AVALANCHE COURSES FOR THE MOTIVATED STUDENT

Welcome!

2012-06-19T09:30:00.005-04:00

National Ski Patrol

Introduction to AVALANCHE SAFETY & RESCUE

and

LEVEL 1 AVALANCHE for Rescue Personnel

with emphases on pre-course preparation, backcountry travel, and rescue

These courses are designed for the motivated student willing to commit to significant pre-course study and preparation. The goal is to utilize the inherently limited in-person time only for those learning opportunities that are not available through published educational resources. The full Level 1 course also requires backcountry ski equipment (although avalanche rescue gear can be borrowed from the instructors) along with accompanying fitness level and skiing skills. You can read about the course in this article (on p. 25) published by the American Avalanche Association's The Avalanche Review. (The course was also the subject of a presentation at the November 2011 first annual Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop.)

The full Level 1 course however is NOT a substitute for a Level 2 course. Instead, the goal of the full Level 1 course is to cover the typical Level 1 curriculum in a more thorough manner, both in the classroom and out in the field. By contrast, any Level 2 course would require students to conduct their own snowpit analyses and stability tests, whereas at the Level 1 course this will merely be demonstrated to you by your instructors. More specifically, a Level 2 course from NSP (conducted at Whiteface in March of odd-numbered years) concludes with a very realistic group-rescue exercise, and a Level 2 course from an AIARE provider (multiple providers in Northeast) emphasizes more in-depth snow science. Both of these are far beyond the scope of what we will learn here.

For additional training that complements an avalanche course, here is an example of an introductory-level NSP Mountain Travel and Rescue course. And here is an example of an integrated Level 2 course for Avalanche and Mountain Travel/Rescue.

Presidentials Maps

2011-09-11T21:19:00.001-04:00

Here are some custom topo maps to print out and bring to the course. Unfortunately the print function does not work all that well with the custom waypoints, so three different versions are provided:

Also, the various routes/tracklogs and waypoints are not meant to be followed blindly, but still, with that caveat aside, including them should still be helpful for the course.

And although not necessary for the course, here is a quick summary of the available commercially produced maps and guides for the area:

Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast
Third edition, and as always would be more accurately titled “the most obvious and well-known backcountry skiing, for which you don’t really need a guidebook anyway,” but now apparently includes some additional information on the Northern Presidentials, plus the historical aspects are very well done. (The author is mainly a political writer, and his sister is even a [relatively] well-known political radio broadcaster.)

Winter Trails Map: Backcountry Ski Tours and Snowshoeing in White Mountain National Forest
Only below-treeline trails, but still a helpful and nicely produced map (and waterproof/rip-proof tyvek too).

White Mountain Guide
Hiking trails only, but super-detailed descriptions, so a great resource for trip planning.

AMC White Mountains Trail Map: Presidential Range
Made from waterproof/rip-proof tyvek, so will actually last, unlike the paper maps that come with the trail guide book, which will make it through about one day’s worth of use in the field.

National Geographic Presidential Range
Map Adventures White Mountains Trail Map
Beautiful maps, and on waterproof/rip-proof material, but just too big & cumbersome overall for in-the-field use (although then again could almost be used as an emergency bivy).

Bradford Washburn's Map of Mt. Washington and the Heart of the Presidential Range
Printed on plain-old paper and the bizarre New Hampshire coordinate system complicates any attempt to use it for GPS planning, but amazingly detailed, and it’s such a classic.

Randolph Paths (RMC Guidebook with tyvek map)
The definitive resource for the Northern Presidentials, which we’re *not* visiting during this course, but if you ever do, you want this guidebook & map.

In Memoriam

2011-07-22T11:44:00.004-04:00

Your course instructor Jonathan Shefftz never became a university professor like his father, Melvin Charles Shefftz, yet he nevertheless owes both his skiing and teaching skills to Professor Shefftz.

