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?
Our 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’s Live Event in-depth snowpack updates and our short-form video snowpack updates serve as other tools in the toolbelt of decision-making for backcountry recreationists!
When it comes to understanding the snowpack, Avalanche Canada provides the bigger regional picture, and State Of The Snowpack provides the local-as-it-gets one.
Meet the 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 resort and backcountry skiing community across British Columbia.
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Executive Director/Chair of the Board
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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Vice-Chair
Judson is the lead guide of Kootenay Backcountry Guides. After finishing high school in Ontario, Judson moved to the Kootenays and started his backcountry journey. While learning to ski tour in the Whitewater and Kootenay Pass backcountry, the seeds of an idea to bring a local ski guiding operation to the Kootenays were planted in his head. He spent the next 10 years exploring the mountains of western Canada and getting his A.C.M.G. guiding certification. Over time Judson fell in love with showing others the incredible backcountry in his backyard. In 2016 he officially launched Kootenay Backcountry Guides with a mission to increase safety in the backcountry and help others get the most out of their winter backcountry adventures.
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Board Member/Secretary
Cath's love for the mountains started the day she was born. She was raised on the slopes of Whistler Blackcomb, instructed at Grouse Mountain for six years, and fell in love with the Fernie champagne powder. Her love for skiing took her to Austria where she studied Alpine Tourism and to Japan where she lived out her JAPOW dreams. Cath and her husband moved to Nelson seven years ago and plan to earn that local status. She is passionate about backcountry education and safety. She supports SOTS with marketing, communication, event organization, and development.
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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
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/
EXPLORE & ENGAGE
LOCATIONS
Find a State Of The Snowpack near your ski town. Meet your local backcountry and safety experts, events schedules, and recent snowpack conditions. Currently hosted in Nelson, Rossland, and Revelstoke.
BECOME A SPONSOR
Support the cause of bringing State Of The Snowpack to every ski resort town across BC and become a key member of the backcountry community.
GET INVOLVED
Have questions? Want to get involved? Interested in bringing State of the Snowpack to your town? Contact us today and we will provide you with a tool kit to get started.