Portage College’s Lac La Biche campus has certified more than 500 working and recreational snowmobile users in the snowmobile safety program over the past 10 years. The college developed the two-day, 10-hour program in co-operation with the Alberta Snowmobile Association in response to industry demand for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)-compliant training for people accessing remote locations by snowmobile for work.
“Anyone working in the backcountry will have to ride a sled at some time or another,” said Ken Scullion, co-ordinator of forestry and related training programs at Portage College. "Forest and fishery workers, RCMP, surveyors, pipeline workers, people in oil and gas, and wildlife conservation officers are just a few examples."
Operating a snowmobile as a professional skill requires the same level of safety training as does any other piece of on-the-job equipment, said Scullion.
“We look at a snow machine as a piece of machinery,” he said. “Some people are well trained in their jobs but have no experience with snow machines.”
Course structure
The course is divided into safety, maintenance and operation sections that are structured around three main goals: to provide basic knowledge and skills for safe use and injury prevention; to provide individuals with the competencies required to do their jobs; and to ensure compliance with OHS regulatory requirements.
Course material covers the history of snowmobiles; federal, provincial and municipal rules and regulations; safety training including riding on ice and in hazardous conditions; and a maintenance overview.
“We aren’t making mechanics,” said Scullion, “but we cover the basic know-how to troubleshoot common issues, do a belt change and things like that.”
The operation section is a practical exercise in skills like ascending and descending hills, braking, tight turns and sidehilling. There is also a section on safe loading and unloading; this area—along with excessive speed—is where injuries most commonly occur.
A much-needed education
Course materials are divided 50-50 between practical and classroom instruction, and participants must pass a theory test to graduate. Despite its roots in industry, the course is open to anyone with a running snowmobile and the desire to learn.
“Snowmobiles exceed 60 to 70 miles per hour and people are riding them on non-normal terrain,” said Scullion. “From a recreational point of view, people who buy big machines with little experience and who don’t necessarily know how to read the snow can get into trouble.”
That is where the safety training comes in.
“We reacted early to industry need and had the course endorsed by the Canada Safety Council in 1999,” said Scullion.
The program in Lac La Biche is a franchise program with five in-house instructors. There are an additional 20 active instructors throughout the province, five in the territories, and a few in Newfoundland.
Other options
Portage College also offers instructor training at the end of January for agencies like the RCMP and Fish & Wildlife that require their own in-house trainers. The course can be extended to two days by outside or franchise trainers if required.
In-house instructors participate in professional development and bring extraneous knowledge back to the classroom.
“A trainer may take an avalanche safety course and come back to teach the students to make sure they have beacons and know how to use them,” said Scullion. “The more training you see, the less you see fatalities.”
Graduates receive a dual ticket from Portage College and the Alberta Snowmobile Association in Certified Snowmobile Safety. Students are required to bring to the training a fully functional snowmobile and outdoor clothing, protective gear and a CSA-approved helmet.
Portage College has campuses in Bonnyville, Cold Lake, Frog Lake, St. Paul, Saddle Lake, Lac La Biche, Vegreville and Wainwright.
