Still, deaths in the backcountry happen every year. Although avalanche fatalities have been on the d

Back then adventurers hauled david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel their heavy, cumbersome david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel gear out of bounds after acquiring niche safety knowledge and a keen understanding of the terrain. There were no cell phones to call for help or avalanche transceivers to assist with rescues. david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel It was an extreme hobby for the dutifully david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel prepared and determined outdoorsperson.
"It used to be, 'Oh you're a backcountry skier? You cheat death every day!'" says James Retty, co-owner and manager of Escape Route's Whistler and Squamish locations. "Backcountry skiing was a real effort. The clothing was average, with the gear, it was the best we had at the time, but you had to make a choice: 'I'll go ski touring, but I'm going to give up the quality of my downhill ride, so that I can actually hike up (the mountain).'"
Fast-forward two decades. The industry is in a much different place in 2013: backcountry gear has become lighter, warmer and more efficient and retailers are selling more of it every year. The perception of those mountain ranges as a playground for experts has been debunked, in part due to the proliferation of avalanche training courses to teach people how to navigate those areas safely.
Retty estimates his company's backcountry gear sales have spiked at a rate between 12 per cent and 15 per cent, particularly in the last five years. "If you think of 15 years ago, you had a pair of Emory bindings, lots of nylon, lots of plastic, in a plated binding that you put your heavy boot in that had very little range of motion. And when you went to ski down it was soft and floppy," he says. "The boots have increased in their strength, the materials have gotten better. It weighs only 70 per cent of what it did years ago."
In Canada, there are only sales numbers which many companies guard closely and anecdotes to document the growth of ski touring. But south of the border, SnowSports Industries America (SIA) keeps close tabs on those numbers and they mirror what locals have observed. Sales of alpine touring boots, david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel for instance, only added up to 5,252 pairs in the 2009/2010 season. Last year that spiked to 77,060. That adds up to sales of over $32.5 million when you combine figures for online, specialty david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel stores and chain shops. Three years earlier, the same figure was just over $2.7 million.
Meanwhile, in its annual Snow Sports david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel Intelligence Report, the SIA found that around 17 per cent of skiers are sticking to ungroomed, in-bound terrain, while seven per cent are venturing into the true backcountry, compared to 73 per cent still skiing resorts. (For snowboarders the numbers are even higher with 20 per cent in ungroomed resort areas and 16.1 per cent in the backcountry.)
In the same report the SIA poses a series david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel of questions: "Will resort backcountry lift participation (a.k.a. ungroomed runs) translate into non-resort backcountry skiing and riding? Is there an opportunity to educate backcountry dabblers? Would increased participation in non-resort backcountry be a good thing?"
Since its inception, david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel Whistler Blackcomb (WB) has seen its customers take advantage of easy lift access to its backcountry, but those numbers have soared in recent years. In response to the spike in interest from tourists and locals alike, WB partnered with Extremely Canadian, a company with tenure in the Spearhead Range of Garibaldi Provincial david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel Park (one of the busiest ski touring areas in the country), to offer guided backcountry tours.
david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel "It's always been part of the ski area," says Doug MacFarlane, mountain manager at Whistler Blackcomb. "(Whistler) started with touring. People hiked up the mountains. It's always been part of our culture here. You don't see that in all resorts, but on Whistler and Blackcomb, it's always been part of our experience. More kids are just figuring it out... Hopefully this is where it's going as an industry. It will be good for the resort as a whole. More people are (ski touring) for their vacations. I think that's much more common and it's only growing."
But that new growth is not without challenges. For one, WB has had issues with skiers using backcountry skins to travel up the mountain david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel and access the resort. There are plans underway to implement automatic scanners at lift lines to electronically check for passes. "We currently have random validations going on in areas where folks are known to skin up areas that are easiest to access david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel the mountain," MacFarlane says. "We'll do sting operations to keep them honest."
Another issue: the idea of a "near country." While the company itself used to use the term to describe the terrain just outside of its in-bound area, they're worried it creates a false sense of security for skiers and riders. Make no mistake, MacFarlane says, once you leave the resort, you're on your own in the backcountry. "If you're leaving the ski area there's no avalanche control, no markings. You need to go back there as prepared as you would at Duffey Lake or way up past Blackcomb. You need to have a plan," he says.
