By Nicole Koshure, Jerome David, and Tim Haggerty – Chairs, ISSW Whistler 2026
Calling all avalanche aficionados! ISSW Whistler 2026—a gathering of mind, body and soul for practitioners, professionals and researchers from around the world—is fast approaching. The conference kicks off in less than a year from September 28 to October 2, 2026. This will be the first time ISSW has been to Canada since Banff 2014.
Thank you to our partners and the sponsors that have signed on with us to get the conference off the ground. These include:
Our Partners:
Canadian Avalanche Association & Whistler Blackcomb
Our Sponsors:
Title Sponsors: Wyssen and Arcteryx
Safety Sponsors: CIL Avalanche and MND Safety
Supporting Sponsors: Inauen-Schatti AG and Geoprevent
Reception Sponsors: HeliCat Canada
Coffee and Social Hour Sponsors: Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), Mike Wiegele Heli Skiing, and Alpine Solutions.
We are still actively looking for sponsors and exhibitors for the week. Please visit the sponsorship page of our website for further details.
Accommodation
Looking for accommodation during the conference? Book your hotel room now with the AAVA Hotel, our accommodation partner, to get the best rates. Though September is often a sleepy time of year for the resort, the Whistler Bike Park will be hosting its first UCI World Cup Downhill event September 25-27, 2026, the weekend prior to ISSW. This could play a factor in hotel and lodges booking up quickly for that weekend and through the week. Go to the accommodation page on our website and follow the booking link to secure your rooms. Why not come early and enjoy a world class bike event leading into ISSW?
Science Program
The Technical Committee is hard at work organizing and preparing for all the important dates surrounding submissions, abstracts, presentations, and posters! The website has all the most up to date information (thanks Nicole!) on how to present at ISSW. Check out the important dates page on our site for the list of deadlines for your applications. At ISSW 2026, we believe diversity and inclusion drive innovation and strengthen the advancement of snow and avalanche science. We actively welcome participation from individuals of all backgrounds, disciplines, and levels of experience, including those historically underrepresented in snow science and mountain professions.
To help you prepare your presentation, seasoned industry experts are offering mentorship and coaching for practitioners. This initiative is part of an effort to reduce barriers to participation for avalanche workers who don’t have a paper-writing background or feel intimidated by the format of the ISSW. Email the mentorship team at mentorship@ISSW2026.com to discuss your ideas!
Young Snow Professionals Award
The Young Snow Professionals Awards continue the excellent initiative started at ISSW 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria. These awards support and encourage practitioners and researchers under 30 and in their early stages of their careers with registration fees. There are also some great funding opportunities put together by the CAA, the American Avalanche Association, and the Avalanche Divas that can be found under the Funding & Financial Support page on the website.
With four days of presentations, a day of field trips, of workshops, evening socials, and the Public Snow and Avalanche Workshop in the mix, this will be a full-on experience for everyone. Don’t miss out!
If you would like to volunteer to help make this conference a success, hit up the website and fill out the volunteer registration form.
With so much information to share we are sure we forgot something. Please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and reminders on ISSW 2026. You can also follow us on Instagram (@issw2026whistler) and LinkedIn.
See you in Whistler next September!
