Jackie Goodman poses in front of semi bearing the logo of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. Darrell Goodman photo

As a member of the Lake Revelstoke Dragon Boat Society Jackie Goodman is an active campaigner against cancer. Now’s she’s expanding her participation in cancer research fund raising by cycling from Surrey to Seattle.

“t was nice talking to you the other afternoon,” her husband, Darrell said in an e-mail Wednesday. “To further our conversation, Jackie and I are doing something I think is pretty amazing at our age. We are doing a bike ride in June together from Surrey to Seattle in two days.

“Jackie did it last year and I was her cheering squad, photographer and roadie and I kind of got caught up in the whole moment when there were 2,874 people on bikes to raise money for cancer research that benefits the B.C. Cancer Foundation.”

Now these are a lot of bikes. In fact, they are some of the the bikes that were dropped off the night before for the early departure from Surrey. Darrell Goodman photo

Darrell and Jackie are now working out three times a week, and as soon as the snow is gone they’ll be on their bikes training for this year’s Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, which last year raised $11.3 million dollars that stays in British Columbia for cancer research.

Last summer's rain made for a wet ride but that didn't deter Jackie and other ardent campaigners for cancer research. Darrell Goodman photo

If you’d like to learn more, please watch the video below:

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

Eight local skiers, aged 12-16, returned from the Canadian Open Freesking Championship in Rossland last week.

A very tough, rocky, and steep course made it very challenging for the competitors.

A high number of competitors from Canada and the states competed in different age categories. Jake Teuton of Revelstoke literrally flew over the course to a 2nd place and Sam Poarch secured a 9th place (both in the 15-18 category). Curtis Kovacs placed 24th.  Eric Poarch, Shey Townley (male 12-14 category) Sage Riegel (female 12-14 category) and Tashi Townley and Wyatt Riegel (male 15-18 category missed the finals by one or two spots but all had very solid runs.

For some of the skiers, it was their first or second time competing in that kind of event.

You can view all the results and photo gallery at http://www.canadianfreeskiing.com/junior-results/

Kye Petersen and Oakley White-Allen congratulate each other on the podium. Meg Haywood-Sullivan photo

Wednesday’s finals of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour 2012 on Revelstoke’s Mount Mackenzie were a spectacular display of big mountain freeskiing. After a two-day weather delay, competitors and fans woke up to perfect blue skies for the culmination of this global competition.

Topping the field of 25 male competitors was 21-year-old Kye Petersen of Whistler/Blackcomb. With the cumulative scoring format used, Kye used his winning score from Day 1 to head into the finals with the lead. Stomping his landings with his trademark compact style, Kye made this difficult venue look effortless earning the top score of 83.03.

“I just wanted to get to the bottom and stay on my feet,” he said later.  “This is the best a competition can be, with the best skiers from North America and Europe, I’m excited to come out on top.”

In second with a score of 79.00 was Oakley White-Allen of Snowbird, Utah, who impressed the judges with his confident and fluid skiing.

“I followed my same approach from day one and that was to ski a line that is fun to ski, I think that comes out in your body language so that’s what I did today,” he said.

Rounding out the top three was Drew Tabke, scoring 78.83 thanks to his consistent landings and technical line choice.

Drew Tabke's run brought him into third place in the Men's category. Meg Haywood-Sullivan photo

Continuing her winning streak win in the Women’s Category was Snowbird’s Angel Collinson, Subaru FWT Champion of 2011, with a winning cumulative score of 72.40.

Angel Collinson after her winning run. Meg Haywood-Sullivan photo

“My day was already made when I woke up to bluebird skies this morning,” she said. “I was really excited to ski that awesome face with tons of options and I felt I had a strong run today.”

In close second out of Jackson Hole was Crystal Wright. Hitting one of the biggest drops of the day for the ladies, Wright skied fluid and strong scoring a 71.73. In third with a score of 69.67 was tour veteran Jess McMillan who ripped the face of Mount Mackenzie with her fast, dynamic turns.

Mac Daddy, a new competition venue for the Finals, was a leg-burning 2,500 vertical feet, loaded with features and steep lines.  With patrollers from Revelstoke Mountain Resort performing avalanche control on the venue for the past few days, snow conditions were a bit variable for the competitors.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to have a day like this work out,” said MSI Event Director Bryan Barlow.  “All of the pieces of the puzzle fit today and we were able to showcase the world’s elite skiers on what truly is the Mac Daddy of all Freeskiing venues.”

A view of the venue. Bluebird skies and optimal conditions made the competition one for the record books. Meg Haywood-Sullivan photo

The winners were presented with Howitzer Shell trophies, courtesy of Swatch.

This wraps up the 2012 stop in Revelstoke co-organized between the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour and the Swatch Freeride World tour.  President and CEO of MSI, Adam Comey, had this to say about the event and it’s Finals Day:  “Everything came together today.  We had a spectacular venue, amazing support from Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the partnership with the Swatch Freeride World tour and the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour came together in a celebration of big mountain skiing and showed the world why this is such an amazing sport.”

Image courtesy of Somewon Collective

Sabrina Gauthier is proving her value to the BC Freestyle Team by winning the BC Snowboard Provincial Series Slopestyle competition at Big White last Saturday.

After two runs the the 18-year-old clinched the top spot in the Women’s Category with a score of 23.5, well ahead of her nearest rival, Jennifer Bernier of Meota, Sask., who scored 14.1 points.

An RSS graduate who is sponsored by the  Somewon Collective, Gauthier, lived and boarded Revelstoke until recently when she moved to Rossland in her final year of high school to continue her training. She was accepted onto the provincial freestyle team last month and moved to Whistler to train full-time with the team and its coach, Adam Higgins

The North Face rider Ralph Backstrom out of Squaw Valley earned the highest score of the day, with a 92.67 out of a possible 100 points. Announcer Frankie Alisuag praised his “hard-charging confidence and aggressive riding” on the notoriously challenging “Mac Face.”

“Ralph had a really technical entrance and finished his run with a solid double cliff drop,” said Alisuag of the winning run. In second was Freeride World Tour rider Johnathan Charlet out of Chamonix. The French snowboarder stomped three cliffs with his fast and fluid style, earning a score of 91.67. Rounding out the Men’s podium was Crystal Mountain’s Blair Habenicht with a 90.00.

Of the six women invited to compete today, Maria DeBari topped the talented field with a score of 80.67; twenty-five points ahead of the next competitor. Honing her skills on Mt. Baker’s big mountain lines, DeBari chose a smart line, allowing her to ride fast and flawlessly down the steep face. Finishing second today was Margo Rozies of France with a score of 55.00. Third place went to Snowbird’s Shannan Yates, overall The North Face Masters Tour Champion from 2011 with a score of 43.33.

Scott Heale was the only local boarder to compete. He placed 16^th in the Men’s Category with a score of 33.33.

“Big mountain snowboarding has seen huge growth in popularity the past few years, with the level of riding improving tremendously,” Alisuag said.  Riders from the European-based Freeride World Tour and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding came together for this event; increasing big mountain snowboarding’s exposure and level of competition. For more information, check out http://www.freerideworldtour.com and http://thenorthfacemasters.com.

Sunday’s Freeskiing Finals were postponed due to fog and heavy cloud.

A freeskiing legend at the age of 21, Peterson topped the Men’s field by taking full advantage of the terrain that Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s North Bowl has to offer. He successfully skied off a big double-staged cliff up top, and then skied fast and aggressively through the open bowl.  To gain maximum style and creativity points, he landed two huge 360’s at the bottom, impressing fans and judges alike.

Sitting in second place, with his playful, fluid, stylish skiing, is Subaru Freeskiing World Tour 2011 Champion and The North Face athlete, Drew Tabke, with a score of 39.17.  Completing the top three Men’s finishers was Oakley White Allen of Snowbird, Utah, scoring 37.50.  The top Revelstoke man was Ryan Kappler in ninth place with a score of 35.67. Sean Conchrane, also of Revelstoke, was in tenth with a score of 35.17.

Out of the 50 Men’s skiers, 25 men will advance to the heli-accessed Day 2 Finals on Mac Daddy, a remote location in the backcountry.

The stacked women’s field was very competitive, with only three points separating the top ten female competitors. Ashley Maxfield of Alta, Utah skied the most technical line of the day for the women, wowing the crowd and surprising even herself.

“I went bigger than I thought, but as soon as I landed on the second pillow I knew I had it,” said Maxfield who scored 33.50.

Two- tenths of a point behind her sits the third place finisher of the 2011 Canadian Freeskiing Championships and Revelstoke local, Nicole Derksen with a score of 33.30.  Rounding out the Women’s Day 1 top three was the 2011 Freeskiing World Tour Overall Champion and The North Face athlete, Angel Collinson with a score of 32.90.

