OUR MISSION, VALUES & VISION
At Canadian Outdoor Medical Consulting, we are passionate about connecting the right people to the right service. OUR MISSION is to promote safety in the wilderness and provide the highest quality care and education to recreationalists and outdoor professionals. We are dedicated to making a positive change in this culture.
WE VALUE knowledge and experience that is shared amongst students and instructors. We believe that quality first aid education should be made readily available to all outdoor professionals and recreationalists. We believe education, communication and cooperation are key components of safety in the wilderness and outdoor settings. We strive to provide creative and realistic learning environments, allowing students to be comfortable and connect with others all the while learning key concepts of pre-hospital care in the outdoors.
OUR VISION is to a be an extension of the community that develops around those who play or work in the backcountry. Our aim is to become a valuable resource accessible at anytime for members of the outdoor community and provide the highest quality education for pre-hospital outdoor care to professionals and recreationalists.
OUR TEAM
Meet our team of qualified and experienced professionals.
OUR FOUNDING MEMBERS
CATHERINE MALETTE, Director
Catherine has been a paramedic in BC for over 10 years, most recently working as a critical flight paramedic for British Columbia Emergency Health Services. She has an extensive background in Outdoor Emergency Care, working as a pro ski patroller for Whistler Blackcomb and teaching the National Ski Patrol first aid curriculum to hundreds of outdoor professionals in the Sea to Sky corridor. Most recently, she has been focusing on advancing her knowledge of paramedicine and adult education by taking on a full time paramedic educator position. Passionate about outdoor medicine, she has been attending a wide variety of events, such as the Wilderness World Medical Conference in Whistler. Mother of 2, she is an advocate for women in outdoor leadership roles. Her ways of empowering are through education and connection while playing outside safely.
MATTHEW SMITH, Director
Matthew is a critical care flight paramedic working for British Columbia Emergency Health Services and lives in Squamish. He works for the Whistler Bike Park patrol in summer, and is part time with Blackcomb Ski Patrol in winter. He has been a paramedic for 20 years, and has worked as a land ACP, Tactical and CBRNE medic, as well as a member of a mountain bike response unit.
He is currently a full time professional paramedic educator, as lead educator for the Advanced Care Paramedic program at one of the major paramedic training institutions in British Columbia.
Matt has lived and worked across Canada and the US, from the Yukon to BC to Wyoming, and has experience as a raft guide, ski patroller, ski instructor and is a PMBI level 1 mountain bike instructor. He holds a diploma in Adult Education from St FX, and a diploma in Outdoor Education from Columbia College.
OUR INCREDIBLE INSTRUCTORS
CHRIS DOYLE-KELLY, MD, DiMM
Chris is an MD based out of Vancouver’s north shore. He holds a Diploma in Mountain Medicine from the WMS, and is currently pursuing specialty training in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Columbian Hospital.
Chris’ passion for wilderness medicine was born from a life outdoors, where he spent many of his years as an international river guide, ski patroller, and wildfire fighter. He continues to own and operate a whitewater guiding outfit in northern Iceland that is dedicated to exploring, paddling, and protecting wild rivers. His professional and recreational pursuits have taken him on expeditions to all 7 continents, including to remote corners of Greenland and Siberia, and as medical support in the Antarctic. When he’s not in the ER, he does his best to balance his love of skiing, kayaking, and mountain biking.
ERIN TAYLOR, EMR
KEVAN CHESNEY, ACP
Kevan is an advanced care paramedic currently working with British Columbia Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). He has also been an educator with BCEHS for 6 years, travelling around the province providing ongoing education for practicing paramedics. He has worked as a paramedic for 20 years in both BC and Ontario.
Since Kevan moved to Kamloops, BC 12 years ago, he has been volunteering with the Sun Peaks Emergency Medical Response Team during summer biking and winter ski seasons. When he is not working he spends as much time as possible mountain biking with his two amazing trail dogs Phil and Gus. He is also excited to be a recent graduate from the PMBI Mountain bike instructor course.
GENEVA WEBER, PCP, OEC
Geneva is is a keen advocate for helping people of all skill levels hone their knowledge to promote safety, self-sufficiency and confidence in the mountains. Geneva works as a BCEHS paramedic and across our teaching and events teams. She’s grateful for a confluence of her two greatest passions, emergency care and backcountry activities. She passionately pursues new experiences, perspectives and knowledge at every opportunity and loves a medical conference as much as she loves a powder turn. Geneva loves moving through the mountains in all seasons (especially with her one-eyed dog, Belle), and being a provider of good snacks and questionable tunes.
LISE-ANNE BEYRIES, OEC
Lise-Anne has worked as a raft guide, ski patroller, massage practitioner and early childhood music educator. She has always found great satisfaction in helping others find comfort in new environments. She really enjoys sharing knowledge in a fun and engaging way. She has been teaching OEC since 2003. Students in these classes come from all walks of life and she finds that she learns something from every class she teaches. Learning and seeing others learn gives her great pleasure, it is what has kept her going all these years.
TERRI PARKER, OEC
Terri received her first pair of skis at age 4. From then on, she spent most weekends skiing with her parents and sisters. In the late 90s, Terri chose to move to Whistler, which she has called home ever since. When Terri realized she needed a summer sport to fill her time off skis, she discovered mountain biking. She has worked for over 15 years as a professional ski patroller on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and over 10 years as a patroller in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Terri has been an OEC technician for many years and is a certified instructor for OEC, CPR, SFA, EFA and OFA1 courses. Terri enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and friends and is excited to share her love of skiing and biking with her young son.
HEATHER ROSE, ACP
Heather is full time paramedic, and is an experienced bike coach holding a PMBI Level 2 certification. She lives in Golden with her trail pup and spends as much time as possible on skiis or on her bike.
OUR HISTORY
In the late 1980’s, Wayne Flann, a patroller from Blackcomb Mountain, had a vision of educating guests, staff and locals about skier safety within and outside the ski area boundary. He created the Blackcomb Institute for Skier Safety (BISS), a non-profit organization in Whistler, BC.
In 1994, the National Ski Patrol (NSP) Outdoor Emergency Care Technician program was introduced in Canada and adopted by both the Whistler and Blackcomb Ski Patrols. In the mid 1990’s Avalanche Canada created a Recreational Avalanche Course for the general public. In the following years, there became a demand for these courses by residents and businesses within Whistler and Squamish and across British Columbia. In 2000, Gwen Milley and Suzanne (Kenney) Clarke incorporated the BISS and renamed it the Pacific Alpine Institute. In September 2020, we transitioned ownership of the company to Catherine Malette. We are still situated in the Sea to Sky Corridor and maintain and share the original vision for creating such an organization.
Over the years, the Pacific Alpine Institute has delivered outstanding educational courses with strong governing bodies, nationally recognized course standards and instructional materials, videos, student manuals and websites. Our courses maintain a high standard of professionalism. Over 2000 students have been through our programs from all over the world.
The Pacific Alpine Institute encourages personal growth in ourselves and our students. We are a small, independent company that provides a personal service that larger providers cannot fulfill. We strive for excellence in service, attention to detail, organization, and professionalism. We hope you join us in advancing your outdoor education!
