This weekend we took the AST-1 Avalanche Training course from Canada West Mountain School. It was a humbling experience. There are times when I think I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. This weekend was not one of those times. I was cold, tired, exhausted, and definitely not in good enough shape for the course. Somehow, I managed to complete both days and get the piece of paper that said I did it… but I wasn’t proud of how I performed. Anyway, I had a great time, met some great people and learned a heck of a lot. And had some nice powder lines

Check out this HD video I put together of the full 2-day experience on Seymour and Whistler Blackcomb. I think it’ll give you a good idea of how fun the course was and all the different activities that we did… including snowboarding Again, above is a link to the HD Quality Video on Vimeo. If you’d like to download the full movie, you can find it here by right-clicking and save-as to download. Song is “The Adventure” by Angels & Airwaves.

The first day was up at Mount Seymour. We were given an assortment of equipment such as shovels, avalanche transceivers, probes, and snowshoes.

It was a gorgeous morning… freezing cold but we really lucked out with the early morning sun.

There were 8 of us in the group (only 5 pictured here)… a mix of snowboarders and skiers. A really nice group… everyone was really kind and patient.

My backpack was freaking heavy! I took all my camera equipment, plus the shovels/snowshoes/probe, plus a litre of water and with my board on it… wow! Too heavy for me. Allan took all the food and drinks so his was even heavier.

I was super stoked to get going, even though I didn’t really know what to expect!

My new friends on the mountain… also super stoked!

The snowshoes were easy enough to use but it was reaaaally tiring hiking with them for hours. I wasn’t in good enough shape and I was huffing and puffing up those hills.

We learned a lot about snow… from how terrain, wind, precipitation, and solar energy all affect the way the snow accumulates and behaves.

Lots of hiking. The skiers were much faster than us snowboarders! I loved Andrea and Michael’s boards!

We learned to interpret avalanche bulletins and signs, and find the optimal conditions for us to go out on backcountry trips.

We spent a lot of time working with transceivers… doing individual and group rescues with the beacons. We also spent time looking at different snow formations and terrain features, talking about avalanche safety and awareness.

The backcountry at Seymour was beautiful! Despite it being -19 degrees Celsius + wind it was incredible. Fresh snow, sun, and clear skies!

The Whiskey Jacks came out to join us, hopping on our heads, equipment, and various other things they could dig their claws into

One Whiskey Jack in flight while his friend looks on.

Whiskey Jack on the top of a ski. (The orange tab is part of the skins used for climbing)

Day 2 we went to Whistler Blackcomb. We ended up taking the Jersey Cream chair up to Blackcomb and snowshoeing the rest of the way.

Blackcomb backcountry was really neat. We spent an hour or so digging profile pits, analyzing the layers and doing various stability tests.

I was really thankful for our guide, Bruce, from Canada West Mountain school who was extremely patient with me. Despite slowing down the group, I had a really amazing time and learned a ton. I’m really excited to get my own gear and head out into the backcountry! I hope you enjoyed the photos and the video and it gave you a good idea about what it would be like to take your own AST-1 Avalanche Training course

Now, we just have to recover. Both of us got a bad chill and cold from the weekend but Allan is really, really sick. Sucks.. so much snow and no snowboarding in the near future That’s okay though… Christmas is approaching!

It’s SNOWING! Yes. Finally.

I knew it was coming, but I woke up this morning to fresh, thick snowflakes falling from the sky, covering the streets… cars… trees… bushes. Snow! What a beautiful sight for sore eyes.

I snapped a couple pics while running out the door… I apologize for the blurriness and haste but being late for work because of snow (well cars driving in snow) is no fun. The great news, is that this is falling on our local mountains and finally building up the pitiful snowpack we’ve been having to deal with. I think this weekend I’m going to hit up Baker if it opens on Sunday. Otherwise, probably another Whistler trip for the weekend. This is a great opportunity to shoot some additional footage for the snowboarding movie. Maybe some time-lapse snow accumulation footage on Saturday if it is still snowing.

The AST-1 Avalanche Training Course classroom session last night was fantastic! We learned a lot about snow layers… how wind, weather and elevation affect snowpack stability, and where to look for cornices and other signs. We also got some handy mental checklists to go through when snowboarding so we can quickly evaluate conditions, and pick the best, safest route. It was really interesting. I can’t wait for the practical “on-mountain” two-day training sessions next weekend.

Immediately after the course we went home and looked up the cost of snowshoes at MEC. I decided against going for a splitboard because apparently it’s not a great idea for someone who is a photographer since there is a lot you have to fiddle with. Maybe one day, but I think snowshoes are a great place to start. We already started looking at some backcountry day trips that we want to take. It’s going to make for some excellent footage!

In other news, it looks like Electronic Arts isn’t going to open their new Yaletown studio as planned. In fact, is it possible that we’d see EA Black Box move into the Burnaby office as well? Big shifts in the video game industry.

Tonight, is two Christmas parties in one night. And only one dress! We’ll see how it works out. It’s going to be fun tromping around in the snow in high-heeled shoes. Wish me luck