The Split//Ski Festival is back for its second year of educating and advocating for safe backcountry touring in and around Revelstoke. Hosted by Alpine Club of Canada, the festival will include a night of talks at the Revelstoke Legion, an Arc’teryx film night, group touring opportunities and more.
Kirsten Silfvenius, Split//Ski Festival organizer with Headwaters Marketing saw an opportunity to bring skiers and snowboarders together to celebrate back country touring throughout the region and connect with various resources.
“Hopefully it builds some more in-person community around stewardship of the areas including access to back country ski opportunities,” she told Revelstoke Mountaineer.
The name cheekily references a combination of skis and splitboards, a type of snowboard frequently used in alpine touring that separates into a pair of skis for easier traversing. In a community where riders are often spending more time in the back country instead of connecting with other riders, Silfvenius wanted a way to provide education and showcase resources.
“My goal is to create a place where people can come for the content, but leave with a better sense of who else is doing the same thing and who they can reach out to,” she said, adding touring requires trust in partners and what skills they have in case of an emergency in the back country.
“Having dependable partners is such an important part of backcountry touring. So, creating opportunities to find other people in the front country that enjoy backcountry skiing is just as important.”
From Canadian Powder Guiding’s state of the snowpack talk, aiming to provide the most up-to-date information about avalanche risks this season to the Rogers Pass Social with Parks Canada helping folks navigate the Winter Permit System, Split//Ski Festival’s second year is focused on providing attendees with the most up-to-date information before they head out.
Plus there will be plenty of time to enjoy the sports that bring folks to the backcountry, with ski touring at spots around Revelstoke led by Alpine Club of Canada and Girls Do Ski hosting beginner and intermediate touring courses.
You can register for events and keep up-to-date with the Split//Ski Festival on the Alpine Club of Canada website.
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