Students learn basics of winter sports safety

By KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake

Snow has barely started dusting the hills around the Flathead Valley, but seventh-graders across the county recently received a crash course in winter sports safety.

Snowboard instructor Brett Urbach and ski patrollers Tony Powell and Jeff Soyland presented information about safely enjoying winter recreation to seventh-grade physical education classes throughout the valley. Their presentation covered everything from avalanche safety to the skiers' responsibility code to appropriate winter apparel.

"It's just something we do in the off-season to make kids aware of their surroundings," Urbach said. The goal, he added, is to "help kids be a little safer out there in the woods."

The men taught the seventh-graders about avalanche safety, including the four pieces of equipment everyone should carry: a transceiver, a probe pole, a sturdy shovel, "and the most important one is a buddy," Urbach said. "Never be out there in the woods by yourself."

They also discussed dressing appropriately in layers of synthetics fabric or wool - never cotton. The seventh-graders learned about heeding signs, closure ropes and site-specific out-of-boundary policies.

They also learned about the responsibility code Montana's ski resorts have adopted, which is on the back of Whitefish Mountain Resort's lift tickets and printed on every ski resort's map.

The code establishes courtesy and safety rules, such as yielding to uphill skiers and skiing in control.

Although the men who led the presentations are Whitefish Mountain Resort employees, the program itself isn't associated with the resort. Karen Kimball, wife of Whitefish Mountain Resort ski ambassador Bob Kimball, helped found the program four years ago.

She thought seventh-graders would be the most receptive to the lesson, Urbach said.

"Any younger than that, they have no clue what they're doing," he said.

In seventh grade, he added, kids are "maturing, but they're not so mature that they're shutting down. They're able to listen to adults and trust adults still."

Urbach, who has been part of the program since its inception, said he believes it is making a difference in up-and-coming skiers and snowboarders.

"It's pretty neat. I've seen kids up there the next year who say, 'I remember your class,'" he said. "I see them not wearing cotton, wearing fleece gear instead of cotton hooded sweatshirts, which is pretty neat."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com