You can read about read about the late Professor Shefftz here:
http://www.wildsnow.com/5508/melvin-charles-shefftz-eulogy/

And here are some remembrances from former students of Professor Shefftz:

“[. . . ] a fellow former student and admirer of your father. I took two of his courses at Binghamton. I had been a Russian linguist in the military prior to going to school and this fascinated your father, which resulted in many spirited conversations after class. He remains the brightest memory from my academic career.”

“I started my Binghamton career intent on being a lawyer. Then I took his European history survey. Your father filled the room with commanding intellect and passion and changed my life. I have been teaching history at a small private school in NYC for the past fifteen years. Prof. Shefftz is the reason I have been so happy doing what I have been doing.”

“Your dad was a fine professor and helped all of us get started as young historians in the formative years of the doctoral program. His History of History boded well for all of us. I have often thought of him in my long career here.”

“I was an avid student of Mel's from 1995 to 1998 and I think I must have taken about 5 courses from him. I also bombarded him quite regularly in his office hours. Mel's the reason why I found out about democratic socialism – with both of my parents Republican-leaning I certainly don't think I would have found out about this on my own. And, finally, I was one of the students that Mel discouraged from going to law school. I am so glad that he convinced me, along with Warren Wagar, to pursue a doctorate in British history. This fall I am going to be teaching a survey lecture course in Modern Britain for the first time. I can still remember that course fondly – it was Fall of 1995, my very first semester on campus. He will surely be missed.”

“I first took a class with Mel in 1966 or 67, and went on to take several more. [...H]e was brilliant, and almost supernaturally learned. [...] Mel's lectures often were hilariously funny. My recollection is that I spent half his classes furiously writing notes, and the other half gasping like an asthmatic at his jokes. What I most admired about Mel though – what I really loved about him – was his unusual and often touching personality. Though passionate, Mel had no malice (well, perhaps I should say little malice) and while he had pride in his own talents, it was not the sort of pride that required him to denigrate others in order to feel better about himself. He also had a deep honesty: in the midst of a heated debate, if his opponent brought up some fact that counted against Mel's position, Mel would acknowledge that his opponent had a point, and then modify his argument to make it more nuanced, more subtle, to encompass both the essence of his own original position and the point his opponent had made.”

Winter Field Sessions: Rescue Plan

2010-06-19T09:24:00.017-04:00

Review these resources:

Avalanche Rescue Fundamentals (2010 edition -- to be distributed by instructors at Fall Session and included in L1 course fee)
Avalanche Rescue Quick Guide (2009 edition -- to be distributed by instructors at Fall Sessions and included in L1 course fee)
"Active Avalanche Safety Plans: Recommended Generic Table of Contents," Avalanche.CA: The Journal of Canada's Avalanche Community, Volume 88 Spring 2009
"Writing an Avalanche Safety Plan," Avalanche.CA: The Journal of Canada's Avalanche Community, Volume 91 Winter 2009-10
Example of Traditional Three-Stage rescue plan (not keyed into ICS)
Mountain Rescue Association: Avalanche Rescue Operations
Medicine Bow Nordic Ski Patrol: Avalanche Rescue Plan
U.S. Forest Service and Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol: avy portion (older version, and unofficial excerpt)
Mammoth Mountain Avalanche Atlas provide control information as opposed to a rescue plan. Hovering over each name highlights the map to show the extent of the path. Clicking on each name takes you to a path-specific picture on a separate web page, which in turn shows the names of individual portions of the path. But more importantly, hovering over the "Shot placements" label shows the locations for explosive charges, and hovering over the "Path Information" label shows, well, you'll just have to check it out -- very impressive!

Now pretend that your entire ski area is tilted up more by about 10 degrees and also receives about 200" more snow than it actually does, along with significant wind loading. (Check this website to see if your ski area's steepness stats are included.)

