West Van kids taught
Mmouniain safety skills
In new school program

Katharine Hamer
-News Reporter khamer@nusnews.com

_ FRESH powder, the scent of pine
‘trees and the chance to show off
some new moves: it’s no wonder
North Shore youngsters flock to
local mountains.

Heading up hills is like a rite of passage in
this part of chis world, where the mountains
are our playground. But the enticing land-
scape can be a death-trap for those w ho aren't
“prepared foc all the elements have to offer.
Every winter snowboarders, skiers and hik-
Ts. —-. especially those who venture out of
marked boundaries — spend cold nights on
he mountain waiting for help to arrive.
Some of them don’t make it through the
cnight.; Some have been smorhered ‘by an
‘avalanche. Or drowned in a sinkhole trying to
find their way back to civilization:
There are snow safety programs in place in
mountainous - regions: across the country,
Whistler secondary schoo! has had mandatory
a alanche and mountain satery training, both
in’a classroom setting and out on the moun:
tains, as part ofits curriculum for five years,
But despite: the dangers of the North Shore
mountains,
schools here: ;
sithe death cartier this year of (We
techage girls from West Vancouver secondary
that’ finally changed that. : a
farch+26;. Shkeuteh (“Sheekoo”)
ara Se ed: -Emami, both 16, died
fier going out of bounds while snowboard-
at. Cypress Bowl.
The pair fell into Strachan Creek: ‘wo kilo-
tres outside the: patrolled: Ski ‘area, and
owned.”
‘The: iiels ‘began’ snowboat.
months. before. they died., Sheekoo jalalirs $
facher Saied’ said at the time of the accident

thar-he had not worried: about his daughter’

“on the mountain: because, of her experi-

died,’ along with: Sheekoo's uncle ‘John,
hat.Cypress: Mountain should have had
greater safety: measures in, place.

‘comimon feeling among telatives of
those who ‘die in out of bounds accidents: not
wanting to blame their,ioved ones, they hold
the? mountain;: or, the. -mountain- keepers,

its ‘patrolled boundaries clear:
ith signs‘ and:
ck cointry. adventure “often
proves! " irresistible:-to.” thrill-seeking “teens
ho’ve heard; stories, from. their friends or felt -

GRADE 9s Mark Panneton (left to right); Laura Turner; and CAPP teacher Susan

no similar teaining existed at

ropes ~— but the:

— SUNDAY Focus

NEWS photo Pau! McGrath

CYPRESS Mountain ski patrol director, Chris Frampton brings real-life experience:
to the classroom, teaching | kids outdoor smarts and survival skills. .

“sports and thought, ay could do that.”

Frequently, those: who’ travel. out: of

: bounds do so without the requisite equip-
“ment: no flashlight, or warm clothes, or extra ,

food, in cas¢ they get caught out and need to
hunker down for the night.

“1

NEWS photo Nake Wakeneld

the safety program Is intended to raise student awareness of danger.

“ed by

teacher

Being ill-prepared is something that adults

sare guilty of too, but “The one thing about

youth is that youth don’t understand what
‘death means,” says Tim Jones of North Shore
Rescue. Jones and his fellow volunteers spend

~ countless hours on the trail of lost and injured

mountaineers.
“It’s not romantic, it’s not tragic. it’s

final, Everything some kids have worked for -

in their. lives, is snuffed out in a second,
because of the. degree’ of feeling invincible.
They’re inherent risk takers. They don’ T think |
they'll be the ones.” |

After the accident, West Vancouver school

district, superintendent Doug’ Player said he
“thought educating students bout the: dan-

_gers of going out. of bounds was the only way
to stop the same thing happening again.
This fall; the school district, in conjunc-.

“tion with Cypress Mountain and the munici-.

pality, launched a Mountain. Safety Program

: for its.700 Grade 9. students. Led by. Chris

Frampton, ‘the. director ef ski patrol at.
Cypress, the program is an attempt to create.
safety. awareness ‘amongst’ outdoor-loving
“teens — and to debunk the myths perpetuat-
extreme” videos and ads, .
«A lot of kids:just hear about the’ thrill (of:
going ‘out of bounds). They have no_ided -

“they can get into major trouble out there,”

“says, program team leader Susan Maquignaz

“==-a CAPP teacher at West Vancouver sec-

ondary who helped ‘develop the curriculum
cwith » Frampton, © Chartwell elementary
- Rosemary: Johnson, . and’. West
Vancouver; community : centre’s outdoors |
program co-ordinator Stacey Shand.
“3°. That’s'a worry for another longtime pro-
ponent of th program, West Vancouver par
nt Richard Kinar. ,
who © describes. himself as--an

‘North Shore News, '

extreme skier, says “most parents don't have
the background to pass on the information.
Kids are into extreme this, extreme that — 1
was afraid they would also make extremely
stupid decisions based on no knowledge at
all”

He says program organizers “really wanted
te emphasize to parents that vou just can’t
send vour children up the mountain: and
expect the mountain to babysit them.”

a

Chris Frampton is ideally placed to explain
the consequences of outdoor expeditions
gone wrong. “The ski patrol is often first on
the scene of an accident. It was Frampton
and his team who found the bodies of Jalali
and Seved-Eraain i,

“We were maybe an hour behind them,”
saves Frampton. “We kept thinking they'd be
sitting there when we came around the next
corner.

“It’s the last thing vou want to see or
gapect to see, especially when it’s wo young
innocent girls, All our training in first aid and
climbing, it all went out the window, stand-
ing there looking at these girls underwater, It
was pretty horrine.”

When he first speaks to Grade 9s at West
Van secondary Nov. 21, Frampton shows
them a visual compilation ‘of the fantastic and
the real: beer commercials, extreme skiing
videos, kids telling a news crew how “cool” it
was te go into the back country, He- runs
clips showing what happens to out-of-bound-
ers in the States (they get arrested); a group -
of skiers hit by an avalanche minutes ‘after
they were filmed; a local teenager who died
going out of bounds being helicoptered off
the mountain.

“The whole idea of the program is that we

_ control. the snow within the boundaries,”

says Frampton later. “The second you go -
outside the ropes, anything: could happen.
Snow isn’t just a surface you ride. There. are
deep layers down there. Twenty feer'away
from the ropes there could be a 50 foot cor:
nice.”

He says thase “extreme”. videos and ads
are misleading: “the skill level of those board-
ers (in film clips) is one in a million: They're -
not just average kids going out there — and -
everything's been controlled for them.?_ |

As part of the schools program, students
will each be given a safety kit containing the

“10 essentials” for an outdoor expedition, °
including warm gloves anda hat,’a whistle,
an orange garbage’ bag to attract rescuers”
attention, and an energy bar.

“People drive up unprepared,” * say

~ Frampton, “This is true winter environment

here, We have a massive avalanche every sec-
ond day. But no one ever thinks about that...

You can drive back down to your nice warm;

house and your dad’s out mowing the lawsi-:
.“You don’t have to carry a 50-1b; pack like:

‘we do. Alf you need is'a little pack with a tin

foil. space. ‘blanket and “some gloves: and:
toque. If you have. thar, you'll “im make “it
through the night. If you “don’ ts: “you. could
die out here tonight.” +

In follow-up’ classroom sessions, ‘the Grade
9s are given risk management strategie
“what if? scenarios.’ They’re told that. they.
should always have contingency plans,
” things change. They should ‘be prepared: for
emergencies: And they should’ alway:

“someone where they’re going,

-.-Frampton asks them how long they

wait for a-friend who'd gone ‘out of bounds

before calling for hetp, and what. they would
do if they got lost chemiselves:- would they try
and find ‘their way: out?. Or’ they : settl
where they were for the night? :

“You . should . always stop,”

. sanding the refurbishment ¢

Cleveland Dam.

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