searches and rescues in Colorado since 2002 with Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol & LCSAR, and teaches wilderness first aid. He also worked for 9 years as a safety kayaker & raft guide on the New & Gauley rivers in West Virginia. Chris is passionate about snow safety, backcountry skiing, experiencing mountain wilderness, and hopes to keep up with his teenage son on their adventures.
Erika Lee
I grew up in the Sierra Nevada and have been skiing since I was 2. In high school, I began exploring the backcountry in winter more and was fortunate enough to have an amazing mentor. With a degree in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education from Prescott College, I spent multiple winters in college in the Tetons for avalanche forecasting courses. This is where my love for snow science and avalanche education was sparked. After working in the outdoor education industry for 5 years, I’ve focused my energy on snow-specific.
This is my 3rd year as an avalanche educator and 2nd year working at Bluebird Backcountry as an AIARE instructor and curriculum developer for their backcountry education program. I’m currently based in Fort Collins and when not at work, you can find me in the mountains skiing, running, and making art inspired by the landscapes I travel through.
Owen Richard
Owen Richard grew up adventuring in Wisconsin before moving to Colorado in 2001. Shortly after that move, he began venturing into the backcountry at Cameron Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, and The Indian Peaks Wilderness. He has been assisting and teaching avalanche classes with Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol since 2012, he’s been the director of the patrol since 2015, and began teaching avalanche courses with Never Summer Outdoor School in 2016. Owen loves traveling to snowy adventures throughout Europe and North America, and is excited to explore the opportunities teaching in the innovative environment at Bluebird Backcountry.
Matthew Sellick
Matt is a well-rounded instructor and guide. Matt lives in Colorado Springs and works year-round in the rock, alpine, and ski disciplines and has guided in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Mexico, and Canada.
Matt is as passionate about nutrition as he is about mountains. He cares deeply about the Indigenous knowledge of the plants in the areas in which we recreate and is working towards a M.S. degree in Dietetics. He enjoys teaching AIARE courses so that people can use the knowledge to get deeper into the quiet winter landscape.
Travis Tucker
Travis has been working in the guiding and outdoor instruction industry since 2004 primarily as a Mountaineering & Splitboarding Guide. Travis also started working in guide service management in 2014 and has been working as both a guide and in operations to date. Travis loves to cultivate "aHa!" moments with students / clients and actively seeks opportunities to do so as much as possible. Travis currently works & teaches for Aspen Alpine Guides, Colorado Mountain College, and Colorado Mountain School, but prefers the laid back vibe and sunshine at Bluebird Backcountry. He also recently started his own business (Moto Mountain School) with the intent of making avalanche education more accessible and specific to mechanized users. Travis is a certified Wilderness EMT, AIARE Instructor, and A3 Pro2.
Alex Bogner
Alex grew up in Woodstock, NY, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, where he got his start skiing at 4 years old. While attending Lyndon State College in Northern Vermont, Alex discovered a passion for backcountry skiing and a fascination with avalanches. Alex was fortunate to take his AIARE Level 1 & 2 courses as part of Lyndon’s Mountain Recreation Management program. After graduating from Lyndon in December of 2017, Alex headed west to explore bigger mountain ranges such as the Cascades, Wasatch, Tetons, Chugach, Flathead, and Sierra Nevada. In December 2019, Alex received his Professional Level 1 from American Avalanche Institute at Mt. Baker. After many socially distanced ski tours during the pandemic, Alex took the AIARE Instructor Trainer Course in Park City in January, 2022. Since completing the AIARE ITC, he has been teaching courses for Bluebird Backcountry and Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center.