Assume that the infrastructure, equipment, staff, training, plans, etc. already exist for explosives control work and open/closure decisions. Your assignment is to develop a very simplified start of an outline for in-bounds rescue plan in case something goes wrong. Remember, this could be a result of either a post-control avalanche on an officially open slope (don't worry about the lawsuit implications!) or skiers/riders "poaching" pre-control closed slopes (do worry about the hangfire to rescuers!).

Elements to include:

A marked-up copy of the ski area trail map showing potential avalanche terrain, rescue gear caches, and continuously staffed patroller locations.
What patrollers will be considered capable of responding to a rescue in avalanche terrain (e.g., what level of training)?
What equipment will patrollers be required to have with them at all times?
Who will make the decision on whether the slope is safe for rescuers?
Very simplified diagram applying the organizational structure you learned in your FEMA ICS course.

Be prepared to provide a very brief oral presentation on the key points of your rescue plan during Saturday night's dinner and also bring a dozen sets of printouts to distribute (as the PNVC dinner scene is unfortunately very loud).

Winter Field Sessions: Tux Avy Bulletin Assignment

2010-04-19T13:17:00.026-04:00

For this assignment, you can choose any day of the season in between our Fall Session and Winter Field Sessions, but wait until the regular five-point scale Mount Washington avalanche bulletins have started up for the season (usually around late November or so).

But don't wait until the last minute (and remember the deadlines posted at the student checklist), since certain periods will provide better opportunities than others.

First, read these two articles:

The Importance of Micro-Scale Avalanche Forecasting in Mount Washington’s Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines, by Chris Joosen (which can be followed up by viewing a multimedia presentation)
Springtime Avalanches Don't Happen Here - Or Do They? A Nearly Deadly Avalanche in New Hampshire's Presidential Range, by Jonathan S. Shefftz and Evan Osler

Then, periodically monitor:

USFS Tuckerman Ravine Avalanche Advisory (preferably every day)
Mount Washington Observatory Higher Summits Forecast
Mount Washington Observatory Overnight Weather Data
AMC Backcountry Weather and Trail Conditions
Randolph Mountain Club Northern Presidential Snow Stake
"Time for Tuckerman" website forum for Recent Photos & Reports
This new graphing application for weather stations, including Mt Washington.

Take a day of your choosing (can be during that day, or later on after-the-fact with hindsight), but try to avoid days when the decisionmaking is far too obvious (e.g., weather and/or avalanche conditions so poor that travel is infeasible, or a stretch of "Low" avalanche danger that allows relatively safe travel everywhere).

Write up a very brief summary of the avalanche forecast for Tuckerman Ravine that day, including the recent weather conditions and season-long snowpack characteristics that have led to that forecast. Then create a simplified avalanche danger rose, showing the rating by aspect and elevation. Also identify the relevant avalanche "Problems" for which you can use this spreadsheet version of the new AIARE Avalanches and Observations Reference. For each "Problem" separate out on a five-point scale the Probability (with "Likely" and "Unlikely" at opposite ends of the scale) and "Size" (with "Large" and "Small" at opposite ends of the scale). And identify the Trend over the next 24 hours (either Increasing Danger, Same, or Decreasing Danger).

Now, pick some other Presidentials location at- and/or above-treeline . . . which actually has enough snow to ski! (If you're not familiar with the various options, just choose Gulf of Slides ski trail into Gulf of Slides.) Prepare a touring plan (for the same day whose avalanche bulletin you've assessed), including a marked-up map showing both your ascent and descent routes, using any of these map resources. Utilize the Decision-Making Framework and "STOP" series of questions as referenced in the assigned Volken backcountry skiing book. Complete a section of either your own field book or these sample pages from the 2012 AIARE field book. (You can also try using this new internet application that integrates Google Earth with avalanche trip planning concerns, or this more limited tool for slope angle estimation.)

Be prepared to deliver a brief oral presentation to your fellow students, demonstrating your route on the Presidentials diorama at PNVC. Also bring a couple sets of printouts for your instructors and a couple sets of printouts to rotate among your fellow students.

