Northern Rockies Snow & Avalanche Workshop
November 21st, 2026
10:00 am- 5:00 pm at the
Whitefish Performing Arts Center
What is NRSAW?
The Northern Rockies Snow & Avalanche Workshop (NRSAW) is an annual event bringing together experts and backcountry users to share knowledge, research, and stories that improve avalanche awareness and mountain safety. Attendees can visit vendor booths, connect with the backcountry community, and enter a raffle supporting local avalanche education. Organizers encourage backcountry users, guides, recreationists, and anyone interested in safe winter travel to attend this important community event.
2026 Speakers
Paige Pagnucco – Director, Utah Avalanche Center
Paige has spent the past 34 years immersed in the world of snow and avalanches. She got her start as a professional ski patroller at Park City Mountain Resort, where throwing explosives and creating avalanches piqued her curiosity about the science behind them. She went on to work at the Utah Avalanche Center in numerous roles before becoming the Forest Service’s UAC Director in spring 2024. As Director, she guides the organization’s strategic direction while staying closely connected to field operations and the backcountry community.
Paige earned her MBA from Utah State University and lives in northern Utah with her family, where her husband and three kids share her love of skiing, climbing, biking, and anything that gets them into the mountains.
Pro Presentation: Forecasting for Persistent Weak Layers: Communicating Risk to a Powder-Starved Backcountry Community.
Public Presentation: Four Fatalities in Five Days: A Look at the Fatal Accidents in February 2026 in Utah and Their Impact on the Community and My Forecasting Team
John Sykes
John began his avalanche career in 2011 as a mountaineering guide and Alaska Avalanche School educator. He earned an MSc at Montana State University (2016–2018) studying backcountry decision-making, then a PhD at Simon Fraser University (2019–2024) under Pascal Haegeli. From 2024–2026 he was a postdoctoral researcher with Haegeli on large-scale automated avalanche terrain mapping. He served as a seasonal forecaster at the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center (2021–2026) and on the Alaska Avalanche School board of directors. He is currently a research fellow with the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center and lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with his family.
Pro Presentation: A novel web tool to support avalanche destructive size estimation and comparison of tool-based and field-based estimates.
Public Presentation: Comparison of automated avalanche terrain mapping methods at Rogers Pass, BC
Joe Messina: Meteorologist, National Weather Service, Missoula
Joe has been a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Missoula since 2019. Before moving to Montana, he lived in Colorado for about 25 years, where he earned a master’s degree in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University. He spent most of his winters in Colorado working as a professional ski patroller, including one winter as an avalanche forecaster for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing and running rivers.
Public Presentation: Winter Seasonal Outlook from the National Weather Service. A discussion on the upcoming winter outlook, including the impacts of a potentially very strong El Nino event.
Dallas Glass: Deputy Director, Northwest Avalanche Center
Dallas Glass currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Northwest Avalanche Center. His career spans forecasting for ski areas, highways, and public operations, as well as avalanche education and mountain guiding. Despite whatever he tells you, he must just love being cold. When not wading through Washington powder, you might find him waist-deep fishing a big glacial river or stretching his legs on a backyard trail run.
Pro Presentation: Fake It Till You Make It And Other Terrible Advice
Public Session: Crayola Crayons: Coloring Outside The Lines With The Nine Avalanche Problems
