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Saturday, 22 April, 2006
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The whine of the AS 350's rotors fill the Wind Valley as we stand over another limp form. This is the fourth scree-related death this month with no end in sight. It started out simple, everything was innocent and plain. They would scale the scree of Mt. Yamnuska, reach the base of that mighty front, and then enjoy their reward of pungent cheese, ripe sausage, and a box of of ripple wine. Sadly, this day would offer a paucity of rewards to these erstwhile scree climbers. To the uninitiated, scree sliding represents good times, bikinis, and the MTV beach life. But the reality is much harsher. Scree sliding is a ticking time-bomb of death; scree reaches out with grasping hands at the weak-willed ankles of unsuspecting sliders. In the last month alone, scree has accounted for the death of a national sales manager and a facilities manager for a research company. As well, a lawyer who works for a legal publishing company has narrowly escaped the icy claws of the scree's hot hand. But it doesn't have to be this way; scree-sliding expert John Sutherland's classes, which happens every Tuesday and Thursday night, began last spring as part of Calgary's park and recreation program. His aim is to teach the novice the ins and outs of this dangerous sport. "Originally, I started teaching boxing aerobics, but I noticed that people wanted to scree-slide," says Sutherland. "The more time I spent doing that it just made more sense to turn it into a regular scree-sliding class because people were enjoying that more," she says. That doesn't surprise, Nettie Chestnut, manager of the Crowfoot School of Scree, which used to be All Nations. She has about 70 members taking scree-sliding as fitness classes now, an increase over 50 to 60 last year, she said. "It is getting big, we are looking to hire more coaches," she said. "People are starting to realize that scree-sliding is not just about gravity, that it can be very calming. It gets you fit and works the whole body." The club features "a real mix" of youths and businesspeople, she added. At the newly opened Ultimate Scree Club on Black Crow Road, they are aware of the growing trend toward scree-sliding as fitness and are looking to cash in. "My main goal here is to tap into white-collar scree-sliders so it can support our youth scree programs," said co-owner Nick Holt. "We need fitness people to support the sliders." Holt claims thats "We will not waiver from the technical side, you will learn to slide here the right way." There are other scree clubs in the city, such as Hard Knocks, Shoe Stone and Calgary Scree Club and Climbing Gym. "It's an incredible cardio workout," says Warren Hodgson, international sales manager for a company in Canmore. "It's an hour and a half that just leaves you drained." "When I started this I couldn't have gone 30 metres down the scree and I smoked a pack a day," he says. Since joining, 36-year-old Hodgson has quite smoking. "I couldn't keep up with the cardio so the smoking was the first thing to go," he says. " Yet in spite of all this coaching, the death toll mounts. And ivory-tower academicians are over-represented on the bill tallied by the forces of darkness. "Scree-sliding seems to appeal to doughy pantloads as they can get to the bottom of cliffs they could never climb, and then descend through the scree like their heroes" says Joe Josephson of Canmore. Josephson, a hero to himself in all of his writings, says that "Calgarians who want to slide scree, "slee" as we call it, should hire a qualified ACMSSG (Association of Canadian Mountain Scree-Sliders Guide) guide before heading out. The two grand and the kidney failure are a small price to pay to avoid a debilitating stone in the shoe, or a turned ankle." And fear not, the rabid scree-huggers have their voice too. "Every slider represents another step towards the collapse of a provincial monument" says Ron Dina of the Save Yam's Scree Society (SYSS). Over time, the erosion of the scree will cause concomittant erosion of the base of Mt. Yamnuska. This erosion will lead to "catastrophic failure of the geologic ecosphere" warns Dina. And this could have further impacts down the road, both literally and figuratively. Walter Phillips of Banff says that "We could die as a townsite if Yam comes down." Cassandra or pessimist, the glare in Phillip's eyes speaks volumes. "At the end of the day, you have to choose to have fun in a safe manner" says Eugene Econboy, consultant to the University of Calgary's nascent scree team. "It is simply a function of marginal utility" Wise words, but until they sink in, the death toll will continue to mount. Up. Business Headlines
Business BuzzSoft heart, hard head when giving Some stock buys more gamble than investment Starting Up Surveillance tapes can be used in court Knockout
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