THE COLORADO AVALANCHE INFORMATION CENTER

Mike “Coop” Cooperstein has been working in the mountains for the last 20 years. He 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, where he finished his undergraduate degree in Biology. He worked at the Yellowstone Club for 11 seasons as the assistant Snow Safety and Assistant Ski Patrol Director. In 2008, he completed his master’s degree in Earth Sciences from Montana State University with a thesis on the “Effects of Slope Aspect on the Formation of Surface Hoar and Diurnally Recrystalized Near-Surface Faceted Crystals.” For the last 6 years, Coop has guided around the world for Andes Mountain Guides.