Many of us enjoy snowboarding, snowshoeing, and other winter sports at the season’s first sign of snow. But what about when a massive amount of snow crashes down the mountain, gains speed and size with every second, buries everything in its path, and researches the bottom as compact as cement? Getting caught in an avalanche is extremely dangerous—every year, dozens of people die trapped in a snowy landslide. Most of us are able to enjoy the snow safely because of avalanche researchers such as Karl Birkeland, who studies the science behind avalanches to help us avoid and survive these natural disasters. A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, snow lover (he was on skies by age 2), and innate scientist, Birkeland is in his element.