Canadian Ski Guide Association
November 2022 Eblast
In this issue:
Resilient Minds Proactive Mental Health Course Offer – Recurrent Training – Fall Speaker CPD Series Recap – Membership Renewal Time – New Course Application Deadlines, Deposits and Cancellation insurance – CAA Membership Equivalency –– Canadian Mountain Community Peer Support Program – Pro Deals and Digital Member Cards – Job Posting – Lisa Korthals Memorial Update – #CSGA – Thanks and Good Bye to Carrie
La Nina is back baby! I don’t know about your neck of the woods but the snow fell on dry and dusty ground around the coast in late October. It was almost a 25 degree temperature shift overnight. One can only hope that this trend continues and it just keeps snowing! As we start another season it sounds like bookings are going off, everyone wants to get back to their favourite lodge with their favourite guides and shred some pow. I imagine guides will be in great demand with more work than you can imagine. The desire to make hay can make us drive through the night and skip days off – who wants to say no to work, especially if the skiing is good. Just like you need to recharge (or change) your transceiver batteries a couple times a season, make sure you take time to recharge yourself. Find the balance, try and take a day of peaceful touring for yourself once in a while. Lots of tid bits below, thanks for staying in touch. Have a great, safe winter and as always feel free to reach out with anything on your mind. Erin [email protected]
Resilient Minds Proactive Mental Health Course: November 21 and 22, online, 8:30 am -12:30pm PST. Email me if you’re interested. Should be an amazingly insightful course.
Free Recurrent Training for Current Members: Recurrent Training is required every two years to maintain current membership. Sign up on the website for your free training end of November in Whistler and Whitewater.
Fall Speaker CPD Series Recap: The CSGA once again joined forces with the ACMG and CAA to host a day of speakers in early October. We focused on topics that affect our members and were fortunate to have two CSGA members and one helicopter pilot with a Masters in Educational Research present on Hypothermia protocols, PTSD and Helicopter Safety and Awareness. Thanks so much to Dr Sydney White, Don Schwartz and Tony Walker for putting so much effort into these talks. We had 372 people attending in person or receiving a recording of the talks. If anyone has an idea or would like to present next year please let us know.
Membership Renewal Time! It’s time to renew your membership team! The board has been working hard to give you value for your membership. It’s priced low and includes AD&D insurance, options for more great insurance, mental health supports like the Peer Support Program and courses, free Recurrent Training, great pro deals and it is a requirement of your operation as a member of HeliCat. Once you are a member you get access to the pro deals and a digital membership card that you can use to access pro deals as proof of your certification. And you get to see your name up on the website in lights!
New Course Application Deadlines: Courses now have application deadlines and acceptance notification dates. Hopefully this will streamline the process. If you do not pay in full by specified payment date you will be moved to the waitlist and your spot given to the next person in line. A $500.00 deposit is required to hold your spot upon notification of acceptance. All course fees are non refundable. Trip Cancellation insurance is available and highly recommended at the time of purchase.
Course Application deadline Acceptance notification Payment Due
December Sept. 1 Sept 15 Oct 1
Spring Jan. 1 Jan. 15 Feb. 1
SGSC June 1 June 15 July 1
CAA Membership and CSGA Equivalencies: The CAA and the CSGA have worked to recognize the skills examined on the Level 2 and 3 and apply them to the competencies that are required to be demonstrated for membership to the CAA. If you are a Level 2 or 3 current CSGA member you are eligible to apply using the modified competency table. This will greatly reduce the information required by the CAA. A great opportunity to be a member of the CAA. Level 1 members – we have created the equivalency table and are close to finalizing the application for Practitioner Membership for you, Stand By! Contact [email protected] for more information
Canadian Mountain Community Peer Support Team update: If you require this service please call (604)670-2772 for dispatch.
By Don Schwartz:
On Sept 22-25, I attended the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) course at Sun Peaks that was hosted by Helicat Canada. I was asked by the CSGA to attend, so that we can get a better understanding of how to implement programs like this into our organization.
This four-day event is designed to help our industry cope with and manage the effects of trauma and critical incident stress after a major event. Hopefully this is not something anyone will ever need to face, but after being in this industry long enough, it is more than likely that one will encounter some form of major trauma in their career.
