| Leadership Team | |
| Ethan Greene | Director |
| Brian Lazar | Deputy Director, Central Mountains Lead Forecaster |
| Mike Cooperstein | Northern Mountains Lead Forecaster |
| Rebecca Hodgetts | Southern Mountains Lead Forecaster |
| Naomi Hodges | Program Assistant |
| Northern Mountains Group | Central Mountains Group | Southern Mountains Group | Technical Team |
| Austin Divesta | Will Barrett | Chris Bilbrey | Jacob Barney |
| Ian Fowler | Dylan Craaybeek | Jeff Davis | Ryan Becwar |
| Jason Konigsberg | Brandon Levy | Matt Huber | John Snook |
| Spencer Logan | Jeremy Primmer | Ann Mellick | |
| Ben Pritchett | Colin Mitchell | ||
| Ron Simenhois | |||
| Ryan Zarter |
Ethan Greene, Director
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Brian Lazar, Deputy Director
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Mike Cooperstein, Northern Mountains Lead Forecaster
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Rebecca Hodgetts, Southern Mountains Lead Forecaster
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Will Barrett
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Chris Bilbrey
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Dylan Craaybeek
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Jeff Davis
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Austin Divesta
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Ian Fowler
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Matt Huber
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Jason Konigsberg
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Brandon Levy
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Spencer Logan
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Ann Mellick
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Colin Mitchell
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Jeremy Primmer
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Ben Pritchett
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Ron Simenhois
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John Snook
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Jeremy Yanko
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Ryan Zarter
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Ethan has worked with snow and avalanches since 1990 and directed the CAIC since 2005. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado and worked as a ski patroller (Big Sky Ski Resort, Montana) and as a backcountry avalanche forecaster (USFS Utah Avalanche Forecast Center). He studied meteorology (B.S., University of Utah), mountain weather and snow-drift formation (M.S., Colorado State University), and snow metamorphism and microstructure (Ph.D., Colorado State University). Ethan has published a variety of articles and been a member of national and international working groups on snow, weather, and avalanche topics. Ethan lives in Leadville with his wife and two children.
Brian began working in the mountains in the mid 1990s. He has worked in a variety of snow climates on both sides of the equator as a mountain guide, as an avalanche educator, curriculum developer, as the former Executive Director with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and member of the American Avalanche Association Education Committee. Brian earned a M.S. in Engineering, studying snow and ice mechanics in Alaska’s Chugach Range. He worked for many years as a consultant to the ski industry, investigating snowpack runoff and potential changes to seasonal snowpacks as a result of climate change. Brian has been the Deputy Director of the CAIC since 2010. Brian lives in Carbondale with his wife and two kids.
Mike “Coop” Cooperstein began his snow career when he was 18 years old, as a ski patroller at Snowshoe in West Virginia. He soon moved to Bozeman, Montana. He worked at the Yellowstone Club for 11 seasons as the Assistant Snow Safety and Assistant Ski Patrol Director. In 2008, he completed his M.S. in Earth Sciences from Montana State University studying surface hoar and near-surface faceting. He co-owned a guide service, climbing and skiing in some of the world’s highest ranges. Coop came to the CAIC in 2015.
Rebecca “Becs” Hodgetts began patrolling in the mid 1990s on Mt Ruapehu, a volcano located in the central plateau of New Zealand’s North Island. She went on to work at other resorts in New Zealand, Canada, and the US. She worked 12 years at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, first as an avalanche technician and later as Assistant Patrol Director. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Otago University and completed the Canadian Avalanche Association’s Applied Avalanche Risk Management course. Since joining the CAIC, she has worked as both a highway and backcountry forecaster.
Will started ski patrolling at Breckenridge Ski Resort in 1989. He rose through the ranks of Ski Patrol to become an Avalanche Forecaster, Snow Safety Director and Assistant Director of Ski Patrol. Will has a passion for climbing, backcountry skiing, rafting, flyfishing and just about everything else to do in the mountains. He and his family live in Buena Vista, Colorado in the heart of the Sawatch Range.
Chris learned about backcountry skiing in the late 1990s at Fort Lewis College. His avalanche career spans almost two decades as a ski patroller at Wolf Creek Ski Area, snowpack field observer and educator for the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, and forecaster at the Flathead Avalanche Center. Chris is pursuing a M.S. from Montana State University integrating snow and environmental science research. He worked as a firefighter and EMT for Durango Fire. Chris loves spending time in the mountains, remote river canyons, and landing big fish with his wife and daughter.
Dylan grew up in New England spending every weekend during the winter skiing at his family cabin in Maine. Upon graduating high school and moving immediately to Colorado he found his true love for the mountains in the Gore Range. While living in Vail for five years, Dylan graduated from the Colorado Mountain College Avalanche Science Program. Since then he has been teaching avalanche courses, guiding on skis and splitboards, and researching snow hydrology. When he is not studying or playing in the snow you are likely to find Dylan out rock climbing, biking, trail running, or slacklining across canyons.
Jeff joined the CAIC in 2015 with a background in Ski Patrol and Risk Management in Colorado and New Zealand. His enthusiasm for avalanche forecasting and spending time in the backcountry has allowed his passion for the snow to grow each season. Growing up in Ohio, Jeff is continually in awe of the San Juan Mountains he now calls home. When Jeff is not sliding on snow he enjoys tinkering in his shed, hanging with his old dog Mr. Abe, or sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Born and raised in Colorado, Austin fell in love with skiing the mountains at a very young age through experiences he had with his Dad, who had a similar career path. He pursued a degree in Outdoor Recreation at Western State College in Gunnison, CO. After college, he started his ski patrol career at Park City Mountain where he stayed for five seasons. He worked for three years as the Assistant Patrol Director of Monarch Ski Area, where he began training his dog, Fawkes, for avalanche rescue. Austin spends his summers as a wildland firefighter and has volunteered with the Western Mountain Rescue team. He can still find reprieve through mountain biking, rock climbing, and of course, skiing powder.
