Indigenous Avalanche Training Grant
Supporting Indigenous participation, leadership, and professional pathways in avalanche education.
Creating pathways into the avalanche profession
Dynamic Avalanche Consulting, the International Snow Science Workshop Whistler Foundation, and the Canadian Avalanche Association are pleased to introduce an annual grant supporting Indigenous participation in professional avalanche training.
The intent is to reduce barriers to avalanche education, help create pathways into the avalanche profession, and support Indigenous leadership in mountain environments where connection to the land is deeply felt.
The grant provides financial support to Indigenous applicants pursuing professional avalanche training. Where professional training is not the appropriate next step, it may also support recreational avalanche education as a pathway toward future involvement in avalanche risk management and snow science.
This grant reflects a shared commitment to inclusion, learning, and long-term relationship building within the avalanche and Indigenous communities. It will continue annually to support at least one Indigenous recipient each year.
Meet the 2026–27 recipients
In its inaugural year, the grant is awarded to two members of Indigenous Women Outdoors.
Medāneghá Det'ele
Ts'īyōné' Tu tētlel
Medāneghá Det'ele Ts'īyōné' Tu tētlel is a Disabled, Queer, Indigenous Gender Variant snowboarder who has been fortunate to learn from Sandy Ward and Myia Antone, and to spend time with Indigenous Women Outdoors (IWO) learning and supporting newer riders in the backcountry.
They began touring with IWO in 2021 and have completed many courses - sometimes more than once - to reinforce their learning and travel safely in the backcountry. They recognize the immense work their mentors have done to create space for them and want to continue expanding access to mountain sports.
Medāneghá Det'ele has spent much of their life mentoring younger people in outdoor settings through volunteer and informal pathways. Receiving an AVSAR and OPS1 scholarship provides tangible steps toward becoming a mountain guide and following in the footsteps of their mentors. Their goal is to create opportunities for people with similar experiences and barriers to see themselves in the backcountry and participate.
Aiyana Anderson-MacIsaac
Aiyana Anderson-MacIsaac is the Executive Director of Indigenous Women Outdoors and an emerging backcountry leader dedicated to creating safer, more accessible pathways for Indigenous women and gender-diverse people in the mountains.
Since joining IWO as a participant in 2020, Aiyana has progressed through advanced backcountry training, supported mentorship and safety programs, and completed Avalanche Skills Training 1 and 2 and crevasse rescue training.
As an AVSAR and OPS1 scholarship recipient this season, Aiyana is excited to continue building the skills needed to one day become a professional guide in the Sea to Sky region. She hopes to use this training to strengthen IWO's leadership capacity, guide community programs, and create more opportunities for Indigenous women to safely connect with the mountains.
A shared commitment
The Indigenous Avalanche Training Grant is presented by
