NOW THAT HURRICANE Ridge has all that snow, maybe it’s time for the kids to learn how to ski or snowboard.
The Ridge’s ski and snowboarding school begins its five-week program this Saturday.
Group lessons will be held Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Lessons for children ages 4 and 5 last 60 minutes and cost $125. For kids 6 and older, lessons are 90 minutes long and cost $150.
Private skiing and snowboarding lessons are also available at any time on days of operation (typically Saturdays, Sundays and Monday holidays) for $35 an hour.
Lift tickets are sold separately, and season passes can be purchased on the hill.
Snowboard and ski school forms can be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/RidgeLessons.
For more information about these lessons, phone Frank Crippen at North By Northwest (360-452-5144) or school director Mike Bradham at 360-670-6166.
Ski team hits the hill
Also on Saturday, the Hurricane Ridge Ski Team starts on-hill training.
Programs can be either one or two days per week for the season, and rates vary and are based on the age of the participant.
Coach John Fox said the ski team is typically open to ages 8 to 18.
For further program information and pricing, visit http://tinyurl.com/RidgeSkiTeam or email Fox at skifox@wavecable.com.
Free avalanche training
According to the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center, 34 people were killed in avalanches in the United States last season.
Washington ranks fifth in the nation in total fatalities since 1985-86.
In an effort to decrease those numbers, local mountain guide service Pacific Alpine Guides will be putting on free avalanche clinics, one this Friday and another on Friday, Feb. 8.
The main focus will be basic avalanche rescue using transceivers.
“These sessions are not just for beginners,” Tyler Reid of Pacific Alpine Guides said.
“It takes constant practice and training for even professionals to stay proficient with this gear.”
Transceivers, shovels and probes will be available to use, but you are encouraged to bring your own equipment if you have it.
These clinics meet at the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center and run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Space is limited to 12 participants.
If you would like to attend, contact Pacific Alpine Guides at 888-674-8492 or info@pacificalpineguides.com.
Advanced training
Pacific Alpine Guides will also offer three more Level 1 avalanche courses at the Ridge this winter.
These courses are three days long and standardized by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education.
The nearest dates for these training sessions are Saturday through Monday, Jan. 19-21.
Future dates are Feb. 16-18 and March 22-24.
The cost is $295 per person.
More information is available at www.pacificalpineguides.com, or you can contact Reid at 360-302-1599 or at tyler@pacificalpineguides.com.
Film festival
The eighth annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival will be held Saturday at Wine on the Waterfront in downtown Port Angeles at 7 p.m.
Admission is $10 at the door, with all proceeds going toward funding the Olympic Peninsula Boys and Girls Club’s Hurricane Chasers program at Hurricane Ridge this winter.
Hurricane Chasers combines snowboard instruction with a winter science curriculum, and is designed to create lifelong winter sports enthusiasts out of local students who otherwise would not have the opportunity.
The event includes a raffle and live auction of winter-related gear.
This year’s film festival will include seven films assembled into a 90-minute program. The films are:
■ “Skiing the Void” (Sweetgrass Productions), is a reflection on taking chances during a two-year odyssey in the Andes. Winner of the Best of the Backcountry award.
■ A festival cut of “Further” (Teton Gravity Research), which brings the return of Jeremy Jones and friends as they push the limits of their mountain experience under their own power.
■ “Luc Mehl” chronicles an epic trip across the wild. Alaska Wilderness Classic winner of the Hans Sari Scholarship and winner of this year’s Best Grassroots Film.
■ “A Story of Trust” is a call for climate recovery from a 9-year-old activist, and the winner of this year’s Best Environmental Film.
■ “Denali Experiment” is a different type of expedition film from Camp4Collective.
■ “Freedom Chair,” from Switchback Entertainment, chronicles an athlete’s journey back to the slopes and his love of winter.
■ “Unicorn Sashimi,” from Felt Soul Media, highlights the amazing winter snowscapes of Japan.
For a trailer of the Backcountry Film Festival, visit www.backcountryfilmfestival.org.
You can also “like” Backcountry Film Festival on Facebook.
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
