Professional and Ski Patrol Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW)
The in-person session will be held at the Dejoria Center in Kamas, UT (970 UT-32, Kamas, UT 84036).
If you are attending virtually, the livestream link will be sent at the end of October.
Join us for the 17th Annual Professional Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW), where Utah’s avalanche community will team up with snow professionals from around the west to share avalanche knowledge. The goal of the PROSAW is to provide continuing education for avalanche workers across the country by sharing case studies and stories from different operations in different snow climates with information to help them in their day to day jobs. The workshop will follow the spirit of the International Snow Science Workshop of merging theory and practice. Presenters will include patrollers, backcountry guides and forecasters, highway forecasters, SAR personnel, snow scientists, researchers, and more. The format will be 15-minute presentations followed by Q&A.
PROSAW is an all-day, two-part workshop; everyone is invited to join for both sessions on November 4. The morning is dedicated to Utah-specific presentations, while the afternoon addresses stories and lessons learned nationwide.
2024 Agenda
El Nino for some… El Nada for others
08:30-08:35: Welcome
08:35-08:50: Winter Review
08:50-09:10: ENSO Weather Factors-contributing to the 2023-24 winter season and what to look for with LaNina in the hopper- Samuel Webber, National Weather Service
Operational Considerations
09:15-09:45: Basic Explosives Safety-A rapid-fire, round-robin session, Q&A
09:50-10:10: We’re a little bit country and western -NSAA explosives guidelines for the world of handling, storage, and delivery- Doug Catharine, PCMR/Canyons Village
10:15-10:35: Not all cats have nine lives- Grooming and Snowmaking Communication and SOP… taking a look under the hood at things that go bump in the night
BREAK
Theory Meets Practice
10:55-11:15 When the weakest snow in town works to your advantage-
Spatial variability on the Park City ridgeline. Mike Craig, Canyons Village Snow Safety
11:20-11:35 Customized Terrain Mapping- Dave Kikkert, Park City Powder Cats and Robbie Young, Alpine Forestry
11:40-12:00 PowMow Expansion- An overview from 30,000’ to boots on the ground. Nichole Dye, Powder Mountain Snow Safety
LUNCH
AFTERNOON SESSION 13:00-16:15
Science Meets Forecasting
13:05-13:25: ISSW 2024 Recap Highlights and Take Homes from the Land of the Midnight Sun- Paige Pagnucco, Director, Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center
13:30-13:50: SNOPACK-The nuts and bolts behind the Utah Avalanche Center’s Machine Learning project. Travis Morrison, University of Utah & Trent Meisenheimer, Utah Avalanche Center
13:55- 14:15: Human Knowledge and Tech: The balance of institutional knowledge with new technological tools in avalanche forecasting- Gabrielle Antonioli, Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
Succession Planning
14:20-14:40: RAC’s Update and Upgrade -I wish I knew now, what I didn’t know then- Steven Clark, UDOT & Adam Davis, Alpine Mountain Construction and PCMR Snow Safety
14:45-15:05: Planning for the Future Transitioning-decades of institutional knowledge to your colleagues and successors. Paul Santana & Tyler St. Jeor, Canyons Village Snow Safety
BREAK
Mindset and Preconceived Notions
15:20-15:40- Talking Mountain Cirque- Operational changes and lessons learned from an avalanche accident that rocked a small desert town. Eric Trenbeath, Utah Avalanche Center Moab
15:45-16:15- Big Willow Cirque- A deep dive from three different perspectives into an usually late avalanche accident in a remote zone so close, yet so far from a big, little city- Max McNeil- Brighton Ski Resort, Ryan Clerico- Salt Lake County SAR, and Craig Gordon- Utah Avalanche Center
HAPPY HOUR 16:15-17:00