Calgary — Student ski tours in avalanche-prone areas present a potential catastrophic risk and should have no place in a high school outdoor education program, says a report ordered after the avalanche deaths of seven Alberta high school students.
Administrators at their elite private school should take a hard look at a philosophy that holds that such risk is a worthwhile part of outdoor education, the report says.
Ross Cloutier, a British Columbia outdoor education specialist, was commissioned by the board of the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir school in southern Alberta to examine the entire outdoor education program.
"[The school] has conducted ski tours into a number of avalanche-prone areas and these are not suitable for school group trips because of the catastrophic risk potential," says the 58-page document, released Wednesday. "These include Rogers Pass, Bow Lake to Bow Hut, and Healy Pass."
It was at Connaught Creek in Rogers Pass last Feb. 1 that an avalanche slammed into 14 skiers from the school. The victims, all age 15, were Ben Albert, Daniel Arato, Scott Broshko, Alex Pattillo, Michael Shaw, Marissa Staddon and Jeff Trickett. The survivors included seven students, two teachers and an adult volunteer.
"The decisions to ski in Connaught Creek that day was based upon what most other recreational, school and commercial groups may have done at the time," conceded Mr. Cloutier. "The real question in this event, however, is whether or not schools should be programming activities with catastrophic risk potential, and if they choose to, what level of care and parental awareness and permission should be provided."
Mr. Cloutier also found that the school did not fully communicate the risks to parents and pursued a program that over time became more "adventure education" than outdoor education.
Marilyn McCaig, chairwoman of the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir board of governors, said the board unanimously accepted Mr. Cloutier's report and will work to implement his recommendations.
The report did praise the heroic behaviour of the survivors in their rescue efforts, and said the school's outdoor education program should continue if it is revised.
"The philosophy held by an outdoor educator that risk is a necessary and worthwhile part of outdoor education is based on potential benefits and may not account for real potential consequences," Mr. Cloutier wrote.
"[The school] has faced the reality of the consequences of this philosophy, and no parent, administrator or board member spoken with would agree that educating students about backcountry skiing was worth the price that was paid on the trip in the Rogers Pass on Feb. 1, 2003."
