National Avalanche Awareness Days Hits Big White!
By Dave Norona, AdventureSmart Ambassador

Avalanche professionals from all over Canada converged at Big White Ski Resort, near Kelowna BC January 13 -15. Big White was chosen for its close proximity to other resorts and backcountry areas and of course its champagne powder.

Canadian Avalanche Foundation spokesperson, Justin Trudeau, commenced the weekend by talking about how important it was to show off Canada's incredible backcountry and to promote its usage to younger generations. However, he was quick to note that a big responsibly goes along with
enjoying the backcountry and that it is up to everyone to be proper equipped and have the knowledge to make calculated risks out there.

Throughout the weekend the AdventureSmart Team, Big White's Ski Patrol and Avalanche Professionals from the Canadian Avalanche Centre created on hill snow pit demos and avalanche dog rescue demos. The coolest demo was held in the Telus Snowboard Terrain Park where a real life avalanche area was created. Participants worked in pairs with a Pieps Transceiver to find the buried beacon. Once they located and dug it up, they would move to a different area where they would probe to try and locate the awesome prize box. It was cool to see kids as young as 8 years old using an avalanche probe, shovel and beacon.

Big White and all the staff were incredible hosts and put on an amazing weekend filled with demo's and great festivities. Mother Nature also contributed by dropping 30 cm's of light fluffy snow on Friday and the sun came out to join us on the weekend. I love my job!

See photos from the weekend >>