Skip to content

Avalanche awareness events entertain, educate

Anyone seeking fresh powder turns on backcountry or uncontrolled side-country slopes outside ski hill boundaries won’t want to miss Avalanche Awareness Night at The Banff Centre’s Max Bell Auditorium, Sunday (Jan. 18).

Anyone seeking fresh powder turns on backcountry or uncontrolled side-country slopes outside ski hill boundaries won’t want to miss Avalanche Awareness Night at The Banff Centre’s Max Bell Auditorium, Sunday (Jan. 18).

Presented in partnership with the Canadian Avalanche Centre, Canadian Pacific and Parks Canada, the event features presentations by snow safety experts, including Parks Canada visitor safety specialist Aaron Beardmore, Lake Louise Ski Resort avalanche control technician Patrick Hillman and Banff Park Warden/dog handler Mike Henderson accompanied by his four-legged partner, Cazz the avalanche rescue dog.

Keeping things lively on stage, Lake Louise avalanche technician Dave Petch and Sunshine Village Resort avalanche forecaster Kevin Hjertaas will share master of ceremonies duties. A representative for Backcountry Access avalanche safety gear will demonstrate an airbag deployment, while trade show presenters will highlight some of the latest avalanche information and equipment. Several fun-in-the-snow films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival will also be screened, along with door prizes being handed out.

While the presentations will share advice illustrated by deep powder skiing and sobering avalanche images, one of the highlights will no doubt be the team of Henderson and Cazz. Henderson is a veteran of these events, having participated off-and-on for the past 15 years, while Cazz, his third rescue dog, doesn’t fully love this part of being a trained avalanche dog.

“He’s getting used to it,” Henderson said. “But it’s a bit stressful for Cazz to be inside a big warm room full of people. I think he’s more excited about outdoor work.”

Cazz’s outdoor work involves a wide range of duties, with sniffing out people buried in avalanches among them.

“They do more than avalanche rescue work,” Henderson said. “Cazz is trained as a general duty police dog. Whether we’re tracking a lost person or a bad guy, it doesn’t much matter to him. We’ve got a whole bunch of jobs.”

Working alongside the other speakers, Henderson said he and Cazz will help build a big-picture image for skiers and riders thinking of heading into avalanche terrain. A key message of Avalanche Awareness Night – this event is one of 15 sponsored by Avalanche Canada taking place in venues across Canada this winter www.avalanche.ca/events – is where to go to learn the skills necessary to travel safely in winter. That includes discussions about terrain features, which do not change in relation to the snowpack and weather, which are constantly changing and thus create avalanche hazards.

The other big message, Henderson added, is that of the importance of self-rescue. A person’s chances of survival after being buried in an avalanche dwindle rapidly after the first 15 minutes. Only once has an avalanche dog in Canada been available soon enough to save a buried person’s life; chances of any outside help arriving in time are extremely remote.

Backcountry skiers must know how to read terrain safely and interpret the relative snow conditions properly to avoid being caught in an avalanche in the first place. And they must know how to rescue ski partners quickly and efficiently if someone does become buried.

Having a dog in the room for Avalanche Awareness Night, Henderson said, acts as a great icebreaker in terms of grabbing people’s attention for such important lessons.

“These dogs are such good vehicles,” Henderson said. “People take notice of avalanche dogs, they like seeing them. Hopefully that means they listen to the message of safety in avalanche terrain. And hopefully we’ll get a bit of information out to people who might not have thought much about safety in the mountains in winter.”

Other events scheduled as part of Avalanche Awareness Days include ava-launcher and transceiver demos at Lake Louise and Sunshine ski hills.

Also on Jan. 18, Alberta Parks’ Kananaskis Country will host an Avalanche Awareness Day public information event at the Burstall Pass parking lot. Members from the Alpine Club of Canada’s Rocky Mountain and Calgary sections will have info booths set up, as will ski touring equipment representatives. The Kananaskis event is free and runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The goal of the event is to get people outside, get people thinking and talking about avalanche safety, and provide a forum for both experienced and inexperienced to expand their knowledge of avalanche and winter safety,” said ACC RMS member Clifton Potter.

Avalanche Awareness Night at the Banff Centre’s Max Bell Auditorium is part of the Leading Ideas Speaker Series, sponsored by Banff’s Juniper Hotel and Bistro and Wild Flour Artisan Bakery Café. The evening kicks off at 7:30 p.m. For more info visit www.banffcentre.ca/event/6697/avalanche-awareness-night


Rocky Mountain Outlook

About the Author: Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Rocky Mountain Outlook is Bow Valley's No. 1 source for local news and events.
Read more



Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks