Officials with Avalanche Canada say winter, backcountry use is exploding and that a new grant from the province will go a long way to fund safety programs and education to help prevent fatalities.
Over the next three years, the province will sink $750,000 into avalanche safety to help protect Albertans as they ski, snowboard, sled and snowmobile in the province’s parks and recreational areas.
Avalanche Canada will receive $250,000 annually until 2020 and the money will be used for outreach programs, forecasting and safety training.
“So we have a lot of programs in Alberta that target schools, youth, snowmobilers and we participate in outreach events, avalanche awareness days, we attend trade shows that are meant for our user groups, so snowmobilers for example, and we also produce forecasts and provide information for backcountry users. We have an avalanche skills training program that we continue to offer so we have increased, in the last few years, our presence in Alberta,” said Gilles Valade, Executive Director, Avalanche Canada.
“We don’t just play in the mountains because it’s fun, we do so because it promotes heath, both physical and mental. Maintaining healthy communities should be at the core of public policy and with it comes a certain level of responsibility to ensure it is done safely,” said Lawrence White, Executive Director, Alpine Club of Canada.
Almost half of the avalanche fatalities over the last ten years involved people from Alberta and officials say that number has remained relatively steady despite an increase in backcountry users.
“Unfortunately over the past decade, half of the avalanche fatalities in Canada are residents of Alberta but we are working with our partners in Alberta to change this,” said Valade, “Even though we see a large increase in usage we’ve maintained the number of fatalities, which is not zero but it’s still better than what could have been expected.”
“If we all work together and take proper precautions we can prevent needless fatalities,” said Westhead, “Enjoyed responsibly, these mountains are an incredible playground, a place of ecological integrity and an economic engine for our diversified economy.”
About 8,000 people each year take an avalanche training course offered by Avalanche Canada and the money from the grants will give them the tools and knowledge they need to make quick decisions in emergency situations.
For more information on Avalanche Canada and its initiatives, Click HERE.
