You can reach John at john_sykes@sfu.ca.

John started his career as an avalanche professional in 2011 working as a mountaineering guide for Alaska Mountaineering School and an avalanche educator for the Alaska Avalanche School. After cutting his teeth in Alaska, he completed an MSc degree in Earth Sciences at Montana State University supervised by Jordy Hendrikx from 2016-2018. His master’s research focused on understanding decision-making in backcountry skiers by looking at GPS tracks and intercept survey responses. From 2019 to 2024 John completed his PhD in Geography under the supervision of Pascal Haegeli at Simon Fraser University. During his PhD program John started working seasonally as an avalanche forecaster for Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center in Girdwood, Alaska and also serving as a member of the board of directors of the Alaska Avalanche School. Currently he works as a postdoctoral researcher with the Simon Fraser University Avalanche Research Program during the summer and an avalanche forecaster in the winter. John lives in Anchorage, Alaska with his wife Amy and two sons Griffin and Tobin.

John’s PhD research focused on developing open-source automated avalanche terrain mapping tools for both professional and amateur applications and using machine learning methods to capture the decision-making practices of professional guides. The Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SARNIF) grant funding his current research is focused on further refining the open-source automated ATES mapping methodology and creating avalanche terrain maps for all the avalanche forecast regions in Western Canada in collaboration with Avalanche Canada and Parks Canada. In general John is interested in applying research tools to practical problems in the avalanche field and helping develop tools to assist backcountry recreationists in making informed decisions in avalanche terrain.

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John’s publications at SARP

Click here for a full listing of SARP publications.

John’s software packages

Click here for a full listing of SARP software packages.

John’s research presentation videos