State of the Snowpack #2

Every winter, Canterbury backcountry users head into the mountains armed with the daily avalanche forecasts and their own gut feel.

But there's a layer in between — the local snowpack knowledge held by the guides, patrollers and forecasters who are out there every day — and that's exactly what this event is designed to share.

The second evening of our State of the Snow Pack series will feature Penny Goddard, who literally wrote the book. She is an IFMGA Mountain Guide, avalanche consultant, and author of Avalanche Awareness in the New Zealand Backcountry. We are lucky to have her back in Aotearoa for now, after some time spent in Canada. Penny has an amazing way of translating snow science into practical language that recreational users can actually apply in the mountains. Expect grounded, no-nonsense insight from someone whose day job has long been making complex avalanche judgment calls understandable to everyone else.

Anna Scheirlinck is not just hosting and organising this evening, she'll be one of the speakers too! An NZMGA Assistant Ski Guide, Advanced Avalanche Educator with the Canadian Avalanche Association, and founder of Smart Elevation. She guides in the Craigieburns each winter and leads the Alpine Rescue Canterbury team with LANDSAR. Her Master's in Emergency Management shapes an approach to avalanche terrain that's as much about decision-making under pressure as it is about reading the snowpack. Expect practical, grounded insight from someone who spends their winters in exactly the terrain you're heading into. 

This isn't a course. It's a community conversation because better information shared across a community means more people making it home.

The goals of State of the Snowpack Aotearoa are:

• Decrease backcountry avalanche incidents, casualties, and rescues through the sharing of detailed community-specific snowpack analysis.

• Bridge the gap between our Regional Avalanche Forecast and local knowledge shared in the InfoEx by guides and avalanche professionals, providing local snowpack analysis in as clear & simple terms as possible.

• Share information gathered from our local guiding and forecasting communities, allowing locals to make the most informed decisions in the backcountry, so we all make it home every night! 

State of the Snowpack Aotearoa is several evenings over winter, of honest, practical avalanche intelligence from people who spend their winters digging pits, reading terrain and keeping others safe.

Local professionals will break down what's happening in the Craigieburns, Arthur's Pass and the surrounding Canterbury ranges — not in textbook terms, but in the kind of plain language that helps you make better decisions when you're standing at the top of a slope.

Here are the deets so you can come along:

When: Wednesday, 26th of August. 6.15 pm for a 6.30 pm start.
Where: Further Faster, 57A Buchan St, Sydenham
Tickets: $20 pre-sale. $25 on the door (unless sold out prior).

All money raised goes directly to Protect Our Winters, which connects all winter and outdoor lovers to help create positive climate outcomes. Through education and community-based initiatives, they focus on protecting NZ's alpine environment from the devastating effects of climate change. 

Sponsored by Smart Elevation — Know your Snow, and Aarn Packs in partnership with Further Faster.