Some key issues to keep in mind:

How does your route compare to Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines in terms of aspect, pitch, elevation, and fetch areas?
What are the major factors contributing to the ratings in the USFS avalanche bulletin?
What recent conditions reports are available for your chosen location?
What do you think the avalanche conditions will be for your chosen route?
Who are you partners?
How familiar are you with the terrain?
If conditions turn out to be other than expected, do you have appealing and accessible alternatives?

Major caveat: if this assignment seems hard, that's because . . . it is! We don't expect anyone to come up with a perfect assessment here -- after all, the difficulty of this assignment is precisely why even the professional USFS snow rangers limit themselves to only two glacial cirques (and even omit many prominent ski lines in one of them). However, the process of trying to complete this assignment will get you to focus on many important factors, as well as keep you periodically in touch with Presidentials conditions . . . and also get you thinking about the implications of skiing outside the specifically forecasted areas.

Other Avy Course Options

2010-04-17T19:38:00.008-04:00

The Northeast offers numerous options for avalanche courses.

One quick resource for locating a course is the list of all providers teaching courses on Mt. Washington.

At the opposite extreme, the National Ski Patrol ("NSP") offers many courses in many different parts of the Northeast. Most of the one-day awareness-level courses are held in the Mid-Atlantic states, far from real avalanche terrain . . . but close to where most people really live. (The one-day course can sometimes be combined with the weekend component of a full Level 1 course, so that the student does not have to commit to three-days straight.)

Each year NSP typically offers three Level 1 courses (in addition to the NSP course that is the subject of this website) that are held on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule: one on Mt. Washington, one in Smuggler's Notch (including the actual geographical feature, not just the resort), and one at Whiteface (offering the only lift-accessed avalanche terrain in the Northeast). The every-other-year NSP Level 2 course is also held in odd years at Whiteface.

The Northeast also has many course providers whose instructors have met the standards for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education ("AIARE"):

Acadia Mountain Guides

Chauvin Guides International

Eastern Mountain Sports ("EMS")

International Mountain Climbing School ("IMCS")

Petra Cliffs

What are the differences between a three-day Level 1 course from NSP vs AIARE? In general, all Level 1 courses from both organizations meet the American Avalanche Association ("AAA") guidelines. More specifically, both of us have taken our formal avalanche training from a mix of NSP and AIARE providers, and have also gone through the instructor training for both NSP and AIARE. Based on this extensive basis for comparison, our definitive conclusion is that . . . it depends. That is, the differences within the courses of each organization are larger than the differences across the two organizations.

Note also that the AAA "strongly recommends" an awareness-level course before taking a Level 1 course. That reflects in part what we are trying to accomplish with this course: ensure that students arrive at the first day of the course with some avalanche awareness, instead of being totally new to the topic.

The approach taken to this issue by the prominent mountain guide Marc Chauvin is to offer mainly two-day awareness-level courses with a curriculum of his own design, drawing on his extensive educational background that includes being one of the key founders of AIARE, serving as an instructor/examiner for the American Mountain Guide Association ("AMGA"), and completing the Canadian Avalanche Association ("CAA") Professional Level 1 and 2 courses. (Avalanche education in Canada follows separate recreational and professional tracks: the CAA Pro Level 1 course is roughly equivalent to a U.S. Level 3 course, and the Pro Level 2 course is far beyond any formal training offered in the U.S. outside of primarily science-based university coursework.)

Four other certified mountain guides in the Northeast also offer awareness-level avalanche training:

Alpine Logic

Mahoney Alpine Adventures

Mooney Mountain Guides

Synnott Mountain Guides

Finally, if you don't see a published course date that fits your schedule, just contact a course provider for availability, then see if you can round up a few more interested people to form a course. You'll need only a small number of other people to make it cost-effective.

