From volume 88, spring 2009

By Wren McElroy

An AST instructor discovers some striking similarities between staying alive in avalanche terrain and staying alive in Afghanistan.

Smiling soldiers with their civilian instructors Wren McElroy and Keyes Lessard.

 1 Combat Engineer Regiment—the privates, the sappers. These are the young men and women who fight in the Canadian Army. Most of this group has been to Afghanistan and some will go back on another tour of duty soon.

On a two-week training session in Trail BC, this Edmonton-based regiment took an AST 1 course in preparation for the Olympics. They won’t be visible at Whistler Village or any high-profile events; they will more likely be patrolling the surrounding mountains ensuring no danger threatens the games. They know how to be close to danger. These young people are the ones we hear about on the evening news, when a report is read of yet another Canadian soldier killed.

As I write this, news comes again that the 108th Canadian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, this one a 25-year old sapper, a Combat Engineer who hit a roadside bomb. During the evening classroom session, while I was explaining the waivers for the course, one of the soldiers said, “Ma’am, we’ve been to war.” Right. These people know about risk.

What this group didn’t know about was avalanches. Keyes Lessard, CAA Professional Member and Instructor with Selkirk Colleges Renewable Resources Program and I spent two days at Kootenay Pass with this group to help prepare them. What struck me and inspired me was how similar some of our collective experiences were. At first glance one wouldn’t think so. How could you compare skiing powder in the Kootenays to combat conditions in Afghanistan at 60° Celsius? One has cold smoke to choke on. The other has fine silt-like dust invading the eyes and lungs. What we did have in common was exposure to risk.

I was very impressed with how well these soldiers assimilated the information presented. In the classroom we did an exercise to go over the steps of avalanche rescue. Splitting the soldiers into three groups we gave each group a small bag with the steps for self rescue, companion rescue and organized rescue. Each step was cut out and their job was to put the steps in the correct order. With their experience in order and prioritizing it was an easy task.

After signing out rescue gear on Saturday morning at Kootenay Pass, we headed across the highway to the Ministry of Transportation compound where MOT Avalanche Technician Robb Andersen and his CARDA dog Aquillo met us. A happy soldier volunteered to climb into a snow cave and be blocked in while he waited for Robb to give Aquillo the signal to start the search. Within minutes Aquillo was digging at the entrance of the cave ready for her reward—a game of tug-o-war.

The engineers described arriving in Afghanistan and, with no previous training or introductions, being assigned a dog team for sniffing out explosives. This group is very well adapted to learning on the fly, yet they appreciated the opportunity to see an avalanche dog at work and get an understanding of the needs of the dog handler. Robb answered all of their questions while Aquillo happily sniffed all of the green camo.

Probing avalanche debris, or probing for land mines. Which would you rather do?

In the field, as we taught them how to do transceiver searches, they spoke of how they trust their equipment, and how they felt confident with the new skills. While we discussed and practiced spiral probing, they described “prodding” for land mines, which they do with a one-metre prod while they inch along on their belly. The same spiral technique is used when looking for hazards while searching a house, building or an area of land.

When it came to digging the snow profile they happily exclaimed, “Now this we are good at—digging!” They also commented on how much easier digging in the snow is than digging trenches. As we traveled higher on Cornice Ridge on the south side of Kootenay Pass, we stopped to discuss how they would handle travelling through the avalanche paths, cliffs, trees and gullies. One soldier described the use of “tactile exposure”—staying out of view of the enemy. He pointed out that he would travel just inside the trim line of the path to stay out of the line of fire. Once they began to appreciate the destructive force of an avalanche, they all agreed they would increase their safety margin and travel further into the mature timber.

On day two as we sat down for lunch I asked the question that had been on my mind while working with this group. Did they know any of the soldiers who had been killed in Afghanistan? A few of them did. As we talked of the trauma they had seen, it made me think of my own experience in avalanche rescues and of friends I had lost in the outdoors. The causes were very different but the impact of the trauma was the same. This was just one more crossover between our professions.

