UNLESS YOU confine your backcountry activities to the short summer season, it is cru- cial to recognize that Winter is the predominant season in the _mountains and prepare for the additional challenges it presents. . By John Moore « Contributing Writer You can experience hail, sleet, heavy snowpack, even avalanches in June in the local mountains and the North Shore Rescue Team can tell you how many hikers come to grief by setting off for a warm sunny day - hike only to end up cold, exhausted, bogged in snow and freezing cold just : behind . Grouse or Seymour “Mountains. " -i* The wilderness is the ultimate School of Very Hard Knocks, where _ gaps in your knowledge: can be “. painful, fatal or both. The quickest “and safest way to acquire the special skills to expand -your backcountry “experience is to “go with a pro” and . get the benefit of their training and ~ knowledge. A love of spring hiking and a desire to winterize my survival, skills led me.to join Mary Roberts, . Gary, Mattes and David Cater (all Burnaby Outdoor Club members) on “two-day ..Winter’ Camping/ . Avalanche Awareness course run by North Vancouver's Sage Wilderness iences.. - “Led by. Guide/Instructox Derek Frechete, we snmvshoed up to Red Heather Meadows in lower Garibaldi Provincial Park in exactly the kind of : ‘brilliant spring sunshine and heavy ““snowpack that makes the woods so a dangerously alluring. A graduate of “Capilano: College's. — Outdoor Recreation Program, at 24 Frechette is hardly grizzled but he is an experi- enced, veteran . who - has -. taught avatanche ‘ awareness/rescue courses , for the Federation of B.C. Mountain Clubs, works winters on Ski Patrol at : Mt. Washington and spends his sum- “mers guiding raft expeditions on the Tatshenshini/Alseck, Babine, Chilko and Eluho/Squamish river systems. Selecting a site for our snow-cave shelter that offered panoramic views of Diamond Head and the ‘Tantalus Range, Frechette explained, “Aesthetics are a consideration, but not the only one. You want your entry out of the prevailing wind, but never pick a low spot. Always remember, warm air rises; cold air falls and at night those hollows become ‘cold pools’. Following . that principle, we hacked a wide-mouthed cave out of the slope using lightweight snow | shovels and snow saws. We then rebricked the mouth with blocks cut from hard snow, careful to locate the entry, (smail enough to be plugged with a knapsack at night) significant- ly BELOW the sleeping platform. At Mary’s urging, we added a patio-ter- race surrounded by extensive kitchen sideboards that provided a welcome change from the summer camp search for a flat spot or rock for stoves and pots. Meanwhile, Frechette was single- handedly demonstrating an emer- gency “trench shelter” to sleep one or two. “This is the one you build if the weather suddenly turns oad. You basi- cally dig yourself a grave,” he said laughing, ‘Then roof it over: with blocks, supporting one on your fore- arm while you angle the other over to meet it. Once you're covered, you can ‘widen it undemeath or roof over the vestibule so you can cook out of the wind. Never use a hiker’s stove in a snow-cave, but a single candle gener- ates a surprising amount of heat any snow that falls is added insulation.” Like earth, Frechette explained, snow has remarkable insulation prop- eitics; it maintains a constant temper- ature of around O° C, at which it real- ly isn’t that hard to keep warm if you're properly equipped, and you can : forget the. windchill factor. Frechette’s trench took % hour to build — 1 shared it with him and we were perfectly comfortable in the eerie absolute silence of the snow ’ coffin, As in any camping situation, ‘Seaward Sberglass kayaks oo ‘ Tyee ® ‘Ascenté ® Navigator © Cobra ¢ Southwind K-2 » Clipper & Old ‘Yown Canoes ~Aquaterra Sea Lion & Chinook Kayaks — [Ocean Dive Kayaks. Middleton’ s Speciality Boats “2095 5 Flynn PI.; North Vancouver 984-6020 Cell. 240-0503 OPEN EVENINGS & WEEKENDS ° RENTALS ° VISA= 2» MASTERCARD Ages 8: Adulte July-August ‘Classes 7 ‘Space is limited . : Non- -members welcome SAUL LEVELS. West Vancouver © Yacht Club 921 “7575 SAGE WILDERNESS guide Derek Frechotte (left) demonstrates the fine art of snow caving with the assistance of Burnaby Outdoor Club member David Cater In Garibaldl Provincial Park. insulation underneath your body is afl important. Thinsulate pads, a good down bag, dry clothes and socks to sleep in (no cotton!) a toque for your head if you don't have a hooded bag, cand little tricks like putting your knapsack under your feet all help. Waking up in a snow cave is wonder- ful: like being in a silent white dome that slowly fills with soft, unreal white light. Frechette passed on-some of the fine points of snow-cave construction as well; smoothing the ceiling care- fully with a glove will help eliminate any stalactite points or ridges where condensation can form and drip. Our large snow cave suffered one drip; the trench shelter stayed bone dry, with only the occasional skitter of a falling snowflake to break the total silence. Mary adrnitted to a touch of claustro- phobia and slept close to the door of the big cave, but generally the sense of enclosure is short-lived. Snow caves are suffused with enough ambi- ent light that they actually feel more spacious than they are. All aesthetic considerations aside, a few minutes spent trying to huddle “up futilely against the life-sucking cold of a sudden alpine storm or arc- tic outflow. wind would convince Houdini to check into a trench shelter as if it was the Ritz Hotel. If you travel in the back country, knowing how to build such a shelter quickly and efficiently (and carrying the simple tools to do it) can make the difference between walking out when the weather breaks and being carried out in a body-bag by the rescue team. CANADIAN ROCKIES & CANADAS WesT By RAIL xperience an incredible wwo-day, all daylight railtour through the Canadian Rockies and Canada’s West aboard the famed “Rocky Mountaineer”. Whether travelling in Signature Service or on the GoldLeaf Dome, you'll be treated to spectacular scenery, outstanding service and spacious, comfortable rail coaches. \ For mote informaton on this trip of a Metime, contact your travel agent or Rocky Mountaineer Raitours: _ Suite 104-340 Brookubank Avenue, North Vancouver, BO. Canuda V7.5 261. Paservations: Telephone: 664-004-3315 ” Facsimile: 604-964-2883 Canada/USA Toll Free: 1-800-065-7245 Intemet: rxytntnrad @ fleetizouse.corn You owe it to yourself, those waiting at home and volunteers who may have to come looking for you to ™*~ acquire the basic skills that will max-- imize your chances of surviving whatever challenges the wildemess throws at you. Sage Wildemess Experiences runs Winter Camping courses on week- ends from fall to spring. Call 983- 3108 of fax 988-7791 for. further information and bookings. : With a little magic and imagination of Camp Namia, 2 a private independent camp on Galt Spring Island, offers a world of adventure in ite creative and unique summer programs. In July and August we offer: Co-ed sessions for children, G-12 yrs. 5 day and 7 day camps Tren Camps, 15 - 15 yrs. 7 day and 12 day camps Leadership Training ~ © farm animals * horses ¢ course © , canoeing ¢ tive action dramas © out- trips © hiking ¢ archery « iy, & more Ph . 33