Additional Educational Resources

2010-04-17T13:00:00.019-04:00

Want even more reading (and also viewing)?

First, some supplemental articles (culled from various files in my collection) are available in a Google Docs folder.

For the scientifically inclined, try The Avalanche Handbook (by David McClung and Peter Schaerer now in 3rd edition), which is a much more advanced scientific discussion, although far beyond the level of this course. (And you can even take an exam on it too! Also beyond the scope of this course, but perhaps of interest to the technically oriented, the American Avalanche Association's Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States is available in digital format.

Definitely subscribe to (and browse the archives of) The Avalanche Review, the publication of the American Avalanche Association.

Two very helpful little supplemental books are by the late Edward R. Lachapelle, mainly pictures:

Reading up on past avalanche incidents is a good way to avoid getting into an avalanche in the future, and on-line summaries are available for both the U.S. and Canada. An even more extensive and highly documented incident database is available at the CyberSpace Avalanche Center along with various educational resources. (Some features require a small annual contribution, but they are well worth the small fee!)

An on-line glossary is based on excerpts from the first edition of Tremper's and another version with more entries but shorter definitions is available (and downloadable too) from the Northwest Avalanche Center for both avalanche and mountain weather terms.

Raw avalanche footage, once highly sought after for educational purposes, has now vastly proliferated. Also, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (out of Bozeman) hosts some educational videos, with additional videos available from yet another source. An even more amazing treasure trove of multi-medial files -- including proceedings of prior sessions of the International Snow Science Workshop -- is available at the Avalanche Research Media Library.

On-line tutorials are available, but tend to be very (very) basic:

(Maybe helpful for showing your significant other or kids what you're studying so hard?)

On-line discussions are hosted in dedicated avy forums at both TGR and ttips (and tend to have a higher signal:noise ratio than the more general-interest forums).

For blogs, WildSnow has many avy posts, including Jonathan's avy beacon reviews, plus an avy-related blog is also available. The BCA blog often has very interesting information, and the post on signal overlap is especially helpful for understanding the difficulties of multiple-victim searches.

Course Format, Syllabus, Dates

2010-04-17T12:57:00.018-04:00

Quick Overview

[March 2011 update: Preregistration for the 2011-12 L1 course is already overly full at 10 students, but preregistration is available for the wait list, and with eight months to go, pretty good chance of getting into the course as plans and schedules change for other students. We also still have room for the Intro course, i.e., Fall Session only]

The dates for the 2011-12 season are as follows:

November 20 (Sunday) = Fall Session at Northfield Mountain MA

March 3-4 (Sat-Sun) = Winter Field Sessions at Mount Washington NH based out of the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (PNVC) and Joe Dodge Lodge

The Fall Session is required for attendance at the Winter Field Sessions, although the Fall Session is also designed so that it can be taken by itself, thereby also appealing to students who for whatever reasons are not ready or interested in going on to take the Winter Field Sessions.

Details

The course schedule adopts a component approach, comprising a [very full] one-day Fall Session and a [very full] weekend of Winter Field Sessions. As outlined in the downloadable syllabus (revised March 7, 2011), the Fall Session will start with classroom activities and outdoor rescue practice, then conclude with preparation for the Winter Field Sessions (both to cover gear issues, and to take a fitness-assessment hike). In addition to your winter gear, bring a lunch, as Northfield lacks any on-site food and you will not have time to travel off-site for food.

The Winter Field Sessions start at 6:30 Saturday morning with breakfast at the AMC's PNVC. (All students are very strongly encouraged to drive up Friday evening and stay in Joe Dodge Lodge.) After some initial discussions, we will head out for a full-day tour (including snowpit demonstrations by the instructors and also student rescue practice), returning in time to put away gear and prepare for the following day. We will reconvene for Saturday dinner at 6:00 in the AMC's PNVC, engaging in course discussions over dinner, then continuing in the diorama room until we are ejected at the 9:00 closing time.

