A new effort has been launched to reduce the rate of avalanche deaths in the snowmobiling community.
The Mountain Snowmobile Education Project is a three-year initative funded by the Canadian government and managed by the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) that will encourage riders to take avalanche training courses and use safe riding skills in the backcountry.
Carole Savage, Snowmobile Program Coordinator with the CAC and the project manager, says the snowmobile-specific initiative was launched to address a concern about the growing number of avalanche incidents in the sledding community.
“Over the last 10 years the number of snowmobile avalanche fatalities has risen, while all other backcountry user groups have seen the level of avalanche fatalities steadily decrease,” said Savage.
She said in particular during the 2008-09 season, 19 of the 26 avalanche fatalities in Canada were snowmobilers.
“People often don’t know what they don’t know,” about avalanche safety, Savage said, which is why the CAC recommends that the basic Avalanche Skills Training course (AST) is the minimum level of education that people should have before going into the backcountry.
“When it comes to avalanches, some people get preconceived notions and think they are doing everything right,” said Savage. “But when actually they take a course they realize they were doing many things wrong–potentially unsafe practices that they may not even been aware were unsafe.”
To encourage awareness of avalanche safety and promote the courses, the CAC is working on producing marketing materials to get the word out to the snowmobiling community.
Already a campaign is underway with the concept of “Go Farther, Experience More, Be Safe.”
Savage said the campaign promotes the idea that people can enjoy their mountain experiences even more if they have some knowledge about how to prevent being involved in an avalanche. She said the first step to getting that knowledge is by taking an AST course.
A future objective of the project will be to identify high profile snowmobilers, whether they are famous individuals or just respected riders at the club level, and showcase them as role models when it comes to avalanche safety and the importance of a training course.
As Savage describes it, a safety course is only two days out of your life. Wonder if it’s worth it?
“Look in the mirror, look at your family and friends,” she said. “Because we want people to make every trip a round trip and to come home safe.”
For more information on avalanche course providers, visit the CAC website at www.avalanche.ca
