Travis Hunt and Neills Kristensen (right) pose with Parks Canada's Jacolyn Daniluck and Darlene Small as Hunt slices the cake to mark the 25th anniversary of the Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier during the group's Toast to The Mountains fundraiser last Friday. Keri Knapp photo

The Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier marked their 25th anniversary last Friday with a fund-raising dinner and silent auction at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Hall.

Despite a lower-than-expected turnout (attributed to the cold and flu viruses tormenting local residents) and heavy snow everyone who attended had an excellent time.

Local photographer Keri Knapp has an great selection of photos from the event posted on her website at revelstokephoto.com. Check ‘ em out today!

FERNIE — In recent years, a new trend has become clear in British Columbia’s backcountry, as more and more snowmobilers are being killed. As a result, the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) is launching the Mountain Snowmobile Education Project, thanks to federal, provincial and municipal government funding, announced Jan. 20 in a brief ceremony in Fernie. From left - CAC executive director Ian Tomm, Kootenay-Columbia MP David Wilks, East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett and Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano, at last week's announcement at the Fernie Best Western. Photo courtesy of Ian Cobb/East Kootenay News Online Weekly

By Ian Cobb
East Kootenay Online Weekly

FERNIE — In recent years, a new trend has become clear in British Columbia’s backcountry, as more and more snowmobilers are being killed.

As a result, the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) is launching the Mountain Snowmobile Education Project, thanks to federal, provincial and municipal government funding, announced Jan. 20 in a brief ceremony in Fernie.

East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett said the $689,000 going to the CAC (over three years) will help establish a program that will help educate backcountry snowmobilers on the perils of avalanches and in avalanche preparation and safety measures.

“It’s important for us to recognize what has happened in the last 30 years, 20 years and 10 years,” Bennett said, noting that 30 years ago snowmobilers accounted for one-quarter of all recorded avalanche deaths. Ten years later that number had risen to 38% of all deaths. In 2008/09, the year of the Sparwood tragedy, 73% of all avalanche fatalities were snowmobile-related.

“At the same time that trend line for other sports is going down,” Bennett said, adding he hopes the funding helps the CAC “reverse that trend line” for snowmobilers.

Bennett highlighted the tourism benefits realized from snowmobilers coming to the province, pointing out he saw a truck full of sleds with Saskatchewan plates on his way to Fernie. He said he hoped the visitors were avalanche savvy.

“We hope they get the brochures and take the time” to become aware of the dangers inherent in the mountains. “These machines that they have today are unbelievable. They’re like rocket-ships. It’s a dangerous sport,” he said.

Kootenay-Columbia MP David Wilks, who was Sparwood’s mayor in 2008, and received high praise for his handling of the tragedy that swept through the town and region, noted he knows “too well the tragedy of avalanches.”

Along with the 2008 avalanche, Wilks was the lead officer (RCMP) in charge of another multi-fatality avalanche in the Bugaboos in 1991, when nine heli-skiers perished in a massive slide.

“I witnessed, first hand, the power of an avalanche,” he said, adding he’s proud to be able to represent the federal government in contributing to the program.

Federal funds are coming from the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS), which is a department of National Defence.

“NSS grants are just one way that the Government of Canada has made its contributions to public avalanche safety. Environment Canada – through Parks Canada and the Meteorological Service of Canada – is also a long-time supporter of the CAC. We are pleased to support programs and services that provide a public safety net and enrich the lives of Canadians and our visitors,” Wilks said.

CAC executive director Ian Tomm said the funding boost will allow his organization to expand on an already “impressive suite of programs.

“Last year we saw a big jump in training among mountain sledders, along with a tremendous shift in attitude towards avalanche safety. We look forward to continuing to work closely with clubs and organizations to increase the avalanche knowledge base and skill level within this community,” Tomms said.

Fernie was selected as the site to make the funding announcement because it was the first municipality in the province to provide the CAC with funds.

“We all know our mountains can bring tragedy. Sadly, our region has had more than its share of avalanche tragedies over the years,” said City of Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano. “The CAC’s avalanche forecast for this region is a highly valued product for many of our residents, as well as our visitors. Public avalanche safety affects all of us who live in B.C.”