Ian grew up in the avalanche and ski mecca of England. Travels as a kid taught him about the wind slabs in Scotland and the wide-open bowls of the European Alps. He has worked in New Zealand, the Alps, Canada, Alaska, and Colorado; as a ski patroller, mountain guide, and avalanche educator. During this period he gained his IFMGA Mountain Guide Certification through the American Mountain Guide Association. Now, he is excited to share his passion for snow as a forecaster in the Boulder office, close to the place he calls home with his wife and two daughters.
Matt began working as a ski patroller at Snowmass in 1996 and quickly moved into a dedicated snow safety position. In 2015, he and his family moved on to Idaho. He returned to Colorado and the CAIC in 2018 and currently focuses on highway avalanche safety on the southeast side of the San Juan Mountains. He spent most of the summer seasons since 1993 working for the US Forest Service in their wildfire program and cursing the heat while waiting for the snow to fall.
Jason made the pilgrimage from the east coast to Steamboat Springs in 1999. Jason joined the ski patrol at Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah in 2005, and became part of the resort’s snow safety team. The need for more winter led Jason to spend summers in New Zealand as the snow safety officer at Craigieburn Valley ski area and the public forecaster for the Craigieburn Range. Now adjusting to life with only one winter per year, Jason spends his summers riding bikes, combing through avalanche and weather data, and avoiding climates where daytime high temperatures exceed 75 degrees.
Brandon is originally from the Vail area and enjoys working and raising a family in the mountains of Colorado. Prior to joining the CAIC in 2017, Brandon worked as a highway avalanche forecaster for the Washington State Department of Transportation and as a ski patroller in Colorado, France, and New Zealand. He enjoys time outside with family and friends in the mountains and rivers of Colorado and the Western US.
Spencer began skiing in northern Colorado and began learning about avalanches in northern Utah. He continued his avalanche education in southern Montana with an MS in Earth Sciences from Montana State University. He joined the CAIC in 2004. He has collaborated with colleagues from the CAIC, North America, and Europe to better understand trends and patterns in avalanche accidents and occurrences. His kids are the fourth generation of the family to ski and the fifth to fish in Colorado.
Ann spent much of her avalanche career in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. She began under the wing of a longtime forecaster in the late 90s and worked for a decade as an avalanche educator and mountain guide. She learned the intricacies of highway forecasting as an intern for the CAIC’s Silverton office, honed her weather forecasting and multi-tasking skills in the CAIC’s Boulder office, and as the backcountry forecaster. She now devotes her energy to keeping the Highway 550 and 145 corridors safe in the wintertime.
Colin grew up in New England, and learned to ski in Vermont and upstate New York. In 1995, he moved to Colorado, and discovered powder skiing, big mountains, and climbing skins. After spending more than a decade working as a ski patroller, avalanche forecaster, ski guide, and avalanche educator, he joined the CAIC in 2014. Avalanche work has taken him to the Himalaya as Snow Safety Officer at Gulmarg Gondola and South America forecasting avalanches for the mining industry. During the Colorado summer, you can find him in Chile enjoying another ski season, and working on his Spanish.
Jeremy grew up in Wisconsin and discovered his love for the mountains while working in Glacier National Park one summer in college. After graduating he moved to Whitefish, Montana. There he worked as a ski patroller and as an intern with the Flathead Avalanche Center. Now based out of Buena Vista, he is excited to join the CAIC as a backcountry forecaster. When he’s not skiing you can find him climbing, fly fishing, or rafting.
Ben joined the CAIC first as the education coordinator, and later as a forecaster. He spent 12 years as the program director at the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and served as forecaster and later director at the Crested Butte Avalanche Center. The American Mountain Guide Association recognizes him as a certified ski guide. One of his favorite jobs spanned 18 seasons, forecasting for the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse ski race. Ben lives in Crested Butte where he backcountry skis, snowmobiles, hikes, and mountain bikes with his wife and two children.
Ron has worked as a ski patroller and avalanche forecaster in Colorado, New Zealand, and Alaska. He has collaborated with scientists from the US and Europe on applied research projects. Ron’s work includes the development of the Extended Column Test and other avalanche forecasting tools. Ron enjoys spending time outside with his wife and two kids.
John became interested in weather and snow growing up in New England anxiously awaiting the next nor’easter. He obtained an M.S. in meteorology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He moved to Colorado in 1984 and worked for fifteen years as a meteorologist for a NOAA applied research program. He completed a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. He ski patrolled at Arapahoe Basin. After forecasting for eight years at CAIC, he is now the Mountain Weather and Avalanche Specialist. His focus is providing computer-generated weather forecasts.
Jeremy started on skis at Silver Creek, Colorado and progressed into fulfilling his middle school “career days” with the Winter Park Ski Patrol. After graduating from Fort Lewis College he worked as a Patroller and Guide at Silverton Mountain Ski Area, spending 15 seasons in an active avalanche program. He worked for five seasons in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains as a mechanized guide. He has been involved with EMS/SAR in Silverton for twelve years. He is grateful for adventures of all kinds.
Ryan grew up in Kansas and moved to Colorado in 2000 to pursue his graduate studies in biology. After finishing school, he did what any sensible biologist would do and got a job as a ski patroller. He ended up spending over a decade working as a patroller at Eldora Mountain Resort, Arapahoe Basin, and a ski field in New Zealand. He has worked as an avalanche forecaster in Chile, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and on Snoqualmie and Chinook Passes in Washington. Ryan’s other interests include photography, getting lost in the woods, and drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee.