Since Gritt’s beginnings safety, and in particular avalanche education, have been an important part of our work. We use our snow camps to give kids the first taster of avalanche awareness, however from our own past experiences and feedback from kids and parents we knew there was a lack of options for those kids to take the next step of formal avalanche and backcountry safety education.
Fortunately POC, with their mission to improve safety in the outdoors, shared our vision. By working with their team we’ve been able to create the POC Backcountry Camp, specifically focused on safety education and providing kids with the tools for trip planning, weather and conditions assessment and management, avalanche awareness, and in the case they become necessary, effective rescue skills in an avalanche scenario.
Our first Backcountry Camp came to life this year on July 20th and 21st, based at Craigieburn Valley Ski Area. It began with a classroom learning session at the excellent lodge facilities, with Jim Young and Brett Evans from Alpine Guides sharing their knowledge and working through content from the ASC1 certification. This was supported by practical experience from two athletes the kids look up to, Jess Hotter and Kenji Boekholt, making the content relatable and relevant so it better sinks in for the kids.
“I think the camp was great as we split it up into sessions, it was good summing it all up at night and after the camp too, made it better learning doing a heap of practical stuff outside and doing the theory first. Having athletes like Jess and Kenji was good as, getting their input with stories from real freeride and avalanche experience.” Joe Cookson
The weather gods unfortunately hadn’t been kind, so the ski area was more scree than snow. That didn’t stop the guides, athletes, and kids making their way up the mountain to learn about terrain management, analyse snowpack conditions, and work on route finding. The planned freeride skiing aspect was replaced with a screeride session, and good attitudes meant everyone kept smiles on their faces.
While education often focuses on reducing the chances of an avalanche, the reality is they do happen and it’s essential to be able to respond efficiently with effective rescue techniques. The guides led a great search and rescue clinic, letting the kids put their knowledge into action and giving them future confidence.
Even with the most challenging of conditions the camp was a great success, with kids, guides, and athletes all feeling they learnt something and that the format provided a lot of educational value. The kids want to take the next steps on their avalanche education journey, with ASC2 courses and more time skiing in the backcountry highest on their to-do list, and there’s another crew waiting in the wings for their turn too. With ongoing support for the educational vision there’s a bright future for where Gritt’s work in avalanche and backcountry education can go.
See more from the camp on Instagram.
Thanks to all those who have contributed:
POC Sports
Craigieburn Valley Ski Area
Alpine Guides
Athletes: Kenji Boekholt and Jess Hotter
Film and Video: Jeremy Black
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