It all began with a question.
How can local avalanche professionals and our local recreational community work together to share snowpack and avalanche conditions to keep backcountry travelers safer?
the state of the snowpack Mission
Decrease backcountry avalanche incidents, casualties, and rescues through the sharing of detailed community-specific snowpack analysis.
Bridge the gap between Avalanche Canada’s Regional Avalanche Forecast and local knowledge shared in the InfoEx by guides and avalanche professions, providing as-local-as-it-gets snowpack analysis, in as clear & simple terms as possible.
Share information gathered from our local guiding and forecasting communities, allowing locals to make the most informed decisions in the backcountry, so we all make it home every night!
The State of the Snowpack (SOTS) is a BC Public Safety Society passionate about empowering backcountry recreationists with local-as-it-gets snowpack information on a community-by-community basis so that we can all return home from the winter backcountry safely every day.
Alongside Avalanche Canada’s Regional Avalanche Forecasts, State of the Snowpack Events in-depth snowpack updates and short-form video snowpack updates serve as other tools in the tool-belt of decision-making for backcountry recreationalists!
REAL
SOTS live events aren’t lectures — they’re real-time, real-talk gatherings where avalanche professionals — guides, patrollers, and forecasters — speak candidly about what they’re seeing, how they’re making decisions, and what’s truly at stake, right in front of their communities.
LOCAL
When it comes to understanding the snowpack, Avalanche Canada provides the bigger regional picture, and State Of The Snowpack events provide the local-as-it-gets one. Highlighting current conditions in your local touring areas, from local professionals.
FREE
SOTS is committed to breaking barriers when it comes to access to backcountry snowpack and terrain information. All SOTS Chapter events are FREE and open to the public, because we believe that knowledge and autonomy around local conditions directly impacts the safety of our community.
2025/26 SOTS Impact Report
State of the Snowpack is a community-based framework that provides the tools and support for mountain communities to host their own avalanche awareness events.
During the 2025/26 season, communities across Canada came together to host more than 40 free public events, connecting avalanche professionals and backcountry users through local snowpack discussions, shared experiences, and meaningful conversations. This report celebrates what those communities accomplished together and the volunteers, presenters, sponsors, and partners who helped make it possible.
In The Media
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Hosted By Darren Davidson
“Despite the lack of snow as of late, the province’s snowpack is at 107 per cent of normal. However, the warm weather and unseasonal rain are making for tricky travel in the high country, and everyone’s wondering when the snow will return… The State of the Snowpack organization held its latest info session last week. The grassroots organization originated in Nelson and has since expanded to 10 chapters across Canada. Catherine Paone has been with SOTS since its local launch in 2019.”
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Bridging the Gap
Written by Greta Close PP.53-55
“State of the Snowpack is creating a space—through events and digital platforms—where backcountry users can learn about local conditions from snow safety experts within their community.”
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Written By: Nicholas Lampart PP. 38-41
“They weren’t just talking about layers or wind slabs. They were talking about uncertainty. Intuition. Loss. Learning.”
Powered By Volunteers.
The SOTS framework comes to life through local volunteers, avalanche professionals, presenters, hosts, livestream producers and community supporters who contribute their time, knowledge and experience to make SOTS events possible in mountain communities across Canada.
The People Behind the Framework
SOTS Board Of Directors
Introducing the board of directors for The State Of The Snowpack. From Avalanche Forecasting Professional, Avalanche Safety Educators, Ski and Mountain Guides, to Business Professionals. As a team we work together to continuously develop, improve and expand the state of the snowpack initiative. Our goal is to bring The State of the Snowpack to every mountain town and backcountry skiing community across Canada.
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Chair of the Board & Executive Director
Morgan Dinsdale is the founder of The State of the Snowpack Safety Society. She is a CSGA Level II Ski Guide, and Avalanche Practitioner with the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA Operations Level II). She works as a professional ski guide with Selkirk Snowcat Skiing and Whistler Heli Skiing, dividing her time between the coast and the interior of British Columbia. Her passion for backcountry exploration runs deep, in particular her love for backcountry ski touring, and she passionately seeks to help others enjoy wild places, empowered to make good decisions in a constantly changing winter landscape, through the sharing of free local snowpack information and the bringing together of backcountry communities throughout the Canadian West. After losing several close friends to mountain tragedies, it’s her deepest desire that everyone come home safely after a day of playing joyfully in the hills, because to her there’s no place more like home than the wild.
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Co-Founder & Foundational Leader, State of the Snowpack
Judson Wright was one of the original driving forces behind State of the Snowpack — a guide, educator, and visionary who helped shape SOTS from a small community gathering into a national public-safety movement.
