Joe is a professional AMGA/IFMGA Guide, Writer and Photographer.  He is based out of Anchorage, Alaska.  His website is:  www.stockalpine.com

Last spring, on a BC Ski trip with Cathy, I realized I had much to learn from the Canadians about avalanches. If I poached that knowledge, I could bring it back to Alaska to share in avalanche classes and while guiding.

This year, Cathy I spent a week in Rossland, British Columbia with guide and avalanche instructor Keith Robine and his family. There I guided a couple days at Big Red Cats with Keith and shadowed/taught an AST2 avalanche course with him through his business Kootenay Avalanche Courses.

Rossland attracts adventurous people. Cathy and I visited with friends Steve Bros, Jim Mosher and Mike Cummings who I skied with in Denali last spring. We had dinner with Kynan Bazley, a Kiwi who I climbed with in New Zealand and hadn’t seen in years. We also visited with Jessie and Tami Brown who we climbed with in Kalymnos. Cathy injured her leg early in the trip, so the Rossland friendliness was extra-appreciated.

 

First day in BC, getting the grand tour with Ann Quarterman, Keith’s wife, on Mount Roberts, an off-piste area near Red Mountain resort. Through fog and thick trees I followed Ann to fields of what’s called “Kootenay Powder.” It’s deep and untracked, the density of Alta snow. Not too light that you’re hitting bottom. Not heavy like Cascade Concrete or Alyeska Ready-Mix. Just right for addiction.

 

 

Morning guide meeting at Big Red Cats.

 

Big Red Cats operates four cats with 12 clients per cat. That’s a lot of people, but they have the terrain and powder to handle it.

 

Keith ski cuts a size 2 on Mount Mackie. Overnight the slab had stiffened and took extra thumping to release into a tree-rattling avalanche.

 

The biggest thing I learned at Big Red Cats was how to guide in thick trees. It’s a whole different set of techniques:

• Use the buddy system.
• Hoot to stay in vocal contact.
• Ski in pairs on either side of the guide tracks.
• Trees increase consequences of an avalanche. Select terrain with extra caution for the snowpack.
• Stay close to your buddy because sound doesn’t travel well in trees.
• Tree wells are the greatest hazard in thick trees. Make turns below trees to avoid falling in.

 

Kootenay Mountains, Britich Columbia, Canada.

 

Keith demonstrating the Canadian Avalanche Association Trip Plan Form before touring on day two of the AST2 course. Avalanche Safety Training is the recreational avalanche education track in Canada. This year, the US will split into professional and recreational tracks, so we can act more Canadian.

 

Trees re-define avalanche terrain. By the fifth day of tree skiing I could see trees as something besides baseball bats.

 

Keith demonstrating the beacon fine search along a probe. This keeps the beacon at a uniform height and helps students visualize a grid.

 

Canadian Avalanche Association billboard at Kootenay Pass. Those Canadians are dialed.

 

Backcountry skiing at Kootenay Pass, Kootenay Mountains, Britich Columbia, Canada.

Skiing at Kootenay Pass for our final day on the AST2. Mountains of Kootenay Powder.

Thanks for a great trip Keith, Ann, Big Red Cats, Jim, Steve, Mike, Kynan, Barb, Jessie and Tami! And thanks Jim, for connecting me with Keith!

The mountains received a healthy dose of snowfall last weekend, as shown by the photo on the right.  This was taken at Powder Creek Lodge on November 3, 2015.  Yes, that’s a lot of snow.  Powder Creek gets good dumps!  Even our local Rossland mountains didn’t fare too bad.  You can see 20 cm of new snow in the other photo of my daughter Sage taken last Sunday.  We have more snow in the forecast for the weekend and next week, so fingers crossed.

I actually prefer when the snow holds off till late October or early November.  When we get early fall snow in the mountains, that snow sometimes causes a weak layer leading to avalanches later in the year.

This latest snowfall has people getting excited for winter.  I’ve seen interest in KAC pick up over the last few days.  There is now only 1 space left on our lodge based AST2 at Powder Creek January 2-9, 2016.  This is an excellent opportunity to hone your avalanche skills.  You will also spend a week powder skiing at a beautiful backcountry lodge.  See my page for more details.

For those using phones and tablets to access the KAC website, I apologize that the tabs have not been fully functional.  I’m getting that fixed for you soon.  Many of you will be getting out your touring gear in the next few weeks.  The updated Trip Planner and Slope Specific Decision Tool can be downloaded and printed for you to take into the backcountry.  If you need a refresher, the Discussion Paper explains its use!

Please check back.  I’ll post a new blog every few weeks through the winter with impressions and stories about the 2015-16 season.  I also love to see those comments and questions.  It’s great to have a dialogue.  You can make a comment at the bottom of any page of the website.

Happy fall everyone. My big news is the website. My best assets are in my outdoor skills. So for website design, I hired an excellent Rossland company called SpaceRace Digital.

There are a lot of resources on the website, including the revised Trip Planner & Slope Specific Decision Tool, which with student feedback, I’ve developed over the last two years. There is also a very useful Discussion Paper which explains how the tool works.
You’ll be able to see the upcoming course schedule, including lodge based AST2 courses. In addition, there is a blog which has the article I wrote on climbing Half Dome. After 10 years of dreaming about rock climbing the face in one day, I trained heavily this spring and had an incredible adventure. I’m pretty proud and hope you like the article.

For 2015-16, I still have 2 spaces for our AST2 at Powder Creek Lodge. Last year, they had a very good winter compared to other places. Powder Creek is situated in the Purcell Mountain Range at an elevation of 2100 meters, where they seem to be in a snow belt that often receives up to double the amount of precipitation compared to other nearby areas. This course will run from January 2-9, 2016. We’re going to offer a slightly different format. The AST2 will be held on Sunday/Monday/Wednesday/Friday. For the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday field days, students will have the opportunity to put their skills into practice, planning and carrying out their own ski tours. There are also daily classroom sessions, where learnings are reviewed and the next day’s trips are planned. And in a week long lodge trip, there is time for rest, recuperation, and sauna!

Check out the page for more information about this course.

By now, most people have heard the forecast for a strong El Nino weather pattern. For our area, they’re predicting less snow than average. I remember the last strong El Nino in 1997-98. Although it wasn’t an epic year, it wasn’t bad, and we did get 52 cm of really light dry pow on March 4, 1998. I still remember wishing I had a snorkel on my first couple runs that morning!

Climate change doesn’t help either. I’m glad that we’re trying to help a little. Three percent of your fees to Kootenay Avalanche Courses go to climate change organizations that are focused on saving our winters in the future.

I imagine that the Powder Creek AST2 course in January will fill up pretty soon. So, I’m pleased to announce our next Lodge Based AST2 from February 12-19, 2017 at Hilda Lodge. Yes, we’re going back to Hilda for the third time. Hilda is a special place. Six people max. The previous two Hilda courses filled early. Just sayin’… This page will have further details.

Most of you have taken the AST1, but for new students this year, Avalanche Canada has revised the AST1 curriculum. I was part of the committee that helped oversee the revision. I’m pleased that we have a simpler curriculum, which will make the course better. There is more emphasis on human factors, and decision making is mainly focused on using the Trip Planner.

Best of luck to all of us that Ullr finds his way to your neighbourhood this winter!

Cheers, Keith