Peter Schaerer
Peter grew up in Switzerland where, after graduating in civil engineering in 1950, he worked by designing and locating highways. Because of a love for ski touring in mountains he developed a professional interest in avalanches and snow removal on roads. In 1957 he moved to Canada for employment with the National Research Council of Canada. His first task was to design the protection against avalanches at the planned highway at Rogers Pass in British Columbia. After completing successfully the Rogers Pass task he had a three-year stint of research of snow and ice removal on roads in Ottawa. 

Because a demand for expertise on snow avalanches was expected, the National Research Council moved him to North Vancouver with his family of three children in 1967. In Western Canada, mainly at Rogers Pass, he studied the motion and size of avalanches and snow properties and assisted governments and industries with the planning and design of avalanche control. In addition he began to organize and instruct courses for field staff of highways, skiing operations, mines and railways that were exposed to avalanches. The courses became the industry avalanche courses of the Canadian Avalanche Association. When professional staff for safety in operations expressed a need for an exchange of information and to be recognized, Peter initiated the formation of the CAA in 1981 and was its first president.

The National Research Council terminated the avalanche program in 1991 and Peter retired from employment. He continued work with Chris Stethem &Associates as a part-time consultant for engineered avalanche protection. His leadership for developing avalanche safety in Canada was recognized by receiving the Order of Canada in 2000.

Chris Stethem
Chris Stethem is a retired avalanche protection consultant living in Canmore, Alberta. A graduate in Geography from Queen’s University, Chris spent the 1970s overseeing the avalanche program at Whistler, BC and completing research projects for the National Research Council of Canada and Environment Canada. This work included compilation of the first two volumes of Avalanche Accidents in Canada. From 1979 to 2011 Chris worked as a consultant in planning, operations and training for avalanche programs in Canada, the United States, and overseas. 

Chris was also a member of the founding Board of Directors of the Canadian Avalanche Association in 1981 and was President of the CAA from 1988-1992, During this time, the Canadian Avalanche Centre in Revelstoke was formed to provide avalanche training programs, the InfoEx and the public avalanche bulletin.

In 1998 Chris and a group of like-minded members of the community formed the Canadian Avalanche Foundation (now Avalanche Canada Foundation), a registered charity that raises funds to support public avalanche bulletins, education and research. Chris sat as President of the CAF for 12 years.

Clair Israelson 
In 1971, Parks Canada needed to implement avalanche safety programs for railways, highways and ski areas, selecting young folks who liked to ski. “I fit their bill: green, keen, and oblivious to how much I didn’t know,” says Clair Israelson. Fostered by many good people around him, soon he was in charge of avalanche control and mountain rescue operations in the Lake Louise district of Banff National Park.

By the early 1980s, Clair was teaching and examining training courses for the CAA and ACMG, working with and learning from some of the best people in the business. Part-time guiding helped broaden his perspective and experience. Meeting and collaborating with leading practitioners and researchers inside and outside Canada provided context for the work they were doing. Representing the avalanche community to resolve issues with governments and regulatory bodies provided insight into the opaque world of public policy and governance in the public interest. 

Following an early retirement from Parks Canada in 1998, Clair worked as a mountain safety consultant. In 2001, he was hired as Executive Director for the CAA. The tragic winter of 2003 set the stage for what he calls the most challenging and rewarding work of his career, working with the CAA Board of Directors, governments, private sector sponsors and individual supporters to create the Canadian Avalanche Centre (now Avalanche Canada) and to initiate programming to prevent avalanche accidents across Canada. Concurrently, CAA membership and services grew to better serve avalanche professionals in Canada. In the mid 2000s, the Board’s vision of being a world leader in avalanche safety programs and services was achieved, verified by a survey conducted under the auspices of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR). Clair left the employ of the CAA in 2009.

After leaving the CAA, Clair returned to his mountain roots, managing guiding operations for Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, working on research projects with Dr. Pascal Haegeli, and mentoring some of the next generation of avalanche workers.

For the past 35 years, the CAA has been the campfire that avalanche workers and researchers in Canada have gathered around to share their stories and learn from each other. “I am forever grateful for the sustenance this campfire has given me throughout my career, and to be awarded Honorary Membership in such a remarkable organization,” notes Clair.