As an ACMG Ski Guide and CAA Professional, Judson believed deeply in making the backcountry safer, more accessible, and more connected. His leadership style was humble, generous, and unwaveringly community-focused. Whether he was sharing thoughtful snowpack insights, building systems that strengthened professional standards, or mentoring new guides, Judson showed all of us what it means to lead with integrity and care.
Judson brought the same spirit to SOTS that he brought to the mountains:
clarity, curiosity, accountability, and a fierce commitment to helping people come home safely.
He championed good decision-making, honest conversations, mentorship, and the power of local knowledge. Much of SOTS’s culture — our emphasis on education, community, and professional excellence — exists because of him.Judson passed away in November 2025, and his absence is felt every single day.
But his influence continues to guide our work.
SOTS will always carry forward his mission to empower backcountry users, uplift guides, and strengthen community connections across Canada.We honour Judson by doing the work he believed in:
showing up for each other, sharing what we know, and keeping people safe in the mountains he loved.
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Board Member
Born in Nelson and raised in the Slocan Valley, Jason “Wishy” Wishlow started skiing at Morning Mountain at 6 years old and has been in love with it ever since! He graduated with a Bachelors of Kinesiology (Majoring in Outdoor Pursuits) in ‘97 from the University of Calgary and then ventured into the Canadian Rockies where his passions for alpine climbing, mountaineering and ski touring deepened and his work in the avalanche industry officially began. After moving back to Nelson in 2000 he began patrolling for Whitewater Ski Resort (WH20) while also working at several cat skiing operations before dedicating himself to patrolling full time. He has been a full time Avalanche Forecaster at WH20 for 14 seasons and will have been a member of their patrol for 23 years this season! Still in love with snow as much as ever, today he loves sharing his passion, knowledge and love for the snowpack and backcountry with his Nelson community!
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Board Member - Treasurer (*pending Board confirmation)
Nicolas is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Controller with extensive experience in financial management, financial reporting, budgeting, and organizational governance. An avid backcountry skier from North Vancouver, he has followed SOTS through its livestreams, is passionate about avalanche forecasting and public safety, and has volunteered for many years with Vancouver Adaptive Snowsports. Nicolas' professional expertise, governance experience, and passion for the backcountry community position him well to serve as Treasurer.
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Board Member & Director of Sponsorships
Eric (Chevy) Chevalier is an Avalanche Professional with the Canadian Avalanche Association and has been working in the ski industry for 25 years, dividing his time between Heli Skiing, Cat Skiing and Touring. He brings a wealth of knowledge to our SOTS team from nearly 40 years of backcountry skiing and snowboarding throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Chevy is a CSGA Level 3 ski guide and the Director of Mountain Operations at Selkirk Snowcat Skiing.
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Board Member - Business Advisor
Scott Dinsdale has been a global leader in digital and media & entertainment for over 30 years. From Merill Lynch to Sony Music to building Accenture’s Asia Pacific Media & Entertainment practice from the ground up as well as founding and co-founding iconic start-ups such as Data Broadcasting and Firstlook.com, Scott has been a global leader in digital and has helped issue in and transform varying landscape to the digital age. Scott chaired the Digital Advisory Panel to the Australian Sports Commission, is a Senior Fellow at The Annenberg Centre for the Digital Future, an All-Star Mentor with TechStars, and an active advisor to a number of ventures. As an advisor on the Board his expertise in start-ups and digital & media brings great value to the expansion of SOTS and the content we create and share. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdinsdale/
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Board Member - Fundraising & Revenue Development (*pending Board confirmation)
Grant Flagler is an Advanced Avalanche Educator and holds an Avalanche Operations Level 2 with the Canadian Avalanche Association. He has been working in the ski industry for 5 seasons, starting as a ski patroller at Lake Louise before making the move into tail guiding and avalanche course instruction with White Grizzly and Kootenay Backcountry Guides. Grant has been an avid ski tourer and skimo athlete for over a decade and loves the joy of exploring the unexplored corners of Western Canada.
In the summers, Grant serves as the Development Manager for the Canmore and Area Mountain Bike Association. In this role, he has collaborated with several local and regional partners to build a sustainable fundraising strategy for the organization.
Grant splits his time between Nelson, Canmore, and the French Alps with his wife and 6 year old Siberian Husky. You'll often find him running or skiing through the mountains with his family along for the adventure!