Fernie Snowmobile Association president Paul Kramer agreed, noting how snow conditions in the Elk Valley are different than elsewhere in the province.

“We are getting more pertinent information on the area with more specific information. It’s very welcome news,” he said of the CAC program launch. “They recognize there is a need for better avalanche projection in this area.”

Fledgling Elk Valley Snowmobile Club president Dan Rotella said he is looking forward to learning more about what CAC will be providing.

“I think this is great,” he said.

Ian Cobb is the editor and publisher of the East Kootenay News Online Weekly

This is the first art show sponsored by the NCES and organizer Hailey Ross said she hopes for a wide variety of innovative and creative offerings from members of the city’s artistic community.

“I’m hoping we’ll have a show that will speak to as broad a demographic as possible,” she said.

The theme of the show is: What is our role, as mountaineers and community members, in the face of climate change? (I.e., What actions have you taken in the face of climate change? What would you like to see yourself doing to address climate change? What does a mountain community taking action for climate change look like?)

• All art mediums welcome. Film should be no longer than 10 min.
• Artwork available for sale, 50% proceeds go to artists, 40% to NCES, and 10% to Visual Arts Centre.
• Take in for all artwork: Tuesday, February 21 from 1 pm until 5 pm at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, located at 320 Wilson. Or, contact Hailey Ross to make alternative arrangements (contact info below). Films and any other digital works to be dropped off on labeled data stick.
• Spoken word offerings are welcome.

Some other event details you may like to know:
At the opening, Meghan Ward, author of the Alpine Club of Canada’s (ACC) latest State of the Mountain Report, will provide a short keynote address. This talk will introduce the theme and highlighting the importance of local knowledge – what we learn from people who have the experience and observations gained from intimate experiences in the wild places. Your creative interpretations of the show theme contribute to this dialogue.

Also, you can expect live music and refreshments.

Questions? Please contact Hailey Ross at haileysross@gmail.com or

250-837-3116.

A statement released Tuesday by Karen Tierney, superintendent of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, said 43 people have  so far commented on the strategy, which was released in November.

“This strategy will guide conservation actions in Banff, Jasper, Mount
Revelstoke and Glacier national parks, and will help inform the development
of the Environment Canada-led recovery strategy for the Southern Mountain
population of woodland caribou, expected later in 2012,” she said in the statement.

 “Have you told us what you think?
Parks Canada is inviting comments… until January 31, 2012 — only a few weeks away.


To review the strategy and provide comments visit
www.parkscanada.gc.ca/caribou or for more information email
caribou@pc.gc.ca.”

BC Hydro recommends everyone be prepared for an outage, especially during cold weather. Outages happen more frequently when heavy snow accumulates causing tree branch breakage – more common here in BC because there is three times the number of trees per kilometre of power line compared to any other utility in North America. Some helpful tips:

• Have an emergency kit on hand with flashlights, a battery operated radio, warm clothing and blankets, and a corded telephone.
• To report an outage call 1-888-POWERON or *HYDRO on your mobile phone.

Once fully in place across the province, smart meters will report power outages instantly allowing BC Hydro to restore power faster

Last night, the hourly peak demand across BC – 9,526 megawatts – was recorded between 5 and 6 pm, representing an increase of more than 1,059 megawatts over the peak a week earlier.

BC Hydro has systems in place to meet this unusually high electricity demand, but with a few simple measures, everyone can contribute to lessening the pressure on the electrical grid while still staying warm and safe:

• Timing is everything: Use energy-intensive household appliances – such as clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers and portable space heaters – outside of the peak hours of 4 to 8 p.m. If you must use them, try to only use one at a time.

• Portable space heaters and safety: Portable space heaters can be effective to take the chill out of a small room or to heat a small area but are not efficient to heat large spaces or multiple rooms.Use your space heater safely:  place it on a hard surface like concrete or ceramic tile floor; keep the heater away from bedding, drapes, furniture, books, and newspapers; don’t leave the house with the space heater on or go to sleep with the space heater left on.

• Keep the cold out and the heat in: Keep windows covered with closed binds and drapes for an extra layer of window insulation. Window coverings can be a quick and cost-effective way to cut heat loss and block cold drafts. Easy-to-install window film provides an additional pane to keep heat in.

• Put your lights on timers: Put all outdoor lighting on a timer, or install a motion sensor for security lighting.

• Install a programmable thermostat: Set the thermostat to automatically adjust temperatures at different times based on your family’s activities, ensuring electricity is not wasted when no one is home and the temperature is turned down when everyone is sleeping.

• Draft-proof your home: One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to reduce heat loss is to prevent heat from leaking out and cold air from coming in. Use caulking and weather stripping to seal gaps and cracks around doors, windows and outlets.
• Switch it up; do things differently: Changing behavior saves energy, including: washing clothes in cold water; turning off the dishwasher’s heated-dry option; taking shorter showers and turning off lights and unplugging small appliances and electronics when they are not in use.

• Choose inexpensive, energy smart lighting: Use energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or Light-Emitting Diode bulbs (LEDs) – they consume 75 per cent less electricity than incandescent bulbs.

Seem like small measures? Individually, they are, but multiply each one by 1.8 million BC Hydro customers, and the electricity savings add up quickly, especially when a cold snap hits. What’s more, the overall pressure on the grid, particularly in cold weather – and the amount on a monthly electricity bill – can also go down significantly.

For more information, visit www.bchydro.com/powersmart

The new pedestrian bridge over the Illecillewaet River is nearly finished. The decking is complete and workers are finishing the guard rails. Community Economic Development Director Alan Mason said Tuesday that he expects the Mark Kingsbury Bridge will be open to pedestrians this weekend. A formal opening will be held sometime this spring, he said. The span across the old CPR abutments was built and installed with more than $735,000 in grant money. Not a dime of local taxpayers' money was used to build the structure, which was thrown across the Illecillewaet last month. David F. Rooney photo

How do you measure your work? Revelstoke’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Penny Page-Brittin can measure it in any number of ways — from running programs and creating brochures to counting light bulbs.

Counting light bulbs? Really?

Yep!

“The total number of light bulbs (each light in the MP rooms has 4 lamps or tubes or light bulbs) for the Community/Aquatic Centre,

Revelstoke Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Penny Page Brittin

including the Seniors’ Centre and the Library is: 1,438,” she told The Current.  “That’s a lot of light bulbs!

The total number of bulbs City Hall, the Public Works Department, the RCMP, the Communnity/Aquatic Centre, Fire Hall, Arena, Museum, Courthouse and the Water Treatment Plant is a whopping 4,305.

Lest you think this is a bureaucratic waste of time, Page-Brittin conducted the count as part of an energy audit of municipal buildings.

Four thousand three hundred and five is a lot of light bulbs and counting them isn’t a trivial exercise. Consider this: the total electricity consumption for the lights and… operations in the buildings listed  above (minus the water treatment plant and its 112 bulbs) was 3,074,652 kW and the total cost to the City in 2010 was $201,497.

“That’s a good reason to turn the lights out and turn things off when they’re not in use,” Page-Brittin said.

Getting a handle on the municipal government’s energy consumption is an important part of the job she was hired to do last year.

And Page-Brittin was busy in 2011 and will be just as focused in 2012 ensuring that the City meets all of its environmental commitments.

“We are actually doing quite well in that we have created good plans that are being implemented,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

There were a number of major highlights in 2011 that are yielding real results. They include:

1. The new Cosmetic Pesticide Bylaw;
2. Meeting the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Milestone 1-3 for corporate emissions, which includes a reduction target of 20% below 2007 emission levels. The City’s progress on this front is such that Revelstoke is being recognized for this during an award ceremony in Ottawa at the beginning of February;
3. Finalization of the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) and the District Energy and Emissions Plan (DEEP). Their approval by Council is pending;
4. Action to reduce municipal energy consumption. This includes a reduction in the use of propane at the Department of Public Works, energy audits (including all those light bulbs) of City buildings and continued acquisition of a full year of data to compare temperature differences;
5. A Fuel Management Course for the City’s vehicle fleet;
6. A major CBT workshop on Adapoting to Climate Change; and
7. A public information session last autumn on energy efficiency in building construction;

“What do I see in 2012?” she asked. “We have a number of things lined up.

“Since this will be the first full growing season in which this will be implemented we’ll continue to raise public awareness regarding the Cosmetic Pesticide Bylaw. Part of that will be through a new brochure.

