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Health and Safety
Our
guides
Our highly experienced guides are certified through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations and/or the Canadian Ski Guide Association. Our lead guides are Avalanche Forecasters, having received their training through the Canadian Avalanche Association. We are also an Accredited Member of HeliCat Canada, a national standards association for the helicopter and snowcat skiing industry. All of our guides have undergone extensive first aid and mountain rescue certification and training. In fact, Great Bear Heli Skiing is one of only a handful of operations that have helicopter long-line rescue capability. In the event of an injury or accident, we’re proud to be able to utilize the Boost Human External Cargo system in order to safely and efficiently rescue an injured guest from virtually any location in the mountains.
Our
Staff
Our risk management program starts early every morning at our AM guides' meeting. The guides and pilots review province-wide avalanche and snowpack observations from the previous day, overnight changes and the weather forecast to produce a detailed daily avalanche forecast for all of our terrain. They then apply that forecast and other hazard analyses to build the day's run list.
Once in the field, guides are constantly assessing hazards, monitoring conditions and adjusting terrain choices as conditions change. At the end of the day, the guides and pilots meet again at our PM guides' meeting to review the day and fine-tune the forecast and risk mitigation strategy for tomorrow.
In the event of a possible emergency, our operation has put extensive work into detailed safety and rescue systems and thorough planning to address foreseeable emergency scenarios in the backcountry and on our property. Not only our guides but all our staff hold valid first aid certifications, from basic level to EMT, and are trained to follow our emergency response plan. Our operation also takes part in PEAK First Aid Training, giving us access to a higher level of care in the event of an emergency.
Guest
Safety
At the beginning of your trip we'll brief you on both helicopter safety and fundamental avalanche rescue techniques. All guests are provided with a Barryvox avalanche transceiver, Mammut avalanche flotation pack, probe, shovel and personal radio. On your first run, we'll introduce you to the basics of heli skiing so that you become comfortable travelling with a guide in the mountains.
We have an open-door policy when it comes to safety. You're welcome to sit in on our guides' meetings and see exactly how our decisions are made. And we encourage every guest to speak up any time they have a question or concern – on the mountain or back at the lodge.
All guests are required to sign a Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims and Assumption of Risks participant agreement prior to booking. The waiver will also be presented and signed in person after our safety briefing at the lodge. In the meantime, you can find a copy of the waiver here.
