Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Montgomery Meigs Atwater (1904-1976) was an author, forester, and avalanche expert. He was born in Baker, Oregon and educated at Harvard. He lived in Montana in the 1930s and wrote short stories and mysteries, some under the pseudonym of Max Montgomery. In the 1950s he was in the U. S. Forest Service, and became an expert in snow avalanche forecasting and control.
The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, files of data on snow avalanche forecasting and control, and published books, all of which are dated from 1955 to 1966. Correspondence includes personal correspondence and business correspondence with small publishers. The subject headings for the files were established by Mr. Atwater and retained for continuity in filing. Files contain incoming and outgoing correspondence, arranged chronologically and alphabetically, reports to and from Forest Service officials and other interested persons, factual data, photographs, maps, and printed resource material. The files cover a period from 1955 to 1966, primarily 1959 to 1962, and are related to Mr. Atwater's work in Squaw Valley, California, and the Tahoe National Forest as a snow safety and avalanche expert.