Basic (Level I) Avalanche Course
Prerequisites:
None. This course assumes no previous avalanche safety training. It is intended
as a first step. The travel skills required may vary with location, so check
with me on that if you feel that you are an especially weak skier or boarder.
Snowshoes are often ok, but not always. I have sometimes
done a climbers version of this class,
assuming the use of snowshoes and focusing on issues of special
concern for climbing.
While there is no prerequisite to register for a basic course there are some
preliminary notes which you will be expected to read and be familiar with when
you arrive for the course. You will need to register enough in advance to be
able to familiarize yourself with this very basic background material. There
are also suggested exercises to be completed before the class. This is up to
the student but those who invest a bit of time in these exercises will get more
out of the class.
Content:
This is a brief summary, for a full list of Lesson Plans with the objectives
please check on the AlpenPro website.
Indoors:
- Safety Talk, Safe Travel Protocols, Beacon basics
- Basic Terrain, Weather, and Snowpack factors
- Human Factors - Groups, Leadership, Decisions
Outdoors:
- Basic Beacon skills
- Terrain Recognition, Routefinding and Travel skills
- General Observations for a General Stability Analysis
- Snowpack Stability Tests
- Small Party Self-Rescue
Objectives:
This is a brief and generalized summary, for a full list of Lesson Plans with
the objectives for each plan in PDF format check on the AlpenPro website.
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
- Utilize basic safe travel protocols to increase safety
- Use an avalanche beacon to find another buried one within 5 minutes
- Understand the other aspects of self-rescue, including leadership
- Describe and Recognize avalanche terrain and routefind accordingly
- Understand, at a basic observational level, weather and snowpack factors related to stability
- Know what key items to look for in a snowpit profile
- Properly execute at least two stability tests in the field
- Understand in general why stability tests have major limitations
- Have an improved awareness of how decisions are made and what they should and should not be based on
Note that these are broad objectives - do not expect to be able to do all of the
above with perfection. Your skills in all of the above areas will improve with
time spent in the field, perhaps followed later by an advanced course. The basic
course will get you off to a good start and set you in the right direction.
|