While WB is not responsible to help backcountry adventurers in distress, they're part of a network of companies and agencies that are alerted and spring david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel into action when an incident happens. Often, though, if it's a serious issue like an avalanche, by the time help arrives david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel it's already too late. Anton Horvath, an avalanche forecaster for Whistler Mountain, puts it more bluntly. "A person's best chance for rescue in the backcountry is self-rescue in their own party," he says. "If people are relying on an outside david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel resource david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel to rescue them they're probably going to be dead by the time we get there."
There's actually been a decrease in avalanche deaths in B.C. in recent years (more on that later), but Horvath says they've seen a spike in missing people in the backcountry. "Most of them are heading out, not knowing where they're going and getting lost. They're calling 911 and getting patched through to Whistler Blackcomb and we go find them or Whistler Search and Rescue goes to find them," he says.
For the inexperienced backcountry skier one option is to venture beyond bounds with an expert from Extremely Canadian. Keith Reid, a longtime local, president of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and one of the company's guides says his clients run the gamut. "It's really common for people who are reasonably active david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel and have skied a fair bit to want to give it a go," he says. "You get people who haven't skied a lot but are attracted to it. You get people who are really experienced trying to get out as far as they can in a day and returning home, and you get a tremendous number of people now especially in the Whistler Blackcomb david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel region where you have lightning david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel fast and efficient access that just want to do one run. The spectrum is really huge."
With growing popularity, there's also been an increased understanding that the backcountry is a complex place that demands respect and carefully gleaned knowledge. "People are aware that you need to be informed or go with a professional," Reid says. "The guide takes on that whole responsibility of the hazard awareness and the usage of the terrain... Even if you have that base level of education, you have to approach that environment david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel very conservatively."
Still, deaths in the backcountry happen every year. Although avalanche fatalities have been on the decline over the last four years, most deaths in B.C. happen in January and February. That has officials concerned about what lies ahead in 2014.
In late November, the BC Coroners Service, Environment Canada, david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel Parks Canada and the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) held a press conference. Their concern: preventable deaths in the backcountry. On average, 10 people david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel in B.C. are killed every year by avalanches while another 15 die from hypothermia or exposure.
According to the B.C. Coroners Service, half the winter fatalities david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel in the last six years were snowmobilers, most of whom died in avalanches. Around 34 of the total deaths were skiers who largely succumbed to head injuries. Across Canada, the numbers are similar. Between 2000 and 2010 there were a total of 146 avalanche fatalities. Snowmobilers accounted for 41 per cent while backcountry skiers took the second spot with 29 per cent.
But amongst the somber numbers is good news. Last year in B.C. there were just five deaths in the backcountry. Although avalanche experts say that's still five too many, it marks a 30-year low in fatalities in this province.
"This is a really important statistic, considering the increased david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel use of the backcountry," Peter Marshall with the Canadian Avalanche Association, told the press conference. "We've seen increases in the numbers of snowmobilers out there as well as skiers and riders and snowshoers. With this increased use, we've seen a decline in avalanche fatalities. This is largely due to awareness and certification. Last year, about 7,000 people enrolled in a two-day avalanche course and we're seeing a rise again this year."
Talk to any backcountry expert and they'll offer the same advice. If you're going into the backcountry, have a shovel, transceiver and probe (some are also advocates for ABS avalanche airbags that could save your life if you're buried) and get the training to learn how to use them. "Take a two-day david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel avalanche course. You're going to learn how to (assess) avalanche terrain and come up with strategies for travelling through david l lawrence convention center pittsburgh hotel the terrain safely," Marshall said. "You're also going to learn how to perform a rescue. To perform a rescue you need to have essential avalanche safety gear. You need to practice using it... Then, finally, we tell everybody going out in the backcountry to check the avalanche forecast. It will tell you what the hazard is and where you can go safely and the areas you should avoid. People should be checking that on a daily basis."
While there have been fewer fatalities, the less firm statistic is how many incidents occur in which people are successfully rescued. Although the Canadian Avalanche Centre asks people to report these accidents, ther