The official NSP prerequisite for the course is, "Ability to travel through steep, ungroomed terrain under any weather or snowpack conditions." And this entails upward travel on skis (or splitboard), since the "S" in NSP does not stand for snowshoe. In 2011, for our touring day we were in the field from 8:00 to 4:30, with a variety of precipitation types and occasional high winds along with travel paces that varied from moderately fast skinning to extended stationary periods (for digging snowpits and spacing out the group to cross slide paths), covering over nine miles and over 4,000' vertical. For our other day we skinned up to treeline to conduct rescue practice, which entailed being outside in a cold steady rain from about 7:30 to 12:30. Therefore, you need the ability to skin up varied terrain, and then ski down in ungroomed backcountry conditions, managing your clothing systems along the way as appropriate for challenging weather.
Either bring all of the necessary equipment described below to the Fall Session if you are already all set, or at least be prepared to discuss what gear you intend to buy (and then email confirmation and pictures of your final gear setup by the deadline listed on the student checklist).
For students who do not yet own avalanche rescue gear, the instructors will provide demo gear at the Fall Session, and will have loaners available for the Winter Field Sessions, possibly available for on-site purchase too at a substantial discount. Field books will also available for purchase.
Even if you do not yet have all of this gear, bring to the Field Session at least a day pack and winter clothing, so that you can practice unzipping your outer layers to access a beacon, then opening your pack to access, remove, and assemble a probe and shovel, all while wearing gloves in potentially bitterly cold weather. (Every second counts in avalanche rescue, and even small delays in accessing, removing, and/or assembling rescue gear can be deadly!) You will also go on an hour-long hike with this pack in the late afternoon to assess your physical ability to travel through mountainous terrain. And the hike will occur under any weather conditions, with the sole exception of dangerous high winds.
Copied below is a quick summary of mandatory gear. You should also review the course checklist in either spreadsheet or pdf file format to see what two of your instructors plan to bring and to help assist in your own preparations. (A presentation and discussion of a springtime touring pack is available at this blog post.)
1. Backcounty ski gear with:
a. Randonnée/alpine-touring (“AT”), telemark bindings, or splitboard. These are highly recommended to be releasable, and by design – although this criterion includes all AT bindings, the only telemark bindings currently available with a calibrated release are: 7tm, Voile CRB, NTN (albeit not independent of ski performance characteristics). No commercially produced splitboard design is releasable.
b. Full-length adhesive climbing skins. (No partial-length kickers, and no strap-on skins.)
c. AT inserts/adaptors (e.g., Alpine Trekkers) are not acceptable.
d. Regular alpine downhill boots (with plate-style AT bindings) are acceptable only if you can document prior experience in successfully using them on full-day backcountry tours. (Even boots that are perfectly comfortable for lift-served skiing can cause blisters almost immediately when skinning.) If you are in the market for ski touring boots, see this summary for available models and NE shops.
e. No snowshoes.
f. Climbing gear: if you own crampons, ice axe, and/or ski poles with self-arrest grips, and are skilled in their use, bring them just in case they might come in handy. But we will ski down only what we can skin up.
g. Ski crampons are not required, but might be helpful. For those with ski crampons, we'll try to find the time to practice some steep-skinning techniques on small slopes.
2. Helmet (certified for skiing or climbing).
3. Clinometer (stand alone "slope meter" or built into compass).
4. Other gear sufficient for a full-day winter-time backcountry ski outing, which will be the subject of our fall session gear show-and-tell, including (but not necessarily limited to):
a. food (the AMC will provide only Saturday breakfast, Saturday dinner, and Sunday breakfast);
b. water (in winter-proof containers, either insulated wide-mouth bottles or winterized hydration systems);
c. whistle;
d. knife and/or multi-tool;
e. personal first-aid kit (whether a bandaid or an AED - up to your judgement);
h. appropriate clothing (especially extra insulation layers for times when not moving); and,
i. backpack to carry it all.
5. Avalanche rescue gear, which you can borrow (although let us know beforehand if you will need to borrow), and might also be able to purchase from the instructors at the Fall Session (inquire ahead of time though as to availability):
a. beacon;
b. probe; and,
c. shovel.
6. Waterproof note pad, preferably one designed for avalanche field work, which you might be able to purchase from the instructors as the Fall Session (inquire ahead of time though as to availability); examples include:
a. AIARE
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