Youth ages 12-16 gain backcountry and avalanche awareness at this annual event
By Leslie Kilgore EBS CONTRIBUTOR
The Jack Creek Preserve Foundation, located near Moonlight Basin on Jack Creek Road, has a long-existing mission: To protect wildlife in wild country by supporting healthy habits, hunting and conservation.
Through that mission, in the last decade, they have provided many educational programs, conservation events, research opportunities and community gatherings to southwest Montana residents.
One of their annual winter events, offered to kids ages 12-16, is the Winter Outdoor Skills Camp happening Feb. 21-23. The three-day, two-night program is held at the Preserve’s Outdoor Education Center and focuses on backcountry safety, snow science and avalanche awareness.
“Originally, we thought the camp would be more appealing to youth who were already experienced with winter outdoor recreation, ensuring that they are doing so safely,” said Abigail King, executive director of the Jack Creek Preserve Foundation. “But we’ve had more beginner or novice campers attend and are excited to help them build confidence and skills to recreate outdoors safely in the winter.”
The preserve worked with Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center and the Winter Wildlands Alliance to develop the curriculum for the camp this year. Big Sky Resort also has provided an avalanche dog and their ski patrol handler every year to chat with the campers and do a demonstration.
“It’s amazing to watch the dogs work, and the kids all want to volunteer to be buried in the snow,” King said. “GNFAC instructors are a great resource. They are knowledgeable, fun, have a lot of experience, and are great teachers. The Winter Wildlands Alliance has also been a great resource, providing the curriculum and materials for the snow science portion of the camp.”
King mentioned during the first two years, the Moonlight Community Foundation and Yellowstone Club Community Foundation supported the camp through grants. With the grant funds, the preserve purchased all of the materials needed for the curriculum, such as snowshoes, avalanche probes, beacons, shovels, snow saws and more, which they continue to use every year.
Curriculum highlights include safe winter backcountry travel, winter shelter building, fire-making in the snow, wildlife adaptations to winter conditions, winter habitat use and avalanche awareness.
“We have had amazing volunteers and board members who help with everything from food preparation to teaching while ensuring safety during the outdoor portions of the camp,” King said.
Through the preserve’s youth education programming, they reached more than 1,000 youth and 80 campers in 2024 and hope to increase that number this year.
“The goal of our programs is to introduce participants to conservation topics and outdoor educational activities that will instill an appreciation of our natural surroundings and their conservation,” King said. “We try to keep the cost low and always provide scholarships so that our programming is available to anyone and everyone.”
King mentioned that they are currently looking for additional donations and a sponsor for this year’s camp, to offer more scholarships and cover some of the expenses for the camp’s activities. She hopes to have a full camp this year with 20 kids attending.
As King shares some of her favorite memories from the camp in years past–such as building a firepit with the campers and roasting s’mores as the kids played outside for hours before bed–she mentioned the importance of providing the campers with new passions in the outdoors during winter, while doing so safely and with confidence.
“We hope the campers leave with an understanding of the importance of snow in our ecosystems and an appreciation for conservation of wild places that is often where winter outdoor recreation happens and that participants learn something new and enjoy being outside.”
