Alpine safety conference

MetService, Skills Active, Department of Conservation and NZ Search And Rescue get behind alpine safety conference

Christchurch will host the Southern Hemisphere Alpine Conference (SHAC)—New Zealand’s only dedicated alpine safety conference—in less than a week. Mountain Safety Council’s CEO Mike Daisley is overwhelmed by the support and interest from the sector for this year’s SHAC.

“We knew that there was a need to widen the SHAC from solely about avalanche, as it’s been in the past, to include wider alpine snow safety issues. We’ve been really encouraged by the support from delegates, speakers, and in particular our conference partners.”

“It’s really great to see such wide industry support for alpine safety, and also the willingness to come together to share insight and understanding that will help to shape the future of New Zealand’s alpine safety initiatives.”

Conference partners Department of Conservation (DOC), Skills Active, MetService and NZ Search and Rescue (NZSAR) share the MSC’s vision for the SHAC. Skills Active CEO Grant Davidson is thrilled to be part of this year’s SHAC.

“For us, this is an exciting opportunity to network with the alpine and avalanche industries. Not only will we be giving an update on the new qualifications we are rolling out in this space, we’re also there to listen to industry on the issues that matter to them as alpine and avalanche professionals,” he said

Davidson went on to say, “We’re also pleased to throw our support behind the NZ Avalanche Advisory! It’s a great tool that’s user-friendly and easily accessible, and a really useful resource for people who are planning to go into the hills,” he concluded.

MetServic Corporate Affairs GM Jacqui Bridges echoed Skills Active’s enthusiasm for the SHAC’s agenda and vison.

“MetService has partnered with Mountain Safety Council over a number of years to promote mountain safety. With the expanded scope of the conference, it seemed logical that we would step up our support for this important industry event and highlight the strong association between our two organisations,” said Bridges.

Bridges also reinforced the importance of the Avalanche Advisory “As New Zealand’s official issuer of severe weather information, MetService really understands the importance of credible, trustworthy safety information being available as widely as possible. The Advisory is a key decision tool for people venturing into the alpine back-country, regardless of their level of experience. That’s why we partnered with MSC last August to incorporate the Avalanche Advisory as a live feed on the Mountains & Parks pages of our own website. Those pages have been viewed more than 2.7m times since then, helping to put the Advisory front and centre with all alpine users”

“We’d like to see attendees gaining a deeper understanding of the snow forecasting process; of what atmospheric patterns to look out for, and where to look for further detailed information. It’s our hope that attendees will become more knowledgeable about snow forecasting themselves, and that they will also develop an insight into what lies behind the forecasting process at MetService. We’d love to think that they’ll have a better picture of how deeply involved MetService is with alpine snow safety—for the public and for commercial operators in the alpine environments,” she concluded.

Bridges went on to say that MetService is intimately connected to the safety of snow users.

“When it comes to snow safety, MetService’s focus is to provide accurate, detailed and timely forecasts; both of actual snowfall and of general weather conditions. This information is particularly important as a decision-making input for road safety management and agribusiness operations. We take a continuous improvement approach to our forecasting skills and tools, so as to provide the best possible forecasts of significant snow events,” she concluded.

The conference has expanded its scope from solely focusing on avalanche this year to which was welcomed by both MetService and Skills Active.

“We think combining the avalanche and alpine professions into one conference is a natural next step for SHAC. It makes sense for people working in these separate but interconnected industries to get together to generate discussions and exchange new ideas,” said Davidson

We hope SHAC attendees walk away feeling excited and invigorated about their work, and up-to-speed on all the latest skills and knowledge. And that includes having gained a better understanding of Skills Active qualifications, and the benefits of on-job delivery of key alpine and avalanche skills—whether through longer qualifications or shorter, targeted programmes,” he said.

We’ll also be sharing information at the conference about NZRRP, our online professional register for the sport and recreation industry, including avalanche practitioners and instructors. With NZRRP, industry staff can ensure their skills are current, and promote their credentials to the public. The public can use this tool to be assured they are placing themselves in the hands of highly-qualified mountain professionals,” he concluded.

Part of the programme was a day prior to the SHAC specifically focused on alpine search and rescue. Funded by NZ Search and Rescue Council (NZSAR), the workshop is an obvious part of the wider discussion said NZSAR secretariat Duncan Ferner

“We see this as a perfect opportunity to access all people involved in alpine SAR response and support,” said Ferner

“Alpine SAR requires a highly specialized skill set and we see the SHAC as a good opportunity to run a specialised workshop,” he concluded.

Daisley summed up the SHAC’s overall intent by reiterating the councils position of lead facilitator.

“As I’ve said before, one of our roles within the alpine community, as MSC, is to facilitate open and creative discussions about the often-unique challenges faced across the sector. This provides a mechanism for developing a better understanding regarding what causes alpine incidents,” he said.

The SHAC opens on the 17th of June, 2017 in Christchurch.

With a diverse list of presentations and applicable insights the full SHAC programme can be found by visiting the homepage of Mountainsafety.org.nz or via the links below.

Event bookings - https://goo.gl/QGB1Li
MSC Blog - https://medium.com/@nz_msc
MSC Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/NZMSC/
#MakeItHomeNZ
#KnowBeforeYouSnow

ENDS

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