Course activities start up again at 6:30 Sunday morning breakfast followed by another full tour, with the ultimate goal to have all students on the road heading home by 5:00 Sunday afternoon. (All students are required to reserve a bunk at the AMC's Joe Dodge Lodge Saturday night along with Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. "Lunch" is on your own in the form of regular eating and hydrating in the field while touring, with both food and water always accessible without having to remove your pack.)

Enrollment for the Level 1 Avalanche for Rescue Personnel course (i.e., comprising both the Fall Session and Winter Field Sessions) is capped at 8 students, with preference given first to NSP members. The enrollment cap for the Introduction to Avalanche Safety and Rescue course (i.e., attendance at only the Fall Session) is 8 students, once again with preference to patrollers. Total attendance therefore at the Fall Session is capped at 16 (i.e., 8 Intro students attending only that single day for their course, plus 8 L1 students attending that session as the first of their three in-person days).

Note that students who satisfactorily complete the Intro course yet have a schedule conflict for the affiliated L1 Winter Field Sessions might be allowed to attend the weekend portion of a different NSP Level 1 course, although this is at the discretion of another course’s Instructor of Record. Also, a student who is still on the waitlist for the L1 course could register for the Intro course with the hope that a spot might open up by March if a registered student has to drop out. Regardless, students at either course will receive a detailed report card assessing individual performance.

Finally, note that dogs are prohibited from both the Fall Session and Winter Field Sessions. Also, attendance at the course is restricted to enrolled students. Friends, family, etc., are certainly welcome to join in the many recreational opportunities available to the public at Northfield Mountain and at Pinkham Notch, but they should not plan on listening in, observing, tagging along, etc. during course activities.

Student Checklist

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Actions to be Completed by the end of October:

If the above items are not received in their entirety on time, you will receive one warning email. If the situation is not corrected immediately to the satisfaction of the instructors, your registration will be cancelled and you will not be allowed to attend the Fall Session.

Also, all students should come to the Fall Session with their full winter day pack (including avalanche gear gear if already acquired), dressed for whatever weather conditions are forecast for the day. In addition, L1 students should bring their on-snow travel gear (if acquired yet) for inspection.

Actions to be Completed by the end of January for Level 1 Students:

(And consider trying to get the first aid requirement out of the way before ski season starts!)

Complete Tux avy bulletin assignment and send in your write-up.
Complete western avy bulletin assignment and send in your write-up.
Complete ski area avalanche rescue plan assignment and send in your write-up.
Email a picture of at least one beacon practice session. (Extra special bonus points if you post a video to YouTube, and even better if your family and/or neighbors conclude you're totally nuts.)
If not an NSP patroller, send proof of first-aid and CPR course.
As may be individually noted at the Fall Session, send description and/or pictures of any necessary gear acquired since then.

If the above items are not received in their entirety via email by the end of January, you will receive one warning email, and then if the situation is not corrected immediately to the satisfaction of the instructors, your registration will be cancelled and you will not be allowed to attend the Winter Field Sessions.

Also, as noted on the Registration and Fees page, by the end of January, reserve lodging at meals at the AMC for the Winter Field Sessions.

And finally, please try to keep track of the hours you spent on the various assignments, then include the total on the NSP evaluation at the conclusion of the course. NSP requires that we reach a certain number of educational hours, and although an estimate has been prepared, its accuracy would be enhanced by comparing it to student tallies.

Registration & Fees

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To register, complete the registration form and release form, then send both forms (preferably via email) along with two separate checks (checks only, no PayPal) for the first two fees (as noted below) to the contact information listed on the registration form.

If you have trouble downloading the forms, just leave a comment below with your email address (which will remained unpublished) to receive the forms via email.

