CAIC Shares Avalanche Research and Operational Work at ISSW 2026

CAIC staff contributed to 16 research papers at the 2026 International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) (opens in a new tab) in Whistler, British Columbia, where avalanche professionals and researchers from around the world gathered to share new science, operational experience and ideas that can improve avalanche forecasting, decision-making and public safety.

The four-day technical program brought together research and operational perspectives across avalanche science, emerging technology, forecasting, decision-making and the human factors involved in managing avalanche risk. For CAIC staff, it was also an opportunity to exchange ideas with avalanche programs and researchers from around the world and bring new approaches back to our work in Colorado.

CAIC-led research presented at ISSW

• Fatal Occupational Injuries of Avalanche Workers in the United States and Canada (1950–2025), examining fatal avalanche accidents among people working in avalanche terrain. (opens in a new tab)
• Causes of Death Among Avalanche Fatalities in Colorado, USA: A 30-Year Review, looking beyond avalanche burial to better understand the factors contributing to fatal outcomes. (opens in a new tab)
• Consistency in Avalanche Forecasting: An Evaluation of Supplemental Guidance for Danger Ratings and Avalanche Problem Types, examining tools intended to help forecasters make more consistent assessments. (opens in a new tab)
• From UAV Snow Depth Measurements to Runout Probability: A Decision-Support Model Chain for Operational Avalanche Hazard Assessment, exploring how drone-based snow measurements can support estimates of avalanche runout. (opens in a new tab)
• Start Zone Characteristics and Timing of Wet Slab Avalanches in Colorado, investigating where and when wet slab avalanches occur. (opens in a new tab)
• Climate-Scale Maps of Cold-Season Temperature and Precipitation Trends in the Mountainous Areas of Colorado, examining long-term changes in winter temperature and precipitation across Colorado’s mountains. (opens in a new tab)

Additional research with CAIC coauthors

CAIC staff also collaborated with researchers and avalanche professionals on work spanning forecast communication, snowpack stability, weather and climate, avalanche modeling and operational decision support:

• Assessing Public Backcountry Avalanche Forecasts
• Grey Zones: Examining Forecasters’ Practices and Perspectives for Communicating Uncertainty in Public Avalanche Forecasts
• Considerations for Effective Uncertainty Communication in Public Avalanche Forecasts
• Numerical study of the feasibility of a downslope structure to limit avalanche size during avalanche control activity
• A Decision Support Tool For Assessing The Historical Significance Of Storm Totals From Remote Automated Weather Stations
• Using Modified Propagation Saw Tests To Track Incremental Changes In Snowpack Stability
• Forecasting Avalanches In Data-Sparse Central Asia Using Snowpack And Weather Modeling With Avalanche Observations 
• Revisiting Avalanche Destructive Scale And Associated Mass Estimates 
• Establishing A Collaborative Python Library For Parsing And Post-Processing Snow Cover Simulations: Xsnow 
• Stability Changes After Weak Layer Collapse: Insights From An Unexpected Dataset 

Together, the work reflects many of the questions CAIC and the broader avalanche community are working to answer: how to make forecasts more consistent, communicate uncertainty effectively, learn from avalanche accidents, and use new data and technology to improve avalanche hazard assessment and decision-making.

Ron Simenhois receives Special Service Award at ISSW 

Congratulations to CAIC’s Ron Simenhois, who received the American Avalanche Association’s Special Service Award (opens in a new tab) for outstanding service to the North American snow and avalanche community.

Ron has worked in avalanche forecasting and research for more than two decades and is best known for developing the Extended Column Test, or ECT (opens in a new tab), which is now widely used by avalanche professionals in the United States and around the world to assess whether cracks may propagate through weak layers in the snowpack.

His research has also included crack propagation, wet and storm snow avalanches, glide avalanches, decision-making and other areas of applied avalanche science.

ISSW is designed to connect research with practice. CAIC staff will continue applying what they learned and the collaborations developed in Whistler to avalanche forecasting, highway avalanche safety, research and public communication in Colorado.