CALGARY -- Getting caught in an avalanche is the wrong time and place to learn how to survive one, particularly if you're new to the western Canadian back country in winter.
That's why Yamnuska Mountain Adventures hosted a two-day Avalanche Safety Training 1 course. 16 men and women signed up and spend their first day in the classroom Tuesday.
Yamnuska's operations manager Dave Stark said he’s seeing more people than ever inquire about avalanche safety courses this season.
“Most people make mistakes because they don’t know they’re in the back country (or) in an avalanche spot,” said Stark. “They don’t know what the avalanche hazard is and they’re not well prepared.”
Stark said participating in an introductory course will help. The company's instructor, mountain guide Barry Blanchard, has over 40 years of experience in the mountain parks.
“I’ve logged over 5,000 days as a field guide and combined with my amateurs pursuits in the mountains, I’m somewhere between seven and 8,000 days in the mountains,” said Blanchard.
But even with all those days logged inside his brain, Blanchard says he still learns something almost every time he’s in the back country.
“Every season I’m often seeing something I have never seen before,” said Blanchard. “And hopefully that gets logged in here (his head) and that reel comes up when it is next appropriate.”
Kananaskis rescues
Alberta Parks public safety specialists saw an increase people heading out to Kananaskis Country during the summer months of the pandemic. They were rescuing three or four people a day regularly who they say were ill-prepared for the rugged back country landscape. Those specialists fear the trend will continue into the winter months where the environment is even less forgiving than it is in the summer.
Canmore resident Kevin Mcardle has spent 20 years on groomed winter ski trails at the resorts. He wants to head out into the back country this winter and is eager to learn about avalanche safety.
“The last thing I want to be is a statistic right?" said Mcardle. “Anyone can go and buy themselves a split board but you certainly want to make sure you know what you’re doing before you get out there.”
Yannick Plante came out to Canmore for the course from Kingston Ontario because this is where he does most of his winter skiing. He wants to be to be more confident in the back country and make smart decisions.
“That’s why I’ve done a lot of guided (tours) - just to learn,” said Plante. “You see their experience, you see how cautious they are despite the years of experience they have and it makes you appreciate a little more how serious the risks are in the back country.”
On the second day of the class students will head to Bow Summit and learn about avalanche transceivers, probes and shovels. They’ll learn to test snow conditions and determine if a slope is safe to ski on.
“Often the hardest decision (to make) in the mountains is turning around,” said Stark. “But it’s usually the best decision and I always say if you don’t have the right information, go back, find out the information and come back another day.”
Learn more about avalanche conditions in the mountain park here.
