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Canadian Avalanche Centre's Nationwide Avalanche Awareness Days Set for Jan. 12–14
The Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC), avalanche professionals and volunteers in more than 30 Canadian communities share their expertise to help people keep safe in the mountains during "Avalanche Awareness Days" presented by Canadian Pacific Railway. The event's focus is on how to prevent avalanche accidents and how to make good decisions in avalanche terrain.
Events are planned at ski resorts and snowmobile areas in mountainous areas across Canada, from Crowsnest Pass to the Yukon. Day-time activities include hands-on demonstrations of safety gear such as avalanche beacons, probes and shovels, and tips on how to use public avalanche bulletins produced by organizations such as the CAC and Parks Canada. This year's activities will focus on the CAC's new decision-making tool: the Avaluator™. The Avaluator™ is a card and booklet designed to help you make some of your most critical decisions before and during your backcountry trips by providing a simple, systematic way of making decisions in avalanche terrain.
More than ever young people are attracted by the lure of the backcountry just beyond the boundary of the resort, or the bowls that beckon above the well-traveled trail. The Centre calls these people the "out-of-bounders," and they are the fastest growing users of avalanche terrain in Canada. They are also the group that is most in need of the knowledge and skills that will allow them to use the backcountry safely, and in winter that means keeping safe from avalanches.
Some mountain towns, like Golden and Revelstoke, have a full weekend of activities planned, from on-hill demonstrations to night-time fundraisers with movies, gear auctions and live bands. All proceeds will go to directly support public avalanche bulletins and public avalanche safety programs in Canada.
Justin Trudeau, a long-standing supporter of the CAC and a director of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, plans to take part in the weekend of events at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort because, as he says, “winter in Canada’s mountains is part of our national heritage and I believe that with respect for nature and the right backcountry know-how, we can enjoy it safely for years to come.”
Leading the events will be volunteers from a cross-section of outdoor organizations, including, AdventureSmart, the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, the BC & Alberta Snowmobile Associations, the Alpine Club of Canada, the Canadian Ski Patrol System, professional ski patrollers, and many more.
So if you’re a skier, boarder, sledder or climber, make a point of attending one of the great events planned for January 12–14, 2007. For a list of locations and schedule of events at each, visit the Canadian Avalanche Centre.