Jack Benetto

Jack Bennetto began his snow avalanche career working in the avalanche program in Rogers Pass in the mid 70s, followed with guiding helicopter skiing with CMH and Alpine Guides, New Zealand in the early 80s. Jack started working in the BC highways avalanche programs in 1984, with the development of the program for the Coquihalla highway followed by the management and growth of the provincial highway avalanche programs until 2002. Jack has been a proud member of the CAA since its inception early in the 80s and was a founding member and Vice President of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation until retiring in the fall of 2015. Jack was the Chair of ISSW 2002 and a member of the board.

His key accomplishments were the development of the CAA Continuing Professional Development program, the Avalanche Mapping courses for professionals, and the introduction and adoption of the five level avalanche danger scale when he was the CAA President in the mid-90s. In the early-2000s, Jack took his career in another direction, focusing primarily on the management of the transportation network in the Rocky Mountain District, responsible for all highway related responsibilities in South Eastern British Columbia.

Fred Schleiss

Born in Austria in 1929, Fred immigrated to Canada in 1955 after completing education in construction and engineering, and became Jasper National Park’s first alpine specialist in 1956. When Rogers Pass was chosen as the Trans-Canada Highway route in the late 1950s, Fred moved to Glacier and became an avalanche forecaster in the newly-formed avalanche control section. The highway was opened in 1962, and in 1965 Fred became the chief avalanche forecaster for the largest mobile avalanche control program in the world in Rogers Pass. He led the development of the snow, weather, and avalanche observation standards that became of the foundation of OGRS; and pioneered the use of snowpack stability tests in avalanche forecasting.

Fred retired in 1991 after a 26-year career that saw 10 million travellers take the Rogers Pass highway without a single avalanche fatality or serious injury. He trained more than 80 avalanche safety professionals during his tenure. Many observational tests and standards established by Fred and his brother Walter are still in use today. Fred was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the CAA in 2007.

Walter Schleiss was born in Gurk, Austria. He moved to Canada in 1956, following in the footsteps of his brother Fred. He first worked in Jasper National Park as a ski patroller. In 1959, he joined Fred at the Snow Research and Avalanche Warning Section (SRAWS) of Glacier National Park, where the Trans-Canada Highway was being built through Rogers Pass. The highway opened to the public in 1962, and the avalanche control program was one of the biggest in the world.

In 1965, Fred was named lead forecaster and Walter assistant forecaster. Together, they split operational forecasting duties and refined the systems that made SRAWS the leading avalanche program in Canada. They developed the observation standards that became of the foundation of OGRS; and pioneered the use of snowpack stability tests in avalanche forecasting.

Walter was a key contributor of the growing Canadian avalanche community. He taught early professional avalanche courses starting in the mid-1970s. In 1981, he was one of the founding Directors of the nascent Canadian Avalanche Association. He served as Membership Committee Chair until May 1984 and was in charge of reviewing new membership applications, a role he could fit in while he was working at Rogers Pass. He retired in 1991 and lives in Revelstoke to this day.

Alan Dennis was the first Executive Director of the Canadian Avalanche Association. Born in Malta to a navy family, he settled in Canada at the age of 10. He started skiing and spending time in the snow at  Outward Bound in 1972 where he soon became an instructor for the organization. His career in the avalanche industry began at the Granduc Mine north of Stewart, B.C., in 1977, where he was trained on the job in forecasting and control work. His lengthy career took him around the world, starting avalanche programs in New Zealand and Argentina, while also working for a variety of operations in Canada.

Alan was one of the first members of the CAA, joining the association shortly after its founding in May 1982. In 1991, he was hired as the Coordinator of the CAA and took on the role of establishing the Canadian Avalanche Centre (now known as Avalanche Canada). He was responsible for overseeing the initial development of InfoEx and the first public avalanche forecasts outside the national parks. In the early years, he and a small team would work late to receive (some handwritten) and distribute InfoEx reports by fax to subscribers. They also issued public forecasts twice a week.

Alan was appointed to the role of Executive Director in 1986, which he held until 1998. Chris Stethem nominated Alan for honorary membership at the 1998 CAA AGM.  After stepping down from the CAA, he continued to work in the industry as a forecaster in a variety of operations in Canada and abroad, most notably Scotland for eight seasons. In 2022, he self-published his memoirs, Snow Nomad, about his 50-year career in the industry.

Colani Bezzola

Coming soon.