The ability of these soldiers to adapt to a new environment and incorporate information was inspiring. The hardest thing for this group to deal with was the 30-or 40-year-old aluminum beavertail snowshoes, without teeth. The snowshoes would work fine in the prairies but they were certainly not designed for mountain travel. This fact we quickly discovered as we started to descend on a sun-crusted southerly aspect. The group appreciated traversing around to the north aspect and descending through the much softer crystalline surface hoar. The other option they had for travel were equally outdated cross-country skis they would strap in with their mukluks. It would be a lot easier for these soldiers to travel through the mountains with real ski equipment.

These combat engineers showed a high level of professionalism that made the course a pleasure to teach. When I spoke with their officer in charge, Lt. Mary Benjamin, after the course, she described the soldiers as being excited about their experience and bragging to their comrades that they knew what facets were. This group is hoping to get more training in preparation for the Olympics. Maybe we can get them through the newly developed SAR Level 1 program before February 2010.

From volume 100, spring 2012

Story and photo by Wren McElroy

“NUMEROUS AND LARGE AVALANCHES IN THE WINTER OF 1971-72 STIMULATED A GROWING INTEREST IN AVALANCHE SAFETY EDUCATION.” – PETER SCHEARER

DID BEING BORN IN 1972 HELP SHAPE MY PASSION FOR AVALANCHE EDUCATION?

OVER THE PAST three years, that passion has helped bring John Tweedy’s vision of using the old highway crew camp at Kootenay Pass as a base for avalanche education to fruition. The combination of easy access to terrain and exposure to an active MOT avalanche control program make the base camp an ideal location for learning. Tweedy was the BC Ministry of Transportation’s first avalanche technician at Kootenay Pass, starting in 1980 and retiring in 2010.

Construction of the highway between Salmo and Creston was begun in the late 1950s; it was opened with ceremony in August 1964. The highway ran right through many kilometres of avalanche paths on both the east and west side of Kootenay Pass. Crews were surprised by the amount of snow on the south facing slopes when they resumed work in the spring—avalanche debris stopped the plow truck drivers from reaching the pass. The original camp for the maintenance crew, equipment operators, plow truck drivers and avalanche technicians was set up in the early 1970s at 1,775m. During a particularly heavy storm cycle, assistant avalanche technician Dave Smith’s truck was buried in the yard, and then run over by a plow. He hitchhiked home.

Early Kootenay Pass professional avalanche courses started in 1979 and ran until 1991, based out of a Creston hotel. A nearby Greek restaurant even created an official training school libation called “the avalanche.” Courses offered included the RTAM Level 1 and Level 2 (Resource Transportation Avalanche Management) and CAA Avalanche Operations Level 1 and 2. During 1981-82, four fully supported manual weather stations were put in place, provided by MOT for the Creston-based courses.

Eventually, the daily 120km drive from Creston proved to be too much and courses at the pass began to wane. Furthermore, the highway maintenance was transferred to a contractor who did not maintain the course snow study plots at the Kootenay Pass summit. Another attempt to hold a Level 1 course at Kootenay Pass was made in the late 1990s, and John Buffery and Marc Deschênes drove from Nelson with students. Days at Kootenay Pass were interspersed with trips to Whitewater, but it was still too much driving.

In 1992, a new building named the Bunkhouse was built, which was a welcome relief from the ATCO trailers that populated the pass. MOT and the road and bridge maintenance contractor manned the building until 2005. When the maintenance contractor started plowing out of Creston, the need for a manned camp at the pass dissolved.

Laura Adams, a CAA Professional Member teaching the Renewable Resource Program at Selkirk College, signed a memorandum with Parks in 2002 to able to teach in Stagleap Provincial Park, but did not use the building. A number of courses for that program were taught up there. I taught a three-day winter camping/RAC course there in 2003 with Laura’s successor Keyes Lessard. Other Selkirk College AST courses were taught there throughout the 2000s, including a course Keyes and I taught for the Department of National Defense. I used the building to teach an all-women AST 2 course I in 2005, and benefitted from a presentation and mock avalanche scenario by Ministry of Transportation. In 2006 and 2008, the RCMP and the Mountain National Park Dog Handlers used the Bunkhouse for Dog Handler Validation courses, which did not seem to impact the day-to-day operations of the avalanche program.

