Vanisle Backcountry Awareness Festival

We are proud to be hosting the third annual Vancouver Island Backcountry Festival at Mount Cain, on February 9th and 10th!

This year we're super stoked to have certified ACMG guides on site that will be doing guided tours by donation. This is a fantastic opportunity for inexperienced people to learn more about what's out beyond the ropes in a safe and educational environment, as well as a great way for experienced people to get some guided turns and pick up some more advanced tips.

Mark it on your calendars! If you are into Facebook, here is the event.

Friday Night: Meet & Greet and forecaster Q&A

To help people better understand what's going on out there and what goes into creating a forecast we are going to have a VIACS forecaster on site to give a talk as well as answer questions people might have.

This will also be a Meet & Greet, providing a venue for people to mingle and get to know other backcountry enthusiasts.

There will also be representatives from the VIACS during the weekend to answer any questions you might have.

Saturday: Guided Backcountry Laps

Take a backcountry lap with an ACMG certified guide. The goal: To ride powder! If you're not careful you might learn something as well.

We'll have enough guides for a departure every hour. Tours will last for a few hours and are appropriate for all experience levels, each tour customized based on the experience levels in the group. 

Minimum donation of $25 per person, which goes 100% to fund your source, the Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin. 

Saturday Evening: Fundraiser Raffle

We will be holding a raffle on Saturday night around 5:00, and raffling off  gear that has been graciously donated by our sponsors.

In addition to being able to win some pretty sweet prizes, this is also a lot of fun - last year I'm pretty sure there was crowd surfing...

All proceeds go directly to the Vancouver Island Avalanche Center Society to fund the forecasting for the 2012/2013 season. 

Saturday Night: Party!

Last year we had a pretty fun party out in the snow, and we're going to do it again! 

This will start sometime after dinner and continue until everyone is too tired to continue dancing. Onsies highly recommended - the 80's-ier the better! 

Sunday: Beacon Field Hunt

The Mt. Cain ski patrol will be setting up a beacon field on sunday for people to practice their recovery skills. For people who are feeling competitive, there will be a timed beacon hunt with a prize for the fastest recovery times at the end of the day.