My husband and I are huge back country skiers and are thinking of naming our soon to be daughter [name]Avalon[/name] with the nickname “[name]Avi[/name]” (short for avalanche). We live in a small, hippy, mountain town. Thanks for your opinions!!!
Ha! [name]Avalon[/name] doesn’t say hippie to me, nor does [name]Avi[/name], but “avalanche” does, I guess - well, not really, but I like the natural connection for you all. I hope your daughter-to-be is a rough-and-tumble, wild kind of gal so she lives up to her avalanche nickname. That’s cute!
To answer your question, yes, I do like [name]Avalon[/name]. It has a regal, mysterious, subtly feminine quality to it that I really like. It somehow manages to be both romantic and playful at the same time, and it combines strength and subtlety beautifully. Now, I’m guessing that your [name]Avi[/name] nickname rhymes with [name]Abby[/name], right, so that it sounds like the beginning of avalanche? Cute, and appropriate for [name]Avalon[/name], for sure. I think this is a great choice for you, but I’d follow it up with something a little bit classic in the middle (i.e., [name]Avalon[/name] [name]Claire[/name], [name]Avalon[/name] [name]Julia[/name], [name]Avalon[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Avalon[/name] [name]Rose[/name], [name]Avalon[/name] [name]Sarah[/name]), as the dichotomy of the two names really adds to the appeal, I think.
[name]Lemon[/name] 
What lemon said. I love the name [name]Avalon[/name]. I think they nn [name]Avi[/name] is cute even without knowing it is for avalanche. If you live in a hippy mountain village, I’m sure both [name]Avalon[/name] and [name]Avi[/name] will fly.
My only concern, none of the skier I know joke about avalanches, not that one can’t.
I like it. My first thought was the car, though.