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Canadian Ski Patrol hopes corridor will pilot new safety program

Teaching kids to assess risk and know their 'stupid line' is basis of program The head of a new safety program at the Canadian Ski Patrol System is keeping his fingers crossed that Whistler will become the site of the first pilot project in B.C.

Teaching kids to assess risk and know their 'stupid line' is basis of program

The head of a new safety program at the Canadian Ski Patrol System is keeping his fingers crossed that Whistler will become the site of the first pilot project in B.C.

"I think your area would be a good pilot one," said Peter Spear, co-ordinator of the CSPS national Snowsmart program, from his Calgary home.

Earlier this month the Howe Sound School District passed a motion to invite the CSPS to make a presentation to the board on the program which aims to increase awareness and knowledge among 12 to 18 year-olds regarding the risks associated with winter recreation activities.

"I think definitely we are looking forward to inviting (the CSPS) to come and speak to us," said board chair Amy Shoup.

Spear hopes to come to Vancouver and Whistler in the next couple of months and speak to several school boards about the Snowsmart project. He also hopes to make presentations in schools to youths as a first step in saving lives and helping kids make more informed decisions about playing in the great outdoors.

And since youth grow up, they can carry this knowledge with them as they pursue sports as adults.

"The real winners of the program are the kids," said Spear.

Not far behind the kids are the parents who, said Spear, often feel better about their kids heading onto the mountain to ski, ride or snowmobile if they know the youths have had some solid education about what the risks are associated with the sports.

"We are saying kids are always going to be taking risks," said Spear.

"But let's help them take smart risks and keep the odds on their side.

"We use the expression, 'Don't cross your stupid line.' In other words, if you are not sure of something and you do it then you have crossed your stupid line and that is when you are going to get in trouble because everyone's stupid line is at a different level."

Spear is also excited about the possibility of the program coming to the Sea to Sky corridor because of the work Whistler-Blackcomb already does with youth around mountain safety and the alpine skiers code of conduct.

The Snowsmart program is delivered through the school curriculum and is available in English and French. It is offered to Grade 7 and Grade 10 youths through physical education and science classes.

Teachers are trained to introduce the program and receive teaching materials, videos, posters, public service announcements, student information handouts and a teacher's how-to-guide.

It must be funded through the Ministry of Education and school boards.

This year, for the first time, 80 classes in Calgary will be introducing the program into their curriculum thanks to a grant from their school boards.

Snowsmart grew out of the Smartrisk program, a national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives.

It accepts that people enjoy taking risks, that risk is part of life. But people can take risks based on informed decisions - those are smart risks and reduce the chance of injuries. Things like deciding to wear a bike helmet or put on a seatbelt are "smart risk" choices.

Brian Olsen, of the CSPS Greater Vancouver Zone, has been working locally along with the Canadian Avalanche Association to raise awareness of the program, especially after the tragic death of local snowboarder An Ty Lin. The 23-year-old rode out of bounds on Whistler Mountain into a tree well and was buried by snow Nov. 29 th .

"Every year we have incidents that happen on local ski hills usually with younger boarders and skiers," said Olsen.

"I think what Snowsmart talks about is that a lot of these kids get in these situations, they know for the most part that they are taking risks of some kind.

"Kids aren't stupid. They recognize what is risky and what is not, it is just that they don't necessarily make good rational decisions about taking risks and what are acceptable consequences.

"That is the unique thing about Snowsmart. It offers more about the psychology of risk taking than typical programs do.

"It teaches youths to use their heads. It talks about key points of being safe in the backcountry, identifies the hazards, and it also talks about how to make good decisions about those risks."

Giving local youth the tools to make better decisions on the mountain just makes sense to school trustee, ski instructor and mom to three competitive skiers Andree Janyk.

"I'm on the mountains all the time, I see the safety issues," said Janyk, who put forward the motion at the school board to invite the CSPS to talk abut Snowsmart.

"Then there is the issue of the backcountry skiing and people going out and maybe not taking the precautions that they should.

"And I am a believer of being educated. The more educated somebody is the more choices they can make."

At 11-years-old Janyk, while skiing, found a women in a tree well. The frightening experience has stayed with her.

"There was nothing I could do except go and get patrollers right away and it scared me," she said.

"I have always skied trees and I am very aware of the issues around trees and I just think somehow the message of the potential danger of snow around trees and being on steep slopes and avalanches is getting lost for the excitement of extreme.

"So when I saw this program I thought, this looks interesting and worth exploring. And hopefully then it will flow out into the community a little bit because we get a lot of youth here who don't have this kind of education."

And Janyk offered these parting words of wisdom passed down to her from her father: "You never conquer a mountain. It only every tolerates you, and that always made me think twice about what I was getting myself into."