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Backcountry Safety In Pursuit of Powder

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MEC Community Program Manager Andrew Stegemann is on a quest for backcounty powder turns, so he took an Avalanche Skills Training Course. Find out what you can learn in an avalanche course, and get the scoop on the new CAC mobile app to help you stay safe in the backcounty.

I was 13 when I got my first taste of powder. My first set of fresh tracks – knee-deep pillows of forgiving snow that left me blinded with a stupid grin on my face. I was wide-eyed. The song “I’m Too Sexy” was stuck in my head. (What? It was 1992, that song was a big deal.) But that powder… even Right Said Fred wasn’t too sexy for that powder.

The quest for powder has stuck with me. Now, I’m looking for it tucked away on backcountry slopes. Last year, I took an Avalanche Skills Training 1 class so I could pursue what the instructor defined as “what it’s all about: Great up lines, beautiful powdery down tracks, and bluebird skies.” Bingo. Well said, my friend.

At ski resorts, fresh pow on the groomers is circumstantial, but in the far reaches of mountains untouched by chairlifts and the masses, you can simply go get it. With a pair of AT (alpine touring) skis and skins, you can propel yourself to wherever those first tracks are for the taking. Of course, for every outdoor pursuit, there are essential prerequisites. For swimming, being able to, say, swim in very useful. For alpine touring, it’s snow safety. Just as I avoided the deep end before I could tread water, I stayed out of the backcountry before I had the essential avalanche training.

My avalanche course instructor, Nick Zupan, expertly led us through two evening classroom sessions and two days in the backcountry. He taught us how best to avoid avalanches, and in worst-case scenarios, how to rescue someone caught in one. We covered how to decipher avalanche forecasts provided by the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC), available in an easy to use mobile app, how to read and assess terrain in the field, and how to make the best decisions with this information at hand. Prevention is key.

IMG_0522 (2)

We learned how to properly use the three essential tools: a beacon, probe, and shovel, which you can rent for free from select MEC locations if you’re signed up for an AST course. We also learned what our limits were. The course was brilliant, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. Like anything worth pursuing, there is so much to know.

And so, within my learned limits, I’m now among the many in pursuit of powder, and am reaping the benefits of alpine touring: the calming silence of winter as I climb the shoulders of a mountain; having lunch with friends in sublime places; and of course, the great up lines, beautiful powdery down tracks, and bluebird skies.

Too sexy indeed. Especially since it’s well-informed, equipped and smart decision-making sexy.

Andrew IMG_0488 (2) Ski Touring

So we can all play safe in the mountains, MEC and the CAC have partnered to bring you a free 2.0 version of CAC mobile for your mobile device. Download it now and enjoy the following features:

- Detailed forecasts include avalanche danger ratings, snowpack summaries, and weather summaries
- Offline function allows users to access cached forecast info for times when they’re in the field, without data network        access
- Support for all of the CAC’s forecast regions, also including Kananaskis Country’s and Parks Canada’s forecast regions.
- Interactive map making locations easier to find
- List of recommended snow safety gear from the Canadian Avalanche Centre
- New observer network allows users to share recent photos, observations, and avalanche incidents. (Coming in 2014).

The CAC also has a list of avalanche skills training providers for when you’re ready to get sexy.

 


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