Community
Conversations Saving
Lives In The
Backcountry
State of the Snowpack is a community-based framework that empowers mountain communities to host free, recurring snowpack and avalanche awareness events.
Local volunteers organize each chapter. Local avalanche and backcountry professionals lead the conversations. SOTS provides the framework, tools, resources and operational support that help make it possible. Find your local chapter and see what's happening in your community.
11 mountain communities across Canada are hosting SOTS events for the 2026/27 winter season.
The story of our snowpack
Each winter our snowpack tells a story, a narrative that plays out over time. Every time the wind blows, every time the snow flies, every time the weather brings something new, that’s a different chapter within the story of our winter. This is the story of our snowpack.
come for the snowpack. stay for the community.
SOTS events are for people who love spending time in the winter backcountry.
Skiers, snowboarders, splitboarders, snowmobilers, snowshoers, ice climbers, guides, forecasters, patrollers, Search and Rescue volunteers, tenure operators, seasoned locals and people just getting started all have a place in the conversation.
It's a chance to talk about what's actually happening out there—the snowpack, changing conditions, great days, hard days, close calls, lessons learned and the experiences that stick with us.
People ask questions. Share stories. Laugh. Learn. And keep the conversation going throughout the winter.
Local avalanche professionals are at the heart of every SOTS conversation.
SOTS creates an opportunity for professionals working in the same mountains—but often across different operations, organizations and disciplines—to come together, share what they're seeing and make local knowledge more accessible to the wider backcountry community.
Those conversations bring recreational users, guides, forecasters, ski patrol, Search and Rescue, resorts, tenure operators and other local stakeholders into the same room.
For participating avalanche professionals, eligible involvement can also earn recognized Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Fostering Community & Holding SPace
When avalanche professionals speak from the heart directly to their communities, we build trust—and trust keeps people alive.
Let’s build belonging, foster safety, and strengthen our mountain communities—together.
There are many ways to be part of State of the Snowpack. Bring the framework to your community, volunteer with a local chapter, or help provide the resources and support that keep community-led events free and accessible.
what people are saying
“They weren’t just talking about layers or wind slabs. They were talking about uncertainty. Intuition. Loss. Learning.”
- Nicholas Lampart, Forecast Ski Magazine (9.2)
“SOTS is lowering the barrier for any mountain town to create and maintain a space in their community centered around local avalanche education.”
- Greta Close, Backcountry Magazine (162)