“The level of skiing today was even higher than anticipated,” remarked Event Director Bryan Barlow. “Conditions were perfect. Soft landings and good snow allowed competitors to ski lines that have rarely or never been skied before.”

The Final Day, Day 2, of the Swatch Freeskiing and Freeride World Tour is currently scheduled for Sunday, January 8.

You can watch the action, live, at www.freeskingworldtour.com at 10:30 am.

With few spots up for grabs in Friday’s Day 1 of competition, skiers pushed the limits of big mountain freeskiing to earn their spot. Taking first out of 60 competitors in the Men’s field was Benjamin Ogilvie from Fernie,. In first place in the Women’s category Snowbird local Lexi Dupont from a stacked roster of 23 ladies.

“In today’s qualifier, it was definitely clear that skiers needed to step up in every aspect of the criteria; they had to have great technique, control and fluidity,” said Head Judge Jim Jack on the selective cut. Out of the deep qualifier field, 13 men and 4 women will advance to Day 1 competition on North Bowl’s Unlimited Assets tomorrow. “It was a very competitive cut, so congratulations to the skiers that made it in,” said Jack.

On the women’s side, athletes skied very smart and safe and 99 % of the competitors stayed on their feet. “Winner Lexi Dupont skied fast and fluid, with direct fall-line skiing,” remarked Announcer Max Kuszaj. “Its no surprise she is sitting in the top qualifying position going into day 1.” Canadian Crystal-Rose Lee was a close second. For the men, the majority of the skiers made the best use of the terrain and the style/creativity category by adding new-school tricks into their run, which benefited their scores. “A standout for me would be Fernie BC’s own Luke Nelson with his fast, fluid technical skiing on the top of Separate Reality, and smooth 360 at the bottom, encompassing all aspects we encourage in a competitor’s run,” said Kuszaj.

Skiers on the mountain Thursday experienced a mix of sun and snow with great conditions and visibility of the venue. “Conditions for this event are definitely shaping up to be some of the best we’ve had here at Revelstoke. The consistency of the snow will make landings cleaner and provides athletes a venue to showcase their abilities,” said Jack.

Tune in to www.freeskingworldtour.com for live non-stop action January 6-8.

Here’s the schedule for the next few days:

Friday, January 6: Day 1 Skiing

Saturday, January 7: Snowboarding

Sunday, January 8: Day 2 Skiing Finals

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.

Council has approved a recommendation that City staff apply to the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development’s Community Recreation Program for a grant to support construction of a new skateboard park and pump track. This illustration shows where municipal staff say they could be shoe-horned into the existing array of diamonds and tracks at Centennial Park. Image courtesy of the City of Revelstoke

By David F. Rooney

Council has approved a recommendation that City staff apply to the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development’s Community Recreation Program for a grant to support construction of a new skateboard park and pump track.

The park and the track, which are planned for Centennial Park, are together expected to cost about $800,000. If the application is successful the project could receive between $350,000 and $400,000 in funding.

But it was a close-run thing.

A report to Council by Parks, Recreation and Culture Director Kerry Dawson said there were two projects eligible for funding. One was a proposal to enhance the Aquatic and Community Centre the other was the skateboard park and pump track.

The Aquatic Centre and Community Centre project envisioned spending $232,000 to upgrade elements of Aquatic Centre, integrate $32,000 in changes to the Community Centre kitchen and $120,000 in enhancements to the Community Centre itself.

Dawson said the addition of the new skateboard park and pump track “will enhance tourism in Revelstoke, increase level of a large number of community residents as well as visitors and both (the Columbia Valley Skateboard Association [CVSA] and the Revelstoke Trail Alliance) are ready and willing to continue to work toward moving the project forward to a positive conclusion.”

She also noted that the pump track and skateboard park were more likely to be approved for a grant than enhancements to the existing Aquatic and Community Centres. The $30 million CRP exists to give families greater access to recreation facilities. Priority is given to smaller communities, of which 188 are eligible. The ministry expects 250 applications for grants this year.

The two organizations held a public meeting earlier this year to convince the general community and City Council that their proposals had merit.

The CVSA has vowed to find the grant money that would allow the park to be built. It faces a deadline of 2015, but Dawson noted that it would be easier to acquire more grants if they could use a $400,000 CRP grant as leverage.

Councillors discussed the pros and cons of the proposals and, ultimately, the skateboard park and pump track won out.