Big event: Revelstoke launches Land of Thundering Snow online avalanche exhibit Wednesday

Need to know: The Land of Thundering Snow online avalanche history exhibit was created in large part by Revelstokians and has a grand opening at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre at 7 p.m. this Wednesday, March 4. This is the biggest exhibit the Revelstoke Museum & Archives has undertaken, and the online, interactive website will have a national and international audience. The Wednesday gala will likely attract hundreds, and it’s a must if you’re an avalanche or backcountry person.

The Revelstoke Museum & Archives opens its biggest exhibit to date this Wednesday, Mar. 4 when Land of Thundering Snow is launched.

This online, virtual exhibit is intended for a national audience and explores the history of avalanches in Canada, the evolution of avalanche science, avalanche safety, avalanche control, avalanche ecology and more.

In this audio recording, Revelstoke Museum & Archives curator Cathy English talks about the Land of Thundering Snow exhibit. The exhibit is the largest the Revelstoke Museum & Archives has ever taken on, with funding of $235,000. It includes a museum display, and also the main online virtual exhibit. In this interview, Aaron Orlando from the Revelstoke Mountaineer talks with Cathy about the exhibit and what’s happening March 4.

Here are the details of the public events:

-March 4, 3 p.m.: The Revelstoke Museum & Archives Land of Thundering Snow exhibit opening ceremony at the museum.

-March 4, 7 p.m., doors at 6:30 p.m.: This is going The Land of Thundering Snow virtual exhibit opens at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre. Have your green screen photo taken with a howitzer cannon or old school snow cat. Meet iconic figures from Canada’s avalanche industry. Hear intriguing avalanche stories never-been-told before. See 100-year-old snow science tools on display. The event will be catered by the Modern Bakeshop and Café.

Here is a description of the virtual exhibit provided by the Revelstoke Museum & Archives:

Immerse yourself in the world of avalanches – hear from avalanche industry legends, remember those who have lost their lives to avalanches and celebrate the launch of Canada’s first virtual avalanche museum.

Snow avalanches have impacted Canadians for more than a century. From the tragic deaths of 58 railworkers in Rogers Pass in 1910 to the creation of organizations like Avalanche Canada in 2004. Until now, however, the history of avalanches has not been gathered in one place.

In 2012, Revelstoke Museum and Archives received $235,000 through the Virtual Exhibits Investment Program of the Virtual Museum of Canada, initially managed by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and now managed by the Canadian Museum of History, with the financial support of the Government of Canada, to create a virtual exhibit about the history of snow research and avalanche safety in Canada. Divided into five categories, it will feature the latest information on avalanche science and safety; avalanche control; the anatomy of an avalanche; staying safe in avalanche country; and the ecology of avalanches.

This two-year project includes in-depth research into the development of snow science and avalanche control programs as well as avalanche-related fatalities in Canada. Join us, with our partners, on March 4 to celebrate the official launch of ‘Land of Thundering Snow’ – Canada’s first virtual avalanche museum.

Major partners in the ‘Land of Thundering Snow’ – project include Avalanche Canada, the Revelstoke Railway Museum, Okanagan College, and Parks Canada. Each partner has a story to tell from the ‘Land of Thundering Snow’.

The project also received support from numerous individuals, archives and organizations including the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Canadian Pacific; and the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation.