CSGA News

May 19^th, 2021 at 7 pm; Via Zoom Meeting

Attendance:  Board of Directors, Secretary – Treasurer & Members of the CSGA in good standing

Board of Directors:
Bob Sayer – President
Mo Rasiah – Director
Mike Hainault – Director
Erin Tierney – Director
Don Schwartz – Director
Matt Devlin – Director
Mike Wiegele – Past President

Welcome from the President : Bob Sayer

1. Adopt minutes of last meeting – Bob Sayer
2. Report from Administration – Carrie Holland
3. Secretary & Treasurer’s Report – Bob Sayer
4. CSGI Education Committee Report – Mike Hainault
5. Membership Report – Carrie Holland
6. HeliCat Canada Report – Mike Hainault
7. IKAR report – Bob Sayer

NEW BUSINESS

1. Risk Management / Insurance report – Bob Sayer
2. Extended medical / Insurance package – Geoff Straight
3. Sponsorships and Pro Deals – Mike Hainault
4. Lisa Korthals Memorial Bursary – Vlad Lamoureux

OTHER BUSINESS      
Election of Officers- We need to elect 2 board members each year.
Up for re-election this year are Bob Sayer and Don Schwartz.

Next meeting:  Spring 2022

ADJOURNMENT

CC:      
1. To Board Members
2. To membership of CSGA
3. Addendum – Instructor Meeting Post AGM      Mike Hainault

Hello CSGA Members !

Fellow guide Tyson Rettie has launched a fundraiser that some of you may be interested in participating in.

The link for the Braille Mountain Project with all the details is below, please have a look and show your support for this cool project 😊
Get outside and enjoy the fresh air, every step counts and helps to raise funds for this initiative !

https://www.braillemountaininitiative.com/climb-a-thon

NEW COURSE DATES ARE POSTED UNDER THE COURSES TAB ON THE HOME PAGE – CHECK IT OUT TO SEE UPCOMING COURSE DATES AND LOCATIONS.

MARCH COURSE DATES: We are hopeful to move forward with resuming all courses sometime in early to mid-March. Possibly late February for level 1 courses. Notifications will be sent out via email and posted on the website when final dates and locations have been determined.

Unfortunately, this is all we can say at the moment. The situation is continually evolving, and it certainly hasn’t gotten any better since making the difficult decision to postpone courses this past fall.

As always, our goal is to move the course schedule forward, given the situation improves enough to allow us to do so. We also hope to get through the entire backlog of registered candidates this season, if possible. However, as we’ve mentioned, there are simply no guaranties at the moment. 

At this time, all we can do is hope that case numbers diminish and the current travel and gathering restrictions are lifted or at least revised enough to allow us to run the courses.

Lets all do our part to make that happen !

Keep up on your training, hope to see you all soon.  

Take Care,

CSGA/CSGI

For those of you who may not been able to attend the Zoom Meeting for the official CSGI course update, we made the very difficult decision to postpone the L1, L2 & L3 courses that were scheduled to take place in December.

Given the current health and travel restrictions put in place by the BC Government, which as of December 7th, have been extended to January 8, 2021 at midnight; we felt it was only prudent for everyone’s health and safety to delay the program.

Our goal is to resume the course schedule as soon as it is safe to do so.
The current tentative timeline is as follows:

• L1 Courses to be re-scheduled sometime in March 2021
• L2 & L3 Courses to be re-scheduled sometime mid to late February 2021
• Touring Module, will be scheduled based on interest, in the Spring 2021

Actual dates will be communicated to all participants as soon as they are confirmed with our host operators, and it is safe to proceed with curriculum delivery.

NOTE: Please continue to visit the CSGA website for continued updates, as with many things this year, the target is ever moving, and our goal is to the resume the program ASAP.

We thank you once again for your patience. We wish you a happy and safe start to the winter season.

Sincerely,

Mike Hainault
CSGI Course Coordinator

Bob Sayer
CSGA President

It is with great sadness that the CSGA mourns the loss of one of its members, Konan Wendt. He tragically passed away in a ski accident in in the Canadian Rockies on October 19th, 2020 while on an early season adventure with friends.  A passionate learner, his love for the mountains and the experiences they brought him, were evident to everyone that met him. His smile and  positive attitude were a pleasure to be around and we are so sorry to hear of his passing. Our sincerest condolences go out to his Family, Friends and co-workers.

Back in April, just as things were getting a little crazy on this planet, a very special thing happened….

On behalf of the Lisa Korthals Memoral Foundation, the CSGA would like to send out a great big THANK YOU to the Raven Backcountry Festival and Tourism Pemberton for their generous donation of $16,000.00 !

To make a donation to the Lisa Korthals Memorial Bursary click here: LKMB

After careful deliberation, the ISSW 2020 organization committee has made the difficult decision to postpone the conference by one year, due to the many uncertainties presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. ISSW 2020 is now scheduled for October 3 – 8, 2021, in Fernie, BC, Canada. 

While we are all disappointed by this development, we know it is the right thing to do at this time. The health and safety of the conference delegates, our event volunteers, and our host community is our top priority.  

Our commitment to the conference and its goals remains strong and we hope all of you will be able to adjust your schedules to suit this new date. If you have any questions, please first check this FAQ page. If you do not find the answers you need, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Steve Kuijt, ISSW 2020 Chair 
James Floyer, ISSW 2020 Program Chair

Due to the Covid-19 Virus continuing to excel through the province and the world abroad, we will be cancelling all scheduled Spring 2020 courses.

We will revisit setting new course dates when things return to “normal” for those of you who were affected. If you were accepted on one of the scheduled Spring programs, please check your email, everyone has been contacted individually.

Lets all do our best to contain this virus and do our part in planking the curve. May you all be safe and stay healthy.

Best wishes from the CSGA / CSGI

Dear Participants,

Thank you for your interest and commitment to the Canadian Ski Guide Institute and its upcoming Spring programs. 

We are living in interesting times, and it goes without saying that COVID-19 is having profound effects throughout the world. We’ve been in contact with all relevant training associations in Canada, including the CSIA, the CAA and ACMG. All have stated they will follow the most recent health Canada guidelines and postpone or amend their upcoming training programs.

After speaking extensively with our host locations, senior instructor pool, and administrative staff, we feel it is only prudent to postpone our upcoming CSGI Level 1 programs at both Keefer Lake Lodge and Meadow Creek. For those who have made full payment, we will provide a 100% credit towards the L1 program next season. We’ve already been in discussion with Keefer Lake and Meadow Creek locations, we are hoping to re-schedule the courses sometime in December 2020, if conditions permit.

We are however hoping to salvage the CSGI L2 and L3 program in Blue River. We will wait until March 31, 2020 before making a final decision on the L2 & L3 training sessions. We are hoping that given the timing of those courses, hopefully the situation will have improved and we can move ahead. 

We thank you for your understanding in this matter. We know you’ve all worked extremely hard to prepare for you upcoming courses, and we look forward to hosting you in the near future. Continue to train hard and stay sharp.

Wishing You Health & Happiness.​
Canadian Ski Guide Institute