New for Revelstoke, BC: an alpine guide service—the first of its kind in this part of the Canadian backcountry.  Revelstoke Alpine Adventures (RAA) made its debut Dec. 8, offering guided services for skiing, hiking, waterfall ice climbing, rock climbing, and mountaineering adventures, as well as avalanche skills training courses.

Having guided in the Revelstoke area for a combined 40 years, RAA owners Norm Winter and David Scott are seasoned veterans. Winter and Scott are certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and members of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association.   All RAA guides will be certified by the ACMG, which takes a minimum of 5 years of training and testing.

“Our experiences range from several hours to several days,” says co-owner Norm Winter. “We provide experienced professionally certified guides who personally coach guests throughout the journey. Guests can count on our team to help them push personal limits while balancing adventure and safety. We’ve had many guests tell us at the end of a trip that they cannot believe what they were able to accomplish. Our guests have told us that many of these experiences change their lives and expand their personal boundaries.”

For more info: 877-837-7141, or visit www.revelstokealpineadventures.com

Two Rocky Mountain skiers were killed in separate slides so far this season. On December 14, Aspen local Cory Brettman died skiing just out of bounds on Aspen Mountain. The same day, Heather Gross, a 27-year-old Salt Lake City resident, was killed at Snowbird by an in-bounds slide.

Brettman, 52, a husband and father of two little girls, had ski patrolled at Breckenridge and Aspen for 26 years. And Snowbird, more than maybe any other ski area in the U.S., has built the template for snow control. All of which proves (as it always proves in regards to snow, gravity and friction), that you never really know.

The accident report can be viewed at http://avalanche.state.co.us/pub/accidents_co.php?accident=20081214_aspen

Even more reason to be a regular reader of the newly redesigned/upgraded National Av Center website and (put online on Dec. 5.) The bulk of the work on the site has been putting together an online avalanche awareness tutorial.

The tutorial is a thorough avalanche awareness class with easy to understand narrative, photos, diagrams and a variety of short, high energy educational videos.  Naturally, the tutorial strongly emphasizes that everyone should take an actual avalanche class in addition to going through the tutorial

Here is the US website: www.fsavalanche.com

For snow reports in Canada visit: http://www.avalanche.ca/HomeCAC

Fernie’s Emily Brydon tied a career best finishing today’s opening ladies super combined of the FIS Alpine World Cup season in St. Moritz, SUI, in ninth position. Brydon, who has placed ninth twice before in a World Cup SC, finished today in a two-run combined time of one minute 43.89.

Brydon, who won a super G in St. Moritz last year, was in second place after today’s opening SG run and followed that up with the 15th fastest slalom.

“My performance in the super G was really good today but I don’t do a whole lot of slalom training. If I am going to move up in the super combined, that’s something I will have to focus on,” said Brydon.

“Being back in St. Moritz is great. I am very comfortable here, I like the snow and there’s no stress. I am really focused on my skiing and just getting the best result that I can tomorrow,” said Brydon, who currently sits in the Top 10 in the downhill, super G and super combined ladies discipline standings.

Sweden’s Anja Paerson returned to the top of the podium today, with a winning two-run combined time of 1:41.87 with Austria’s Nicole Hosp more than a second back and Fabienne Suter of Switzerland in third spot. It was Paerson’s first win since the super G in St. Moritz in 2007 and the 39th of her career.

Today also marked a career-best achievement for Larisa Yurkiw (Owen Sound, ON), who placed 25th. A 29th place finish at the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart downhill was her only previous top 30 World Cup result.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) announced today that due to weather conditions the ladies super G would be held tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. CET and the downhill on Sunday at 11 a.m. CET. That is a reversed order from what was originally scheduled.

Racing can be seen live from St. Moritz on www.cbcsports.ca.  CBC’s Pontiac Alpine Ski Series is scheduled to have Saturday’s race at 5 p.m. ET with Radio-Canada Sports coverage getting underway at 12:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings as times are subject to change.

World champion Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., highlighted a triple medal performance for Canada on Thursday with a gold medal in men’s dual moguls at the season opening event on the freestyle skiing FIS World Cup circuit.

Rousseau defeated Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., in the men’s final while Olympic champion Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., raced for the first time in 20 months and also took silver in the women’s dual moguls event.

In men’s dual moguls, Rousseau and Bilodeau were almost mirror images in the final from start to finish.

”It’s a fantastic way to start the season,” said Rousseau, 29, after his fourth career World Cup win. “Alex beat me last season at the Canadian Championships and now it’s my turn. He’s my toughest opponent in dual moguls and we really push each other. I know it’s going to be fast against him and you have to push to the limit. It was so close today… we were in sync racing down the course.”

Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, Alexandre Bilodeau and Jenn Heil

Bilodeau wasn’t disappointed in the least to lose the final. Less than two months ago he suffered a foot fracture and aced his first major test on Thursday.

”I’m super satisfied,” said Bilodeau, 21, savouring a 12th career World Cup medal. “I was pretty nervous heading into the competition. I had a tough November and it was very stressful to get back on the hills. I was limping for three weeks and I couldn’t put too much pressure on the foot. Today’s result is not a loss for me at all. It gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the season.”

Vincent Marquis of Quebec City was 11th.

In women’s dual moguls, Hannah Kearney of the U.S., defeated Heil in the final. Heil, 25, who now resides in Montreal, took last season off to work on improving some technical aspects of her body positioning. Her return Thursday proves her 20 months of hard work in the gym has paid off.

”Getting back in that starting gate I realized how much I missed the thrill of competition,” said Heil, a four-time overall World Cup champion. “I felt amazing and I’m so happy with my result. There’s so much more I know I can do but today was a chance to show that I was back and contending.”

Heil finished fourth in qualifying and posted victories in her quarterfinal and semi-final duals.

”I made a mistake in the final against Hannah,” said Heil. “I came off the top jump and I just didn’t have total control and went off course a bit. I couldn’t make up for that. Still 20 months is a really long time and it was a big challenge to get back into the competitive environment.”

Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was ninth, Stéphanie St-Pierre of Victoriaville, Que., 12th, Maxime Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal 13th, Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., 16th and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal, 21st.

The Aerials World Cup season gets underway Friday in China.

A coalition of citizens’ groups has launched a  province-wide campaign around a five-point action plan they say could end the
current stalemate on coalbed methane development.

“Across B.C., coalbed methane projects are being delayed or stopped by local  conflict because residents lack confidence in the province’s approval process and  regulations,” said Ted Ralfe, spokesperson for CCCBM-East Kootenay. “The action plan we’re proposing is a way to restore public confidence and create a  more certain investment climate for companies.”

The coalition, Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane, released its five-point plan on a new website, www.concernedaboutcbm.org. The plan, “Building a safe future for CBM,” calls for the following –

1. Suspend CBM drilling across B.C. until four key policy improvements are in
place
2. Local communities have a clear say in deciding where and how CBM projects
proceed
3. CBM projects undergo mandatory environmental assessments that address
cumulative impacts
4. “World-class” CBM regulations promised in B.C.’s Energy Plan are fully
implemented and enforced
5. Sufficient funds are dedicated to independent baseline research and to
proving the safety of “world-class” technologies.

“We acknowledge that once sound regulations are in place, CBM drilling can occur safely in some places,” said Shannon McPhail, Executive Director of Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition. “However, the approval process must start with the question of social license, and projects should proceed only if there is broad public support.”

Today’s campaign launch follows a mixed-bag announcement from the B.C. government earlier this month, which put the brakes on CBM drilling in the Sacred Headwaters while greenlighting another controversial CBM project in the
Elk Valley.

“This kind of contradictory decision-making highlights the need for a consistent approach to approving and regulating CBM projects across the province,” said Sol Allison, Director of Save Our Similkameen. “Government has already made some progress towards better standards for CBM. We’re calling for a province- wide pause on new drilling to allow the full action plan to be implemented.”

B.C. residents and organizations are invited to sign on to the action plan at www.concernedaboutcbm.org and show their support for a consistent, responsible approach to CBM across the province.

“We think industry will also be interested in this action plan, because it would increase investor confidence and allow good projects to proceed safely and smoothly,” adds Ted Ralfe. “Today’s band-aid approach serves neither CBM companies nor communities in the long run.”

Coalbed methane projects have been or are currently proposed in B.C.’s Elk Valley (British Petroleum), Similkameen Valley (Petrobank), Sacred Headwaters (Royal Dutch Shell), Hudson’s Hope area (Hudson’s Hope Gas, Royal Dutch Shell), Vancouver Island, and Telkwa.

Ted Ralfe – Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane-East Kootenay  (250) 423 6844

Fifty-three stranded skiers and snowboarders at Whistler Blackcomb were rescued from gondola cars Tuesday after a tower supporting the lift collapsed at the popular ski resort. Twelve people were injured in the accident, said Ryan Proctor with Whistler Blackcomb public relations, but all had been released from the local clinic by Tuesday evening.

The accident occurred at 2:30 p.m. on the Excalibur Gondola, which carries skiers to the top of Blackcomb Mountain from Whistler Village. Some skiers and boarders were trapped for hours until the evacuation was complete just before 6 p.m.

In an interview shortly after being rescued, snowboarder Logan Swayze said he entered a gondola car at 2:15 p.m. A short time later, it stopped abruptly. “We didn’t think anything of it at first. [The lifts] stop all the time,” he said. “But the time drew on.” Only after he made a phone call to a friend did he learn that a tower had collapsed. After an hour’s wait, Swayze’s car was moved slowly to the base, where he saw fire and ambulance crews stretching ladders to the cars to bring skiers to the ground. “We saw a lift tower had broken in half and the gondola was hanging. There were still people in the bottom half” of the gondola, he said.

There was a delay before anyone could be taken off as rescue workers had to secure the fallen tower, said Whistler Blackcomb spokesman Doug Forseth. The accident happened when the top half of tower No. 4 separated from its base near Fitzsimmons Creek, between Whistler Village and Base Two on Blackcomb Mountain. Forseth said no one yet knows why the connection came loose. An investigation is under way by Whistler Blackcomb and the BC Safety Authority.

None of the gondola cars came off the cable. One hit a house and another came to rest on a bus shelter, Whistler RCMP Sgt. Steve Wright said.

In all, 15 to 20 cars on the lower base of the gondola were stranded. The cars hold a maximum of eight passengers each, but were not full, officials said.

The upper loop of the gondola — running from Base Two to further up Blackcomb — operates separately and passengers on that loop were able to unload as usual.

Michelle Leroux, spokeswoman for the Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, the company that built the Excalibur Gondola, said she was not aware of any accidents on the Excalibur since its installation in 1994. The Excalibur is tested by the B.C. Safety Authority every year and passed its most recent test this fall, she said.

Eighty per cent of the high speed chairs and gondolas on Whistler and Blackcomb have been designed and built by Doppelmayr, including the new Peak 2 Peak gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb.

Lara Christensen, one of five people suspended in a car during the incident, said that when the tower collapsed, “all of a sudden there was a really big jolt.” She said the car was moving a lot and the cables bouncing “like crazy.”

Whistler resident Corey Gagnon said just minutes after getting off the Excalibur Gondola, he saw one of the cars “swinging violently” on the cable.

David Komadowski said he was walking through the village when he heard “a big thud,” similar to the sound of a car crash. He turned and saw the collapsed tower.

In 2002, a five-year-old girl fell about 11 metres (35 feet) from the Creekside Gondola at Whistler when a latch malfunctioned and the car door opened. Soft snow cushioned her fall and she survived.

The gondola was installed in 1996 to replace the Quicksilver Express, after an accident in December 1995 in which two people died and eight were injured when four chairs fell four storeys to the ground.

A damning report by the B.C. coroner’s service said the Quicksilver accident could have been prevented, detailing a litany of failures by the manufacturer, the ski resort and government regulators to correct flaws in the lift.

Special to The SunDecember 16, 2008

The multinational oil corporation BP has been given the
go-ahead to develop coalbed methane in a 300-square kilometre stretch of
Rocky Mountain wilderness west of Fernie, the B.C. government announced
this week.

In brokering the deal with BP, the B.C. Liberals ignored concerns from the
local community and the City of Fernie, who strongly oppose CBM in the the
Southern Rockies region without further review.

“The government claimed today that there is support from local governments
for this tenure. The reality is the community with the most to lose, Fernie,
is firmly opposed and the community furthest away and upstream, Elkford, is
the only one in support,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies
program manager.

“It is very disappointing that the Provincial government can ignore the
strong message of opposition from the City of Fernie and issue BP tenure,”
said Aaron Goos, City of Fernie councillor. “I will be looking to see what
options are available to us at this point.”

Wildsight is frustrated after years of asking for open dialogue with the
Province about the environmental costs of CBM. Wildsight contends that BP’s
access to these public lands will allow a repeat performance of their
already dismal environmental track record.

The granting of this tenure effectively blankets an area that has a
multitude of other industrial uses already occurring or proposed. A strip
mine and an underground coal mine as well as an 80 megawatt wind farm are
all proposed for this same critical wildlife area without any evaluation of
the cumulative effects of these industrial projects.

“The B.C. government is issuing tenure and allowing exploration for
subsurface resources while ignoring the need to steward the impacts on water
and wildlife,” said Brennan.

“Why have they not respected the concernsof the citizens in the Elk Valley
and granted BP tenure, yet at the same time they have imposed a two-year
moratorium on CBM development in northwestern B.C.? Are our concerns less
valid then those in the northwest?”

Wildsight has three main concerns about BP’s tenure to this area: wildlife,
water and due process. Please refer to the backgrounder attached for details
on the concerns with these issues.

“This is a sad day for democracy and an even sadder day for wilderness,”
Brennan said. “The provincial government is ignoring the concerns of
community members and BP is now able to begin the industrialization of our
wild Rocky Mountain backcountry. The B.C. government has given the keys to
BP without even attempting to understand what the long term effects will
be.”

For more information, contact:
Casey Brennan
Wildsight Southern Rockies and Flathead Program Manager
casey@wildsight.ca

Snow sports shoppers are willing to spend their money on snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories even when the overall economy is significantly down. August to October snow sports sales of $507 million were up 9% overall bolstered by very strong sales of carryover equipment and gear for juniors. “Snow sports shoppers went out looking for bargains and they were willing to buy when they found them,” said Kelly Davis, Director of Research for SnowSports Industries America (SIA), the not-for-profit industry trade group represents manufacturers and distributors of snow sports products.

The market data presented in this report comes from the SIA Retail Audit conducted by the Leisure Trends Group.  Each season, Leisure Trends gathers data between August 1 and March 31 from a representative panel of more than 1,200 snow sports retailers who provide sales data directly from their Point of Sale systems.  The panel and the method for extrapolating the results out to the entire industry is based on a triennial census of snow sports retailers designed to accurately define the size and structure of the snow sports retail marketplace.
Note: The August to October retail data does not include resort retail shops.

August to October 2008 retail sales in the snow sports industry were driven by pre-season clearance sales. Sales of carryover gear accounted for a significant portion of the observed increases in snow sports equipment sales. Sales like the “SkiBonkers” sale in Seattle, which are dominated by leftover inventory from the past season, help consumers find bargains on carryover items. Carryover is officially defined as any item that sells for less than the average retail cost for that item. Carryover accounted for 28% of skis, 23% of snowboards, 24% of ski boots, and 26% of snowboard boots sold August to October 2008. Compare that to last season’s August to October results when carryover sales accounted for just 16% of skis and 19% of snowboards sold and millions fewer dollars spent.

Parents did not slow their spending on equipment and apparel for the kids. Junior ski sales were up 34% in dollars, junior snowboard sales increased 17% in dollars, juniors parka sales were up 16% in dollars and sales of junior snow suits increased more than 40% in units and in dollars. Mom and Dad may be planning to forgo new skis and boards this season, but they are making sure their kids have the right gear.

SIA has monitored the snow sports retail market for more than 30 years and historically, economic conditions have far less impact on the market than snowfall. When the snow is good, the snow sports market does well even if the economic outlook is bleak. The current recession has demonstrated clearly that the world is inextricably connected economically as the impact of the U.S. foreclosure crisis spread across the globe. Even in a global economic downturn the snow sports demographic continued to buy snow sports gear and history tells us that if it snows, then they will use what they purchased on the slopes.

During a recession, the snow sports market is among the more resilient retail markets.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, overall October retail sales increased 1.6% compared with October 2007, and the sporting goods retail market increased 2.2%. The snow sports market was up 9% compared to August to

October 2007.  Keep in mind that these data are measures of sales from August through October and that the global economy was under significantly more pressure in November.  “We observed other retail market segments move downward significantly last month and we plan to keep a close watch on the market.  We anticipate reporting November sales during the first week of January 2009,” said David Ingemie, President of SIA.

Equipment sales were healthy August to October with a 2% increase in alpine ski and 11% increase in snowboard equipment. Apparel sales were up 14% in units and 9% in dollars indicating strong sales on discounted prices.  Accessories such as helmets and goggles were particularly strong while auto racks and snowshoe sales declined.

The Internet channel continued to grow at an astounding pace gaining 27% in dollars and 36% in units compared to August to October 2007. Overall, consumers spent $131 million on snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories online. Internet sales comprised 26% of all the dollars consumers spent on snow sports products in the U.S. between August 1 and October 31, 2008.

Specialty shops brought in the lion’s share of snow sports dollars, consumers spent $297 million in snow sports specialty shops August to October compared with $286 million over the same time period in 2007.  Alpine ski sales were flat in specialty shops, snowboard sales increased about 7% in dollars and 2% in units sold, and apparel sales, which accounted for almost 40% of all dollars spent in specialty shops, increased by just 3%.

Chain stores are selling far less snow sports equipment this season. Ski sales decreased 21% in dollars, snowboard sales slid 17% in dollars, and equipment accessories sales dropped 8%. One bright sport in chain store sales was Nordic ski equipment that increased 48% in units and 67% in dollars. At $78 million, chain store sales accounted for 15% of all dollars spent on snow sports goods in the U.S. market August to October.  Apparel sales accounted for 56% of all chain store snow sports sales and enjoyed a 13% increase in units and 10% increase in dollars spent August to October 2008.

The B.C. government has taken a landmark step in resolving concerns around coalbed methane (CBM) development, according to environmental groups.

Their comments follow the B.C. government’s announcement on Friday of a two-year moratorium on CBM drilling in the Sacred Headwaters in the province’s Northwest.

“Conflict around CBM is proving costly to government and industry. It’s undermining investor confidence and has stopped almost every attempt to produce CBM in B.C.,” says Merran Smith, Climate Director at ForestEthics. “Creating space to resolve conflict and determine where and how to proceed is the only pragmatic solution.”

Due to harmful impacts on land, water and wildlife, only some CBM reserves can be developed safely. Until now, British Columbia has generally granted CBM tenures without assessing whether communities are willing to accept these impacts.

“Kudos to the government for recognizing that Northwest residents have a right to decide whether CBM development happens in their watersheds,” says Eric Swanson, Corporate Campaigner at the Dogwood Initiative. “Now, we need to make sure that all B.C. communities facing CBM development can exercise the same right. Coalbed methane is a provincial issue, not just a local one.”

As a next step, environmental groups are calling on the government to extend a CBM drilling moratorium province-wide in order to create space for rigorous risk assessments and community decision-making. This would include the Elk Valley, where British Petroleum was granted a new CBM tenure, also on Friday.

“Announcing BP’s tenure at the same time as the Sacred Headwaters moratorium was a regrettable move: one step forward, one step back,” says Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies and Flathead Program Manager at Wildsight. “Residents in the Elk Valley are very concerned that CBM could cause heavy environmental damage. Without the time and process to resolve their concerns, we could find ourselves back in conflict.”

The B.C. government’s announcement also made reference to new wastewater regulations that would apply to CBM development. Coalbed methane production often removes large quantities of groundwater, which can contain high concentrations of salts and heavy metals.

“We fully support the province’s commitment to improving wastewater rules, especially with a time-out on contentious development,” says Jaisel Vadgama, Senior Policy Analyst at the Pembina Institute. “We need both better regulations and opportunities for communities to decide whether oil and gas activities are appropriate in their area.”

“Two out of three of Friday’s announcements showed leadership,” adds Greg Gowe, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. “If we move forward on a robust legal framework to address key concerns, the stalemate on CBM could be brought to an end.”

Just in the St. Nick of time. That’s what ski resorts throughout Colorado are saying, after their slopes went from bare bones to neck deep, thanks to a Thanksgiving weekend storm that dumped up to 48 inches at certain resorts. Apart from causing widespread havoc for motorists, with Interstate 70 closing on the busy return day of Sunday, the three-day storm walloped Loveland with 48 inches of snow, Arapahoe Basin with 37 inches, and Copper Mountain with 31 inches.

“Colorado resorts were thankful for the weekend storm which gave a number of resorts a bump in visitation,” says Jennifer Rudolph of Colorado Ski Country USA. “Some CSCUSA resorts saw strong skier visits compared to last Thanksgiving, when warm temperatures lingered.”

The storm stretched from Winter Park, which received more than 19 inches of powder, to Steamboat, which received 18 inches, and Aspen, which tallied 16 inches, to Silverton, which notched 15. In Aspen, the storm hit during the Winternational Audi FIS Alpine World Cup races at Aspen Mountain on Saturday and Sunday, giving the storm international exposure.

Currently, 12 resorts are open in the state, with more on the way. Echo Mountain, Sunlight Mountain Resort and Monarch Mountain are scheduled to open on December 5th, and Howelsen Hill on December 6. Powderhorn will open on December 11, and both Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk are set to open on December 13. SolVista Basin will plan to open on December 17. Ski Cooper and Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort will open later in the month.