Avalanche Awareness Days: don't end up under the snow
| Health and Fitness |
'Avalanche Awareness Days' is held annually in January in over 40 Canadian communities. Community events are planned at ski and snowmobile areas in mountain communities across Canada, from Crowsnest Pass, Alberta to Whitehorse, Yukon to Pond Inlet, Nunavut. Day-time activities include hands-on demonstrations of safety gear such as avalanche transceivers, probes, and shovels, and tips on how to use public avalanche bulletins. In every community, avalanche professionals and many volunteers share their expertise to help people learn how to manage their risk in avalanche terrain.
Rick Jelley, president of the Williams Lake Powder Kings Snowmobile Club stated today that they do an avalanche awareness course every year, including one coming up in the next two weeks. The courses are done with Mark Savard from Red Shreds and Powder Kings safety director Sue Price.
He said that they started a course in November, to be held at Yanks Peak, but it was postponed due to weather. “Mark Savard puts on this awareness course—it’s focused on the hazards and where not to ride,” Rick explained. “He bases it on the terrain that you’re in and how to read the avalanche bulletin at the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
“He also teaches things like search procedures and how to use a beacon.”
Rick said that right now the avalanche danger rating is at its highest. He added that two weeks ago, before the cold weather, there was a warming trend on a Sunday with an 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch ice layer, with fresh snow on top of it.
“People may not know that the ratings are at their highest at the alpine tree level in the mountains and that it’s recommended that you don’t travel in the back country right now,” he said. “The big thing is the actual awarness—think before you go.”
For more information about the Powder Kings, including their avalanche awareness course, visit www.wlpowderkings.com
<VIDEO: he province has posted a video about safe backcountry travel in BC, advising that it requires training and experience. It's important that you take the training, have the right gear and check the local forecast. Also, when going out into the backcountry, especially on your own, file a 'flight plan' that tells your friends and family where you are going and when you plan to return.>
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