“Curbside Recycling began this month and we’ve just completed the first week of that. We need a better Anti-Idling education campaign. We can do more to raise awareness particularly among new residents. We have almost completed a new brochure for that.

“We’re going to review the City vehicle fleet and take a serious look at what vehicles we have and what size the fleet really should be.”

Page-Brittin also noted that she’ll look at when and why City crews  violate the Anti-Idling Bylaw. “We need to set a good example,” she said.

There will also be a SMART Driver Course for City staff , continued energy audits of municipal buildings and the development of a Green Building Policy.

2012 is also the year when the City must become carbon-neutral. A report on emissions will be released at the end of March 2013 and offsets will be purchased from the Pacific Carbon Trust on what hasn’t been reduced by that time.

As well, a Watershed Management Plan will be produced to ensure that Revelstoke will have a “resilient water supply for the future,” she said.

The Planning Department will hold another Public Information Session on Energy Efficiency for Buildings and Construction in April, the City’s CEEP will be submitted for Milestones 1-3 recognition through the FCM’s national Partners for Climate Protection program.

And, finally, there will be a Public Information Session this spring on a UBC/Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions interactive study of community energy consumption and emissions.

Click here to learn more about the City of Revelstoke’s environmental sustainability plans.

The 2011 Bird Count turned up a Rough-legged Hawk like this one. Don Manson photo

By Michael Morris

Sixteen persons went out on a mild December 17^th and found the following:

Canada Goose 558, Trumpeter Swan 2, Mallard 89, duck sp 3, Bufflehead 3, Common Goldeneye 44, Barrow’s Goldeneye 39, Hooded Merganser 3, Common Merganser 7, Common Loon cw, Great Blue Heron cw, Bald Eagle 4, Rough-legged Hawk 1, Merlin 3, gull sp 3, Belted Kingfisher cw, Downy Woodpecker 1, Hairy Woodpecker 2, Northern Flicker ( red 71, yellow 2, cross 1), Pileated Woodpecker 1, Grey Jay 4, Steller’s Jay 23, American Crow 126, Common Raven 78, Black-capped Chickadee 72, Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4, Red-breasted Nuthatch 15, Brown Creeper 1, American Dipper 4, Golden-crowned Kinglet 8, American Robin 1, Varied Thrush 1, Bohemian Waxwing 34, Song Sparrow 12, Chipping Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 25, Brewer’s Blackbird  40, Pine Grosbeak 14, House Finch 15, White-winged Crossbill 96, Common Redpoll 2, Pine Siskin 2,  American Goldfinch 54, Evening Grosbeak 1, Lapland Longspur 1.

Jack Frost paid a visit to Frieda and Jerry Livesey's carport on New Year's Eve. At first glance his gift simply looked like spots on the floor. But a closer examination showed he had created some beautiful patterns for them. “I was delighted as I walked around the car to discover these frost flowers,” Frieda said in an e-mail to The Current. “The temperature was -1° overnight. The area between the car and the pony wall of the carport must have been a perfect temp. to create these. They are amazing! I took a few photos to show you Nature's art! Frieda Livesey photo

A group of 11 skiers with one guide were heli-skiing with Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), in the Selkirk range southeast of Revelstoke at the time of the avalanche.

Senior Media Relations Officer Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said the group of heli-skiers were in an area 32 km southeast of Revelstoke when a skier triggered an avalanche while the group was on the “Selkirk” run located in the Holyk Creek drainage early Friday afternoon

The avalanche was categorized as a class 2.5. The fracture line of the avalanche occurred at an elevation of approximately 1,850 metres on a slope with a SE aspect. The avalanche path was approximately 75 metres wide and ran for a distance of about 250 meters.

Four skiers were buried, three of them only partially and Sheardown was completely buried. The three were pulled free uninjured. Sheardown was eventually located via his avalanche transceiver but was unresponsive when rescuers pulled him from the snow, Moskaluk said

CMH crews brought physicians to the scene to provide emergency medical care, however, they were unsuccessful in reviving Sheardown. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke. The rest of the group was flown off the mountain by CMH, without further incident.

The Revelstoke RCMP and BC Coroners Service are continuing their investigation into the man’s death.

This was the second avalanche-related fatality in BC this week. A few days ago a skier was killed in a snow slide near Pemberton.