The course fees comprise three different components, payable separately, so as to minimize the amount of money going through the course instructors:

Include a check payable to "NSP- Eastern Division": either $7.50 for National Ski Patrol members or $15 for others.
Include a separate check payable to Jonathan Shefftz to cover instructor costs and L1-only NSP publications (for the L1 Rescue Plan assignment): $35 for Intro course students and $190 for L1 course students. (Note that the fee for the L1 students includes both the Fall Session and Winter Field Sessions, i.e., you're either paying $35 or $190, and nobody is paying the sum of those two figures.)
For L1 course students, by the end of January at the absolutely latest, reserve AMC lodging (using the group information provided in the pdf file access via the hyperlink). Include dinner for both nights if arriving in time Friday evening (buffet from 6:00 to 7:30) -- if unsure, then reserve just lodging + breakfast for the first night and buy dinner a la carte if you arrive in time on Friday. If you have alternative nearby lodging for Friday night, then reserve dinner/lodging/breakfast for only Saturday night (required!) and plan to pay $10 (or $11.50 non-AMC member) a la carte for breakfast Saturday morning (since we'll start off the day's agenda over breakfast together at 6:30 in the visitor center, with all our gear ready to go).

Also budget for:

the cost of books at about $36 (about $8 for a used copy of Snow Sense, $15 for Backcountry Skiing, and $13 for Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain -- two NSP rescue-related publications are included in the L1 fee and will be distributed at the end of the Fall Session);
ski touring gear (which you should already either have or be planning to purchase if you're interested in the underlying goal of this course, i.e., safe travel through potential avalanche terrain); and,
first-aid training (ditto).

Although the total cost if less than that of a commercial provider at Mt Washington plus AMC lodging and meals, our goal is not to undercut commercial providers, and you should not choose this course just to save money. Rather, we end up charging less simply because our course instructors are unpaid volunteers.

Biographies: Course Instructors

2010-04-17T11:28:00.013-04:00

To contact any of us, simply leave a comment with your email address (which will be kept private and not publicly posted).

Co-Instructors of Record ("IOR")

Despite the volunteer status of the two lead instructors (since they earn their livings off the snow), they bring many professional credentials to their teaching, as well as many years of ski touring experience. And in addition to their NSP instruction in avalanche safety and also mountain travel/rescue courses, both have undergone additional avalanche instructor training from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (“AIARE”), and both are members of the American Avalanche Association.

Mark Renson is a National Ski Patrol Alpine Senior Patroller and member of the Mad River Glen and Mount Washington ski patrols. His U.S. avalanche training includes Level 1 from Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, Level 2 from Chauvin Guides International, Level 3 from the American Avalanche Institute, and the National Avalanche School. He also has a Canadian Avalanche Skills Training (“AST”) Level 2 Certificate via the Ski Mountaineering Leadership Course from SME. In addition to the Northeast, his ski touring and ski mountaineering has mainly been in British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies.

Jonathan Shefftz is a National Ski Patrol Nordic Patroller with Northfield Mountain and the newly formed Thunderbolt Ski Patrol. He is also a PSIA-certified alpine ski instructor, PSIA-certified nordic ski instructor, U.S. Ski Association alpine race coach, and organizer of a ski mountaineering race series. His avalanche training includes Level 1 from the National Ski Patrol and both Level 2 and 3 from Chauvin Guides International. In addition to the Northeast, his ski touring and ski mountaineering has mainly been in the Sierra and Pacific Northwest. He has published extensively on the assessment (both quantitative and qualitative) of avalanche incidents also written comprehensive reviews of avalanche beacons and other ski gear.

Assistant Instructors

Robert Duris will assist at the Fall Session. He is the Assistant Patrol Representative at Northfield Mountain and a recipient of the NSP Yellow Merit Star award for his many years as an avalanche safety instructor, mountain travel/rescue instructor trainer, nordic instructor trainer, and Outdoor Emergency Care instructor. As a private pilot, he is especially interested in mountain weather, and as an electrical engineer, he actually understands how avalanche beacons work.

