+ funding & financial support
young snow professional awards
The ISSW 2026 Young Snow Professional (YSP) Award Program supports early-career avalanche practitioners and researchers by helping reduce barriers to conference participation and fostering professional development within the international avalanche community.
Through this program, the ISSW 2026 Organizing Committee has reserved five conference registrations for YSPs nominated by participating organizations: OEGSL (Austria), NORSKED (Norway), the American Avalanche Association, Météo-France, and the Canadian Avalanche Association.
Award recipients must be under 30 years of age at the start of ISSW 2026 and are expected to submit a conference paper and presentation. While oral presentation opportunities may be offered when possible, they are not guaranteed.
Each participating organization selects one recipient using its own application and selection process.
Interested applicants should contact their regional organization directly for information about eligibility, application timelines, and selection processes. Not sure which organization applies to you? Contact the ISSW 2026 Technical Committee for guidance at: technical.committee@issw2026.com.
For applications in CANADA through the Canadian Avalanche Association the 2026 YSP receives:
- Free ISSW Registration
- $500.00 to support travel and accommodation at ISSW
Conditions
- Award recipients must be under 30 years of age at the start of ISSW 2026.
- Prospective candidates must submit a conference paper and presentation.
- Complete the application requirements detailed below.
Please follow the link below to apply:
https://www.avalancheassociation.ca/page/YoungSnowProfessionalAward2026
Stellar AWARDs - Celebrating Outstanding Women in the Avalanche Industry
Do you have a female-identifying avalanche professional you would like to nominate? Please send a resume for that individual to Katie Warren at stellar.awards.us@gmail.com
Nominations will be accepted through June 1st , 2026.
Please include the following information for the nominee.
● Name and contact information.
● List of accomplishments and/or contributions to the professional avalanche community.
● A brief description of why you believe your friend, mentor, or colleague should be recognized. (200-300 words)
StellaR Travel Grant
The Stellars would like to support five female-identifying snow and avalanche professionals present their work or scientific results in an oral or poster presentation at ISSW 2026 in Whistler.
Each $500 USD grant will help offset travel costs associated with attendance at the ISSW 2026.
To apply for the travel grant, please email stellar.awards.us@gmail.com for the application link.
Please note:
• Your abstract must be submitted to the ISSW committee by the May 1st deadline.
• Your work must be selected as a poster or oral presentation at ISSW 2026 to qualify for the grant.
• You must plan to attend ISSW 2026 in person.
Avalanche Industry Organization funding:
• Avalanche Canada Foundation: ISSW-specific and other grants to support academic research;
• American Avalanche Association (A3): various grants for American citizens and A3 members;
• AIARE (USA) list of Other Scholarships (some of which may be eligible).
DEI-Related Funding:
• Arcteryx No Wasted Days Community Grant: open to local, grassroots individuals and organizations actively working to increase access for people who have traditionally been excluded from the outdoors. To support this work Arc’teryx will provide grants of up to 5,000 AUD, CAD, GBP, or USD, dependent on location.
• Blizzard Tecnica W2W Hilaree Nelson Education Scholarship: supports women and non-binary identifying individuals in their pursuit to further their education and knowledge in snowsports.
Funding for Organizations and Charities:
• Columbia Valley Community Foundation: offers funding to nonprofits for specific programming.
• Reeno Foundation (based in Vermont, USA): offers funding for professional development or group experiences based in outdoor recreation/education/wilderness experiences (could potentially cover travel expenses or group visits on the public day).
international funding:
• The Mountain Research Initiative : Making connections for our changing mountains. There are multiple grant opportunities for mountain and polar based research.