Willi Pfisterer

Willi Pfisterer was one of the pioneers of Canada's modern avalanche and guiding industries. Born in Austria in 1926 to a mountaineering family, he moved to Canada to teach skiing in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains, and made his way out west to Jasper not long after.

Willi joined the Glacier National Park avalanche program in 1961, just prior to the opening of the Trans-Canada Highway through Rogers Pass. He went on to work in Jasper National Park, where he implemented standard snow observations to Banff and Jasper, and implemented avalanche control techniques for the Icefields Parkway and ski areas in the parks.

In 1968, Willi was hired as the Alpine Specialist for Jasper, Waterton, Mount Revelstoke, Glacier, and Kluane National Parks. He was a pioneer of mountain rescue and was involved in 700 rescues throughout his career. He trained a generation of wardens in avalanche safety measures and mountain rescue. Thanks to his work, rescue times were reduced from days to hours.

Willi was a founding member of the ACMG and CAA, and created North America's first professional dog handling position in 1969. He helped teach the first ever professional avalanche course in December 1971, and continued to teach until his retirement in 1987. He was one of four members of the Avalanche Committee, the forerunner to the CAA. He helped found the CAA in 1981 and was the association's first Vice-president.

Willi climbed some 1,600 peaks in his life, including numerous ascents of Mount Robson and he was part of the first Canadian team to ascend the east ridge of Mount Logan in 1959. He guided hundreds of people into the mountains, including Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who he took up Mount Edith Cavell.

Willi Pfisterer passed away on July 21, 2010, at the age of 84.

Mike Boissonneault

Mike Boissonneault enjoyed a 37-year career in the Canadian avalanche industry, including 15 years as the head of the BC Ministry of Transportation’s avalanche program. Originally from Ottawa, Mike’s introduction to the avalanche industry was at the Granduc Mine north of Stewart, B.C., in 1979. When the mine closed in 1985, he moved nearby and established the highway avalanche program at Bear Pass, where he worked for two winters.

He enjoyed several winters as a consultant for mining operations before rejoining the Ministry of Transportation as the Senior Avalanche Officer in 1989. In 2002, he was appointed Manager of the provincial avalanche program. In those roles, Mike worked to establish avalanche safety protocols for the provincial highway network, which comprised of over 60 avalanche areas and 1,200 avalanche paths.

Mike assumed the Manager role shortly after the tragic deaths of two highway avalanche techs, Al Munro and Al Evenchick. He led the way in safety reforms to ensure there was never a repeat of that incident.

Mike was very involved with the CAA. He was Chair of Explosives Committee for eight years. His most notable accomplishment was securing CIL as a supplier of safety fuses after no other explosives manufacturers would work with the avalanche industry following a fatal hand charge incident in the U.S. in 1996. After months of contacting all possible suppliers, Mike reached out to Everett Clausen at CIL and secured them as an explosives supplies for the industry—a relationship that lasts to this day.

Mike was also prominent in the development of safe procedures in the use of 105mm recoilless rifles and 105mm howitzers used for avalanche control.  He worked to improve and promote good working relations with Transport Canada, Federal Explosives regulators, and WorkSafeBC. This culminated in overhauling the WSBC avalanche blasting exams and CAA explosive training programs.

Mike served on the CAA and CAC (now Avalanche Canada) Board of Directors for six years. He was CAA Vice President for two years when the CAA and CAC split and became separate organizations.

Mike left the highway avalanche program in 2016, but continues to work as a project manager for the Ministry of Transportation.

Anton Horvath retired at the end of the 2021-22 season after more than 40 years working for the Whistler Mountain ski patrol. Anton joined the patrol team in 1979 and became the avalanche forecaster in 1993. He successfully supervised one of North America's biggest avalanche programs for almost 30 years.

As senior avalanche forecaster at Whistler, Anton was a constant mentor and leader for his team. His efforts helped keep them and the public safe throughout his career.Anton has been an avalanche rescue dog handler since 1985 and is a past-President of the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association. He is also a current CARDA instructor. He is on his fourth validated dog and has been heavily involved with search and rescue.

Anton conducted scene hazard assessments, was involved in the recovery of several avalanche victims, and investigated avalanche fatalities for the Coroner, as well as for the RCMP. He made valuable contributions in explosives handling and avalanche mitigation techniques.

Antone served on the CAA Board of Directors as the Chair of the Membership Committee and as Vice President. He was also a member of the InfoEx Advisory Committee since its inception, and served as an instructor for the Industry Training Program.