Education and Outreach

Education and Outreach

Avalanche Canada Training Programs

The number of students taking an Avalanche Canada Training course surpassed 10,000 for the fourth year in a row, despite an early end to the season caused by the pandemic. Overall, 10,173 people took one of our four courses over the 2019-20 winter, a 13 percent decrease from the previous winter. We expect enrolment would have been similar to 2018-19 if not for the lockdown put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.

We saw a big increase in the number of snowshoers taking an Avalanche Skills Training (AST) course. 639 snowshoers took a course last winter, a 55 per cent increase over the previous year! This jump can be attributed to our fall outreach sessions in Calgary and Vancouver that targeted this group, several course providers marketing directly at snowshoers, and the increase in popularity of the sport.

Unfortunately, the number of snowmobilers taking a course was down by 41 per cent. Several factors may be at play here: the Covid-19 lockdown, the struggling oil sector in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the fact there were no major snowmobile fatalities in the past couple years. We have seen that fatal avalanche incidents drive up enrolment.

Avalanche Canada Training is renowned worldwide. There were 180 active, licensed AST providers last season. The majority are Canadian, but our courses are also delivered in Japan, Chile, France, Norway, Spain, Russia and Australia.

AST Handbook Updates

We published two new versions of our Avalanche Skills Training Handbook in the fall of 2019. A version of the book geared at snowmobilers was produced. Curtis Pawliuk, a snowmobile guide and AST instructor, worked on the new version with original authors James Floyer and Keith Robine. This sled version included 13 more pages, with specific information for snowmobilers on issues like group communication, terrain use, and travel habits. We were very happy to be able to release this book for this user group.

We also translated the original version of the handbook into French thanks to our partners at Avalanche Quebec. A French translation of the sled version will be published in 2021. These new texts are a welcome addition to the AST curriculum. Some instructors are also finding it useful as a resource for AST 2 courses.

COVID Effect

With the climate of uncertainty due to Covid-19, Avalanche Canada is working with ACT course providers to develop plans for flexible delivery of our courses in the 2020-21 season.

Some options will include online delivery for a portion of the classroom curriculum. The field portion of the AST and Managing Avalanche Terrain courses is still a requirement and will not change, but there are options available for the delivery of the classroom portion.

AST 2 Curriculum Update

An update to the AST 2 curriculum and instructor manual began in the summer of 2020 and is slated for release in time for the 2020-21 season. This update to the instructor manual will reflect the new AST Handbook and updates made to the AST 1 curriculum. An emphasis has been placed on using the daily process (developed in the AST Handbook) and human behaviours (aka human factors) throughout the curriculum.

All the excellent instructional material found in the original instructor manual is included in this version. The updated version is re-formatted to be aligned with the AST 1 instructor manual and it will assist both veteran and new AST 2 instructors. It will include diagrams and activities to assist instructors in conveying various concepts. We’re excited to bring this updated resource to AST 2 instructors this season and believe it will enhance the learning of students as well.

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