International Snow Science Workshop set for Bend Sunday through Friday

Published 5:45 am Friday, October 6, 2023

Consider it a sort of Olympics of snow science — and it’s coming to Central Oregon.

The International Snow Science Workshop is a full meeting of the minds of snow and avalanche professionals from all over the world. The 2023 ISSW will be held at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend Sunday through Friday.

The ISSW takes place every two years — rotating among the United States, Canada and Europe — and is staged in the U.S. just every six years. More than 1,000 participants and 16 countries will be represented at the 23rd ISSW, which started in 1982.

The event consists primarily of snow and avalanche professionals, covering the gamut from researchers to practitioners. The theme of the conference is “a merging of theory and practice.”

“The whole goal is for everyone to be getting on the same page and shaking hands,” said Bend’s Kevin Grove, a co-chair of the ISSW in Bend who is also an experienced backcountry skier and has worked extensively with the Central Oregon Avalanche Center. “It’s for a global understanding of the latest research and practices. Every area is different. And every year, advances are made. Every time these minds get together, there’s a nuanced and a better understanding of the latest science, research and practices happening in the snow and avalanche industry.”

A major event for Bend

To get the ISSW to come to Central Oregon, Grove developed a proposal with Visit Bend, which was the main driver financially behind the project, and they pitched it to the ISSW steering committee in 2016 in Breckenridge, Colorado, the last time the ISSW was held in the U.S. Bend was awarded the bid, and Grove, along with his co-chair Zoe Roy, have been planning the event for the past five years.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the last in-person ISSW was in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2018. A virtual conference was held in 2020. The ISSW is scheduled for Tromso, Norway in 2024, and Whistler, British Columbia, in 2026.

“It’s a challenge to connect and collaborate and keep these things moving forward, without getting together on a regular basis,” Grove said. “The industry has suffered a bit from being apart for so long. This will elevate our region and our forecast center (at the Central Oregon Avalanche Center). All the forecasters will be there gaining knowledge and expertise. It will help our forecast center, and our backcountry users in our area will benefit from that.”

Participants are expected from Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria and Canada.

Avalanche danger

Grove said there is more local awareness of backcountry safety in light of the two avalanche fatalities last winter in Central Oregon. Bend’s Aaron Griffith was killed in an avalanche while skiing on Black Crater in the Three Sisters Wilderness in early March. Erik Maxim Hefflefinger, also of Bend, was killed in an avalanche while snowboarding on Paulina Peak, east of La Pine, in mid-March.

“That was a huge hit to our community,” Grove said. “We’re always trying to get better, and the forecast center is trying to put out the most accurate reports they can. This conference will help with that.”

The Central Oregon Avalanche Center has grown extensively over the last few years. Five years ago, it was providing avalanche forecasts twice a week. Now, it offers daily avalanche forecasts for the Central Oregon Cascades as a Type 1 avalanche center.

“That’s a really big deal,” said Bend’s Roy, an avid backcountry skier who has been heavily involved with the Central Oregon Avalanche Center. “They’re considering forecasting for Paulina Peak this winter if we can get a forecaster out there.”

Roy said that Mt. Bachelor ski patrollers will also be attending the ISSW, giving them more insight on how to best protect their guests from avalanche danger.

ISSW themes

Roy noted that there are 12 themes of the ISSW in Bend:

• Avalanche Forecasting

• Avalanche Formation, Failure, and Dynamics

• Decision-Making

• Climate and Avalanches

• Avalanche Incidents and Case Studies

• Instrumentation and Remote Sensing

• Snow and Snowpack Properties

• Avalanche Education

• Planning and Engineering

• Avalanche Operations and Program Management

• Avalanche Rescue and Operational Stress Management

• Risk Communication

The public is welcome to attend portions of the ISSW. For more information, visit issw2023.com.