At that time, BC Parks weighed in on the building’s usage. They did not want to see a mountain hostel at the pass; however, they were very supportive of the educational opportunities that could be offered up there. Two BC Parks staff, Dave Heagy, Senior Parks Ranger and Jeff Volp, Area Supervisor, taught AST 1 courses up at the pass for the Ministry of Environment in 2010 and 2011. Participants included Park Rangers and Senior Rangers, Area Supervisors, Conservation Officers, and other Ministry of Environment Staff. All the participants stayed at the Bunkhouse and utilized the classroom, kitchen and living facilities.

In the fall of 2009, John Tweedy and I spoke of starting the CAA Avalanche Operations Level 1 courses again up at the Pass. We agreed on the benefits for the students, instructors and the ITP program to run the courses there. Ian Tomm asked for a proposal. John laughed at the simplicity: the facility is free, the travel is free, it’s all here, he said; bring the students, instructors and a cook and you are good to go. The biggest challenge of a hut-based course is the logistics of the helicopter transport, but at Kootenay Pass, everyone drives there and then they stay. Students and instructors have full days without worrying about driving times, meal preparation or cold students sleeping in the back of trucks. Three years in a row, I missed the first day of teaching a CAA Level 1 course at Kokanee Glacier Cabin because of short December days and difficult weather. At Kootenay Pass, that is not an issue.

In January 2010, students stayed in the Bunkhouse as Course Leader, Mike Rubenstein and I taught the first CAA Level 1. The week was a resounding success, with support from the MOT crew, fantastic catering and good weather. Three Level 1 courses have been run in 2011 and 2012, with positive reviews from all parties involved.

The Bunkhouse can accommodate 13 students, two instructors and a cook, with private rooms and shared washroom facilities. There is a separate kitchen, classroom and inside storage for skis and gear. The MOT avalanche staff maintains a residence as well. A great benefit is the close involvement with the MOT Highways avalanche control program.

A short walk from the building, the Avalanche Technicians have enlarged their existing weather plot; the twice daily weather observations are easy to get to and relevant. Even as we move into the digital age of weather stations, having a professional, manual weather station for students to use adjacent to the Highways weather station certainly enhances the hands-on learning. Anyone can read a digital screen, but to walk out in the cold, dark air of the early morning and read a maximum and minimum thermometer is better for tactile learners.

The elevation of 1,775m is a great starting place for ski tours, and each day progresses further into the terrain. With short travel times, groups are able to get to their study areas, look at terrain and have time to dig their profiles. Some days we were able to travel and dig test profiles on two different aspects. Mid-week we travel to Whitewater Ski Resort, an hour’s drive to the west, where students see another active avalanche program. This provides good linking to lessons—by that point, the students have started using the daily hazard evaluations and drafting snow profiles and they get the opportunity to see all of those skills put into practice. Also, with the easy-access backcountry a short tour from the resort, students are quickly exposed to a different scope of terrain. Whitewater provides one-ride passes for the students and instructors in exchange for ITP credits for Whitewater staff.

Later in the week, Tweedy successor Robb Andersen presents on the MOT avalanche control program. Robb also demonstrates an avalanche rescue scenario with his dog Kilo. A unique benefit to Kootenay Pass is witnessing the Gaz.ex avalanche control in progress. This year we arrived on Sunday, January 29 as a significant storm cycle was occurring. Robb closed the highway at 02:30 in a high hazard. He woke Dave Smith and me up at 05:00 to let us know they were going to do a shoot. Students were in a safe zone on the highway by 05:30 to experience how avalanche hazard is managed and mitigated on the highest all-weather mountain pass in Canada. We could see the flash of the Gaz.ex and hear the rumble of the size 3 and 3.5 avalanches as they buried the highway. Robb’s incredible video footage of control work allowed the students to see the magnitude of what they could hear. The highway remained closed that day until 2:30pm, but the class was secure in the Bunkhouse learning about the nature and formation of avalanches.

Many stakeholders are involved with the operation of the Bunkhouse at Kootenay Pass. BC Parks owns the land, MOT built and owns the building, and the Highways Road and Bridge Maintenance Contractor is responsible for the upkeep of the building. Infrastructure upgrades including potable water, plumbing upgrades and reducing the carbon footprint are in the plans for the coming summer season to allow for continued operation of courses.

Using the Bunkhouse for educational courses is a win-win situation for course participants and the various agencies that take advantage of having their courses at Kootenay Pass.