During the course, we were educated and trained in how to work as a team to assist with a person or company in the time after a traumatic event. Everyone deals with the stress from a trauma differently, and our job is to help normalize the reactions to the event, and to monitor those that may need additional support. Generally, the effects of the stress diminish over time, and the symptoms do improve as life returns to a more normal state. The CISM team is there to help the operation or person with their reactions to the event, let them know that their feelings and emotions are normal after a major trauma, and to give them coping skills moving forward. The most important part is identifying those that are not getting better over time, and to make sure they are able to attain additional help.
When someone gets support like this early after a major trauma, the long-term results are excellent, most people make a full recovery and very few people will end up developing long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
For me, this was a fascinating and invigorating course. In my career, I have been the one involved in a fatal helicopter crash, an employee in an operation where there was an avalanche fatality as well as being an owner when my company had a fatal snow immersion incident. To then take the course and get a better understanding of how trauma imbeds itself in a person, as well as what can be done to help someone avoid ending up with PTSD, was eye opening to say the least.
This course gave me a great understanding of what happened to me thirty years ago, about how I processed the event and how I managed the stress of it afterwards and certainly how I subsequently ended up with PTSD. Fortunately, programs such as the CISM are now available to help others such that they will never need to go through what I did, and that the word gets out that there is excellent help when something does go wrong.
The CISM team is made up of your peers in the industry who understand what it is you do, what you have been through and have probably been through it themselves already. It is an amazing resource of volunteers who all understand the value of the program and believe profoundly in the benefits of early help.
The CISM team is available for anyone and any operation in the mountain community in BC who needs our services. The word has to get out such that those in need know that there are people and resources available for them.
Stay safe, enjoy the mountains, and lets all meet again in the spring at the AGM in Penticton.
Don Schwartz
Pro Deals and Digital Member Cards: Just a reminder that you need to be logged in to see pro deals and your digital membership card. It is not the smoothest one two click and you’re there but it’s there. Log in first, then click on ‘Members’ tab and it will repopulate with the digital card and pro deals. The card is great for showing to companies who want to see proof of current membership.
Job Posting: Silvertip Heli-Skiing in the Cariboo mountains is seeking a skilled Apprentice Ski Guide or Level 2 CSGA Guide for work this coming season. We would have anywhere from part-time/on call work to full-time shifts for the right person.
Our season runs from Jan 1st, 2023, until the end of March. Silvertip covers travel to YVR and transfers to Williams Lake for guiding staff. Expect excellent pay, nice staff accommodations, great food, epic skiing, and a small tight-knit guiding and lodge team.
For more information and to apply, please contact either Andy Adamson (250)344-7944, or Dale McKnight, Operations Manager.(250)272-6558.
Lisa Korthals Memorial Bursary: Big Thanks to Sweet Skills and RMU Blackcomb who recently held a fall fundraiser and donated all proceeds to the LKMB. $2300.00 was raised and will go towards supporting women in the CSGA stream with career development.
Social Media: Got some good photos of a course or a day out guiding? Don’t forget to add #CSGA and feel free to email them to me to use on our FB and Instagram Pages. #oldguidestryingtomakesocialmediaposts
Good Bye Carrie, Hello Monica: Our long, long time administrator, Carrie is moving on from the CSGA / I. Carrie has been with us through the days of pen and paper, faxes, whiteout and mailing course boxes to course locations. Now she has taught herself our new, complex and sometimes frustrating website, streamlined and automated processes and brought us into this era of technology. Her heart has always been on her sleeve for the CSGA, committed, problem solver and passionate proponent for helping students. She has been integral to getting information to students and supporting our course coordinator, Mike as they juggle applications, track down payments, misspelled emails and other weird technology stuff. Carrie has committed to making the transfer of information to our new admin as seamless as possible and as I far as I know she is not changing her cell phone number so we can still track her down for questions. Carrie, on behalf of all the students, instructors, Board members and industry partners you have helped connect over the years, thank you so much. We will miss you.
I would like to welcome Monica as our new administrator. Some of you may know Monica from her help with planning the HCC meetings. Monica has many years of experience as an administrator and is looking forward to learning and focusing more on the guiding and outdoor industry. We look forward to working with Monica and welcoming her to the team! The email will stay the same but a new phone number will be coming out shortly and we will be sure to update you.
That’s all for now folks! Get out and practice your skills, throw some new batteries in your transceiver, stretch, stay active. If you haven’t already, you’ll be in those ski boots soon enough. Have a safe winter, stay in touch, renew your membership and get in touch. We are here to support you, our members.
Take care, Erin Tierney