Avalanche Centre
......................................................................................av·a·lanche 
P Pronunciation Key (
v
-l
nch
)n.
- A fall or slide of a large mass, as of snow or rock, down a mountainside.
- A massive or overwhelming amount; a flood: received an avalanche of mail.
AVALANCHE AWARENESS COURSES
Interested in learning about Avalanche Awareness? This one-day introductory course is a great place to start.
Instruction starts in the classroom and then moves out onto the mountain where you will learn how to recognize avalanche hazards, basic technique for transceiver use and how to dig and understand a snow pit.
This course is a recommended pre-requisite for the Avalanche Skills Training Course for those with no previous Avalanche Awareness.
Come equipped with your skis/board. Avalanche gear is not mandatory.
Sign up at the Guest Services Desk at the mountain, in the downtown office, or call 250-354-4944.
Please note there is a minimum requirement of 6 students registered per course date in order for the class to run. If the minimum number of required students is not met for a specific date those registered will be automatically added to the next available course date. If there are not enough participatants for the March course it will be cancelled. Maximum enrollment is 12 students per class.
The dates for the 2012/2013 season as listed below are tentative and subject to change. We will post any changes if required as soon as possible.
- Sunday December 30th, 2012
- Saturday January 12th, 2013
- Saturday February 2nd, 2013
- Saturday March 9th, 2013
Price: $35.00
AVALANCHE SKILLS TRAINING
This 3-day course, recognized by the Canadian Avalanche Association, is highly recommended for anyone interested in backcountry travel. The course is also a pre-requisite for the CAA level 1 avalanche course.
Topics covered in the course include steps on how to plan and carry out a trip, avalanche terrain recognition, terrain analysis and safe travel techniques, snow pack structure and avalanche rescue procedures.
The first evening of the course is spent indoors in a location in downtown Nelson, and runs from 5:00pm-9:00pm. The following two days are spent outside in the field, up at Whitewater Ski Resort. Expect to be outside all day (9:00am-4:00pm) while undergoing moderate activity.
Participants must have: Avalanche transceiver, probe & shovel, touring bindings (ie Alpine Trekkers/Fritschi Touring bindings), climbing skins or snowshoes for snowboarders, collapsible poles. This equipment can be rented at Whitewater (make sure you pre-book and get fitted at the rental shop before the start of the course.)
It is mandatory that participants 16 years or younger also take the 1 day Whitewater Avalanche Awareness course AND receive prior approval of the lead instructor. If participants 17 years or older do not have any backcountry experience, then the Avalanche Awareness course is highly recommended.
Sign up at the Guest Services Desk at the mountain, in the downtown office, or call 250-354-4944.
Please note there is a minimum requirement of 6 students registered per course date in order for the class to run. If the minimum number of required students is not met for a specific date those registered will be automatically added to the next available course date. If there are not enough participatants for the March course it will be cancelled. Maximum enrollment is 12 students per class.
The dates for the 2012/2013 season as listed below are tentative and subject to change. We will post any changes if required as soon as possible.
- Friday January 4th - Sunday January 6th, 2013
- Friday January 18th - Sunday January 20th, 2013
- Friday February 8th - Sunday February 10th, 2013
- Friday March 15th - Sunday March 17th, 2013
Price: $185.00 *Includes Backcountry Avalanche Awareness book (put out by the Canadian Avalanche Centre)
REFUND/CANCELLATION POLICY
We require 48 hours notice to cancel any course in our AST programs. Depending on the situation outside of the 48 hours we will reschedule for a later date, in an open course, or if unavailible we will refund the price of the course in full. Inside the 48 hours we will use manager's discretion on a case by case situation.
Avalanche Awareness Beyond the Boundaries Society (AABBS)
In the Kootenay area we have access to and enjoy a number of recreational pursuits outside the boundaries of the local ski resorts. An increasing number of teens are joining the numbers of skiers, snowboarders, snowmobile riders and climbers that venture out beyond the boundaries into the backcountry during the winter season. A majority of these teens have been made aware of the risks and hazards involved with traveling out to the backcountry, but lack the ability to assess safe routes, to avoid avalanches and do not possess the skills required to rescue a friend that may have been buried in an avalanche.
Avalanche Awareness Beyond the Boundaries (AABBS) is a non-profit society formed to provide free Avalanche Skills Training to youth between the ages of 13 to 18 in the Kootenay area. These safety courses follow the curriculum established by the Canadian Avalanche Association and are taught by qualified instructors. The normal charge for an AST course is around the $200 mark. The goal of the AABBS is to offer these courses throughout the region, free of charge, to interested teens.
Whitewater is proud to support AABBS. To donate, or to see if you qualify for a free Avalanche Awareness Course or Avalanche Skills Training Course, please contact our office at 250.354.4944.
for the 2012/2013 course dates please click HERE.
........................................................................."Much of Whitewater’s tree skiing is fairly steep but the more consistent intermediate pitch of the trees skier’s left of the Glory Ridge chair are a great training area for those with less experience in the trees. Whitewater’s usually best-in-interior-BC lift-served snow conditions and low skier density are also major virtues." Tony Crocker
