BC BANTER: AMGA Announces New Executive Director, Parks Canada Approves Lake Louise Expansion and Big Snow Hits Chile

AMGA ANNOUNCES ALEX KOSSEFF AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BOULDER, COLO. The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) announced Alex Kosseff as its new Executive Director. Kosseff begins his post this week at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kosseff—an experienced outdoor educator and bestselling author of the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership—cut his teeth in entrepreneurship when he founded the Outdoor Safety Institute five years ago. Now, he brings that skill set to the AMGA which, for 30 years, has set the standards in guiding instruction and worked to progress professional guiding. “Alex brings vast experience to this post comprising guiding and teaching in the field, proven leadership and an understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and journey—all of which are nothing short of critical to understanding how to continue to grow and further the profession of American mountain guiding,” says Rob Hess, AMGA Board President and co-owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. Learn more at Snow Industry News.

PARKS CANADA APPROVES LAKE LOUISE EXPANSION

LAKE LOUISE, ALBERTA This past Saturday, Parks Canada approved an expansion plan proposed by Lake Louise Ski Resort that could nearly double the area’s daily skier capacity from 6,000 to 11,500. According to the plan, the ski area will return 669 hectares of undeveloped land to wilderness designation in exchange for the opportunity to expand into backcountry terrain surrounding the resort, including West Bowl, Hidden Bowl, Richardson’s Ridge and West Juniper. Some of the plan’s measures include construction of a new reservoir to reduce water taken from nearby streams for snowmaking and a new lodge at Eagle Ridge to distance skier traffic from native grizzly habitats.

According to CBCNews, the decision has raised concerns among conservationists and former park managers, and during the public response period, the plan received more than 1,200 letters of concern. After the plan was passed, 11 former Parks Canada managers sent a letter to Environmental Minister Leona Aglukkaq asking her to fight for the ecological integrity of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. “If we want to protect this area into the future we need to put conservation first and this decision has not done this,” Anne-Marie Syslake, a spokeswoman with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, told CBCNews. To learn more about Lake Louise’s proposed expansion read the Lake Louise Ski Area Guidelines for Development Use.

CHILE GETS DUMPED ON

ANDES MOUNTAINS, CHILE The mountains near Santiago, Chile have been getting pounded this past week, with snowfall forecasted to continue through the weekend. The three-day forecast calls for more than three feet of accumulation in Nevados de Chillan, 33.5 inches in Valle Nevado, 28 inches in El Colorado, 26 inches in Las Leñas and two feet in La Parva. For the full snow report read Snowforecast.com.