Course Details

Avalanche Awareness Course will train students to recognize and avoid avalanche terrain, helping them to appreciate the complexities of sound decision making required to safely venture into the backcountry.

This one-day Awareness Course is an abbreviated version of the more technical 22-hour Avalanche Skills Training Level 1 Certificate Course (AST). It combines a classroom lecture together with a backcountry field study session and provides an excellent introduction on how to identify and appreciate risks in avalanche terrain. Students pursuing a career in snow-based activities require the AST course as a prerequisite to advancing on to the professional CAA Level 1 Ski Operations course.

Your instructor, Russ Turner, is a professional Association of Canadian Mountain Full Ski Guide and Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2 Technician. He has 20+ years of combined professional experience guiding helicopter, snow-cat and ski touring clients as well as instructing Avalanche Certification Courses.

Course Duration: 8 hours of instruction - classroom lecture & field day.

Location: Manning Park, Apex Mtn., Big White Ski Resorts.

*Staff - One Staff Person per Guide may participate for FREE.

*Transportation - Groups are responsible to provide transport to and from Ski Resorts.

*Liability Insurance - Skaha Rock Adventures Ltd. is a fully insured business.

*Waiver & Medical Forms - Supervisors and students must read, understand and sign our waiver and medical form documents before their arrival. Please see Waiver for more details.

*Dates: Please inquire.

Equipment

provided

The following course materials are included with your registration fee and the following equipment shall be provided;

bring

Required Equipment not provided:

Clothing

Booking Policy

general information

registration and payment:

Our programs are reserved on a first-to-pay basis. To secure your course date(s), you may either send a cheque or telephone us directly with your credit card information for the full amount plus 5% gst. Once we have received your payment we will send you your confirmation package explaining where to meet and what to bring (refer to Equipment above).

For Groups, we require a 50% deposit. The balance owing will be due at the time of your course start date plus 5% gst, depending on your final groups’ numbers.

If you use your credit card, we would ask that you bring this with you for the first day of your program and we will take an imprint and leave you a copy for your own records.

Please acquaint yourself with our Booking Policy below.

booking policy

1. Public Courses -100% payment + gst required upon registration.
2. Group Bookings - 50% deposit + gst required upon registration.

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3. Cancellations made more than 10 days prior to their course date will receive course refunds minus $50.00 administration fee or transfer of course fee to another date.
4. Cancellations within 10 days prior to course date will receive a 75% course credit towards another course date (non-transferable – conditions apply).
5. Cancellations within 2 days (48 hours) prior to course date will receive no refunds or course credits.

*No dogs allowed on any of our programs.

All of our public programs run with a minimum of two persons with the exception to Introduction to Rock (requires three people).

Skaha Rock Adventures Ltd. reserves the right to cancel a course at their discretion and a full refund or alternate date will be offered. Participation in any of our programs is continually subject to the discretion of our staff.

booking as a group:

If you are booking as a group, please note that we require one individual to be the spokesperson for that group. That person is responsible for distributing all course information and gathering all course fees from the other group members.

minors:

The spokesperson for the group is responsible to ensure that all minors under the age of 19 years have both the minor and their parent and or legal guardian read, understand and sign our waiver form agreement. Without this properly signed document, clients cannot participate in our programs. See Waivers for more details.

institutional groups and medical forms:

Institutional groups (Schools, Cadets Corps, etc.) must have minors and their parents complete our Medical Form. Otherwise all other applicants must report potential medical problems to Skaha Rock Adventures Ltd. prior to the start of their course.

Waiver

waiver information

download waiver

groups and minors

Waiver forms are an integral part of our programming. Without them we would not be able to operate. If they are not properly completed then they are not recognized by the insurer, which means you may not participate on any of our programs. With your cooperation we can ensure that both the students’ and Skaha Rock Adventure Ltds’ needs are properly cared for.

Students and Supervising Staff may not participate in the program without having read, understood and signed the waiver of liability agreement. Those under the age of 19 years must have a parent or legal guardian co-sign their waiver. This document cannot be altered in any way.

Please remember to bring all completed forms with you. Without a properly completed waiver, your student will not participate in the activities. They will have to wait in the parking lot with a supervisor until the group returns at the end of the day.

COMMOM MISTAKES WHEN COMPLETING THE WAIVER FORMS INCLUDE;

• Waiver forms must be printed onto ONE SIDE only of a LETTER SIZED sheet of paper with FONT letter size UNCHANGED from what you see. Shrinking this document onto a SMALLER SIZED sheet of paper is UNACCEPTABLE. You need to download/print this document from our website onto letter sized paper for a minor’s parents to sign and bring along with you as long as it has not been altered from the above.
• Once you have downloaded our TWO PAGE, LETTER SIZED document, ensure you INITIAL THE FIRST PAGE at the bottom before continuing on to the second page and signing at the bottom.
• We discourage waiver forms that have been signed and then faxed by a parent. However we will accept completed original waiver forms faxed from the parent for the interim, but we MUST have the ORIGINAL non-faxed version of the form sent to us for our record keeping.
• SIGNATURE OF WITNESS must also be completed at the time that the participant signs their name.
• A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN must co-sign waiver together with the minor.
• PARENT’S ADDITIONAL INDEMNIFICATION section must also be completed for minors under the age of 19 years.