[Nmap] ACMG board meeting

[Christoph Dietzfelbinger]

Hello the northern mountain and avalanche people:

this message will only be of interest to ACMG members or folks in the 
guide training stream. But these are not secrets and might be useful to 
the avalanche folks too.

At a board meeting yesterday, we discussed split boarding at length. The 
Technical Committee are now in support of creating a new certification 
of Snowboard Guide. The training will be exactly the same and during the 
same courses as for Ski Guides, but the candidates will not have to 
demonstrate skiing to the ACMG standard. They will be able to do it all 
on their split board. We have to make a new certification to prevent 
confusion within the industry.

There are two bitter pills that come with this sweet success: one, it 
won't be in place for this winter - this kind of transition 
unfortunately takes time. Two, Snowboard Guides will have to perform at 
the skiing standard if they want to become Mountain Guides. The ACMG 
sets standards for specialty guides, but at the Mountain Guide Level, 
the IFMGA standard applies. Splitboarding is far less advanced in most 
other countries and it will be a bit of work to convince them that 
Snowboard Guides can indeed do everything a Ski Guide does. Marc Piche 
will work on this.

The ACMG will be more serious in encouraging guides to become Mountain 
Guides or to complete their Specialty Guide certification. Candidates 
entering the training stream from now on will be required to complete 
their training within a reasonable time frame or start over or lose 
their recognition. For apprentice guides with older certifications, 
there will be audits to make sure that they are current.

Some of you know the nasty run-around I am having with BC Parks. After 
three years of no use, we dropped Edziza, Seven Sisters, and Babines 
from the blanket permit to save $250 per year and park. I had been 
assured that getting a single trip permit would be a mere formality. 
This was untrue and I lost two weeks of work when I got interest in an 
Edziza trip, which I had to cancel. I suggested that we get Edziza, 
Seven Sisters, and Babines back on the permit and that we add Tazdli 
Wiyez Bin or Burnie-Shea to it. If we don't do that, then BC Parks will 
try to gouge $1,125 from every guide who works out of the Burnie Glacier 
Chalet unless they work for me. If there is no use of the first three 
parks, then I suggest that those guides who would like to use those 
parks split the cost among them. This could come to $750 per year split 
between those interested in the worst case. As soon as there is use of 
the park, the ACMG assumes the cost. This would mean that we can all 
freely work in those amazing parks according to our certifications and 
terrain guidelines.

Dues are set to go up by 5% in 2011 and the following year. The ACMG now 
provides a high level of membership services and we are taxing the 
administrative staff heavily. We would like to maintain that level of 
service, but since revenues have dropped, we need to raise dues. A 
Mountain Guide will pay $17 more per year.

These are highlights of special interest to us in the North. It would be 
great to have an on-going discussion on this. Please comment and let me 
know if this is how you would like to ACMG to proceed and give me, as 
your representative on the board, directions.

It's the AGM today. Stay tuned.

-- 
Christoph Dietzfelbinger
IFMGA/ UIAGM Mountain Guide - Bear Mountaineering and the Burnie Glacier Chalet
Box 4222	Smithers, B.C.		V0J 2N0	Canada
tel. 250-847-3351/ fax 250-847-2854 
info at bearmountaineering.ca		www.bearmountaineering.ca