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Board Member (*pending Board confirmation)
Matt is a professional meteorologist based in Nelson, BC. He began his career with Environment Canada specializing in mountain meteorology working as the main liaison with Avalanche Canada and was one of the creators behind the Avalanche Canada Mountain Weather Forecast. After six years as the Lead Fire Weather Forecaster with the BC Wildfire Service, Matt returned to his passion of snow and weather and is now the Weather and Climate Specialist with the BC Ministry of Transportation’s Avalanche and Weather Program. In the winter, he also works as a snowboard guide for cat ski operations in the Selkirk Mountains. He also supplies various mechanized and industrial operators with custom weather training and forecasts through his consultancy Alpine Weather Consultants.
Over the past 20 years, Matt has taught over 40 Introductory and Advanced Weather courses for the Canadian Avalanche Association and is an Avalanche Practitioner Member of the CAA. Matt also served the CAA Board of Directors for six years as a board member. When not staring at screens and tracking millibars, he can be found shredding the Selkirks with his kids or sneaking out for a soulful splitboard tour. His passion for snow, weather, and shredding shines through in his instructing and in supporting the avalanche community.
Operational Team
Small but mighty. The SOTS Operational team collaborates to provide the resources, tools, and event support for communities to host SOTS events. We handle framework creation, marketing, account management, live stream training, and complete event logistics from planning to execution.
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Director of Operations, Programs & Development
Cath’s love for the mountains began the day she was born. Raised on the slopes of Whistler Blackcomb, she spent six years ski instructing at Grouse Mountain before falling hard for Fernie’s champagne powder. Her passion for skiing and mountain culture took her to Austria to study Alpine Tourism, and later to Japan, where she lived out her JAPOW dreams. Cath and her husband moved to Nelson eight years ago and are well on their way to earning local status.
Cath brings deep experience in event coordination and logistics, having honed her skills at Shambhala Music Festival as the Procurement and Show-Time Sales Manager. In this role, she worked with large teams to deliver one of the world’s largest music festivals, gaining hands-on expertise in operations, coordination, and high-pressure event delivery.
In 2020, Cath joined Kootenay Backcountry Guides as Operations Manager, where she worked closely with Judson Wright and became deeply involved with State of the Snowpack. During this time, she played a key role in shaping the SOTS brand into what it is today—building and designing the SOTS website, supporting the development of presentation formats, and helping establish the look, feel, and flow of SOTS community events.
As Director of Operations, Programs & Development, Cath supports all SOTS chapters and events nationwide. She oversees operations, manages marketing and communications, and works closely with the Board to support the ongoing development and growth of the organization.
When she’s not coordinating events or keeping the SOTS engine running, Cath is spending time with her family and friends—ripping around on the WH20, exploring the backcountry, and raising a family in the mountains she loves.
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Livestream Manager
Shane, the founder of Strawman Productions, is a producer, director, and livestream professional. His live-streaming career started back in 2006 with multi-camera productions for theatre that took live video to a projector screen. Shane brings our in-person events to the comforts of your home.
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Marketing and Communications coordinator
Born to two avid skiers in the Laurentian mountains of Québec, skiing has been a part of Chloé’s life as long as she can remember. Growing up ski racing and eventually coaching young ski racers, Chloé always had one dream in mind; moving to the mountains of British Columbia and getting to ski the powder she’d heard all about.
Ever since making the move out west, Chloé has spent every winter working at ski resorts and deepening her knowledge of the ski industry. She took up backcountry skiing and found a renewed passion for the sport she already loved. Chloé is not only an avid skier, but she also has a passion for art and graphic design, working as a freelance graphic designer. Her art is a way to further her passion for skiing, having mostly collaborated with Ski resorts and other related organizations to create appealing merchandise for their retail stores.
Chloé has now started a new degree in Business management and marketing, with the intention of using those new found skills, her creativity, and passion to join the State of the Snowpack team for the 2026 season. As Marketing and Communications coordinator for SOTS, she can apply those skills to help develop the communication surrounding the impacts of the organization.
When she is not working, studying or creating, you’ll find Chloé in the mountains exploring the backcountry or hiking with her partner and dog.
Voting Membership
State of the Snowpack (SOTS) has adopted a voting membership structure to reflect our commitment to transparency, accountability, and community-led governance.
Voting Members are individuals who support the Society’s mission and have meaningfully contributed to its programs or operations.
To ensure democratic integrity and compliance with BC Societies Act requirements, the number of Voting Members will always exceed the number of directors by at least two to one. This model strengthens inclusive, community-rooted decision-making and reinforces SOTS’ long-term sustainability and public accountability. It ensures that our programming remains mission-driven, responsive to the communities we serve, and aligned with our public safety mandate.