ABC Snowmobile Clubs presented a check to the CAC (Canadian Avalanche Centre) for $42,195.00 on behalf of all of our member clubs that support the Buck-A-Head Program, and support the CAC through fund raising and purchasing Supporter Memberships in the CAC.

In the photo from left to right, Colin Burke ABCSC Director and member of Sled Comm, Suzanne Clarke Vice President ABCSC, Ian Tomm Executive Director CAC, Al Hodgson President ABCSC and member of Sled Comm, Tracy Senio ABCSC Director, Chair Snowmobile Safety Program, and Professional Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, Curtis Pawliuk ABCSC Director, member of Sled Comm, and CAC Director.

We at ABC Snowmobile Club's are very proud of our relationship with the CAC, and we look forward to continued success in partnering with them to prevent avalanche deaths.

ABC Snowmobile Club's is now the largest private (non governmental) sponsor of the CAC, and the second largest sponsor, only surpassed by the Canadian Avalanche Foundation (CAF).

A huge "thank you" to all of the clubs that participated in the "Buck a Head" program!

Blue River Powder Packers

Coquihalla Summit Snowmobile Club

Crowfoot Mountain Snowmobile Club

Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club

Hunters Range Snowmobile Association

Merritt Snowmobile Club

Valemount Area Recreational Development Association

Thank You to the clubs that joined the CAC as Supporter organizations, and the snowmobilers that joined as Individual Supporters.

CAC Executive Director Ian Tomm accepting a cheque from Al Hodgson, president of the Association of British Columbia Snowmobile Clubs, our newest presenting sponsor. ABCSC's "Buck-a-Head" program raised $42,195 this year for the CAC. Thank you so much to ABCSC and the snowmobile community for your ongoing commitment to avalanche awareness.

ABC Snowmobile Clubs strongly encourages all mountain snowmobiliers to purchase an annual Friends Membership in the Canadian Avalanche Centre.  The cost is only $20.00, it will be the best $20.00 you have ever spent on snowmobiling.  Please see the attached information for a mountain snowmobilier customized application for a CAC Friends Membership.

The attached link is an online survey for the SAR NIF Social Science component of the SAR NIF Mountain Snowmobiler Avalanche Incident Prevention Project.  The data from this survey will further help them to achieve success in the SAR NIF project. For it to be successful, they need a good response to the survey. Any help you can be to distribute this, would be appreciated.

   Click below to take the survey.

The goal of the research team is to gather information on how mountain riders perceive avalanche hazard and how we decide where to ride.

  The results of this study will lead to tools and services that better support our sled community.

  Click HERE to take the survey

"The mountain caribou likely are doomed but the real problem isn’t snowmobilers but predators such as wolves, according to Association of BC Snowmobile Club's president Al Hodgson."

Read the article here.

http://www.clearwatertimes.com/news/145216255.html

or click "read more" below.

CALGARY — Jeremy Hanke still remembers watching that seemingly endless wall of white sweeping over him as he tried in vain to out-race with his snowmobile the roaring avalanche.

He hurtled over his handle bars, felt the weight of his sled strike him and ended up buried in two metres of packed snow.

“It definitely hit like a freight train,” Hanke said.

He was one of the lucky ones — he escaped with his life.

THE ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AVALANCHE TRANCEIVERS AND LOCATOR BEACONS

We’re hearing of backcountry users who have made the assumption that a locator beacon (such as a SPOT) can do the same things as an avalanche transceiver. This is not the case and is a very dangerous mistake to make. An avalanche transceiver is a highly specialized device, designed for one purpose—avalanche rescue. A transceiver is one of the essential three pieces of avalanche safety equipment, along with a shovel and probe. 

Transceivers

Sends and receives an electronic signal to other transceivers

- In the backcountry, everyone in the group has their transceivers on "send"

- When a person is buried, companions turn their transceivers to "receive" and home in on the "send" signal from the buried person

 SPOT Beacons

Sends a signal to a satellite, which notifies a central system based in Texas, which then alerts local RCMP

- Can also be used to send an "OK" signal, or to summon non-emergency help

- For more information on features, check findmespot.ca

Five minutes after an avalanche, you’ve got an 80% chance of recovering a buried victim alive. After 20 minutes, there’s only a 35% chance of a live recovery. If your group is involved in an avalanche, you don’t have time to send a signal to Texas. Make sure everyone you ride with has an avalanche transceiver, and knows how to use it.

Recommended Emergency Gear for Snowmobilers in BC

Please note:

• The high-tech snowmobile clothing that breathes so well does not keep you warm when you stop moving so it is essential that you carry a wool top or wear a wool layer.
• Plastic zip lock freezer bags are waterproof, and are great for storing emergency gear in.  Also waterproof bags for water sports work well to keep gear dry.
• Never panic, do not leave your sleds and start walking.  People searching for you will be looking for sleds and their tracks.  As a last resort you may want to burn your sled.
• SPOT satellite transmitters are not a replacement for avalanche transceivers.  SPOTS can bring help in hours, but are absolutely useless for finding a companion buried in an avalanche, who has perhaps "minutes to live".
• When reporting your location always use the proper legal name for the area, not the local nickname.

ABC Snowmobile Clubs Director Arnold Weid makes the presentation of money raised in this years WINTERFEST, on the Timmy`s Christmas Telethon.

  Thank You to all of the clubs that participated!

Please click the picture above to watch the video

Please click above to register your club for the

ABC Snowmobile Clubs  

WINTERFEST 2012

 Important information for backcountry resource road users

Find out what we have been up to, and what we are planning for the future.

Find out what is happening with ABC Snowmobile Clubs as we work on behalf of all snowmobilers, by clicking on the link below.

Al Hodgson with his award, with Tracy Senio, ABCSC director on the left

Have you been part of an avalanche incident that involved an avalanche balloon pack, or are you are aware of such an incident?  The CAA is conducting an Avalanche Balloon Pack Study.

Randy Swenson, BCA Float 30 Pack