Eric Zaharee will assist at both the Fall Session and Winter Field Sessions. He patrols for both Ragged Mountain and Mount Washington, and is the NSP NH Region Advisor for mountain travel/rescue training. His training includes military advanced survival and land navigation, ski mountaineering with the Austrian Army, and combat life saver. In addition to his NSP instruction in both avalanche safety and mountain travel/rescue, he has provided military ski training, as well as training to Iraqi police forces.

Winter Field Sessions: Rescue Practice

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If you have your own avalanche rescue gear, be sure to practice once (at the very least) in between the Fall Session and the Winter Field Sessions.
Ideally you should also practice at least one "three-dimensional" burial with a beacon buried about a meter below the surface. This is both to provide some more challenging beacon searching in the final search phase, as well as to practice strategic shoveling. Be sure to read this article:
The ABC's (and D) of Digging
... and also watch this educational video (although it doesn't actually become educational until around the 0:48 mark):

Even if you lack another beacon to use as a target:

read the user’s manual;
practice putting on the harness with whatever clothing layers you would typically wear for a winter backcountry tour;
load up your pack with probe, shovel, and all your other gear and clothing for a winter backcountry tour; and,
practice unzipped clothing layers to reveal the beacon harness, removing the beacon from its harness, turning it from Transmit to Search, then finally removing your probe and shovel from your pack and assembling them.

If you do yet have your own avalanche rescue gear, then make sure that you let us know that well in advance of the Winter Field Sessions so that we have a full set available for you! We will also have various models for you to practice with at the Fall Session, and some of them will even be available for on-site purchase (at a substantial discount off regular retail).

Winter Field Sessions: First Aid

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If you are not an NSP patroller, then you must have at least the typical two-day introductory first-aid and CPR course.

Better yet, take a Wilderness First Aid course, and even better, an Advanced Wilderness First Aid course. Providers include:

SOLO

NOLS

Wilderness Safety Council

Wilderness Medical Associates

The course will not discuss emergency care issues in any depth, but a basic understanding of these concerns is necessary to fully appreciate certain rescue aspects. Also, anyone heading into the backcountry to ski (or to do pretty much anything else) should have some basic first-aid and CPR training, plus seeking out specialized avalanche safety training is just kind of backwards if you haven't already received basic first-aid training. (Your credentials don't necessarily need to be current -- although a periodic refresher is a good idea in general -- but you should feel reasonably comfortable with CPR, bleeding control, and splinting.)

And consider trying to get this requirement out of the way before ski season starts!

Winter Field Sessions: Gear Requirements

2010-04-17T11:26:00.013-04:00

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);

f. compass
g. maps

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

b. Snowpit Technologies

c. Hacksaw Publishing

Winter Field Sessions: Western Avy Bulletin Assignment

2010-04-17T11:24:00.015-04:00

In advance of the Winter Field Sessions, select a two-day period and a western avalanche forecast center from either the western U.S. or Canada.

The two-day period can be historical (from archived bulletins) or as it actually plays out in real time. The avalanche center can be for a region you have been to previously, plan to visit in the future, hope to visit in your dreams, or just totally random. (If you have no preference, then Utah has an interesting mix of weather and snow conditions, with an outstandingly clear presentation.) The more knowledge though you have of the terrain details, the better ... and for reasons that should be obvious given much of the course's focus!

Pretend you are going on two backcountry (or “sidecountry”) daytrips, i.e., back-to-back, staying overnight in town. (Alternatively you can plan an overnight hut or yurt trip, but this will add some complications.) Prepare a written and oral presentation that addresses the following questions:

What are your goals (generally speaking) for these two daytrips?
What are your safety concerns (once again, generally speaking)?
In a typical season at this time of year, what are some general characterizations of the region’s snowpack?
What has the snowpack been like so far this season for the region? Include snowfall amounts, snowpack levels, data from recent weather events, notable avalanche cycles and incidents.
For the first day of the two-day period you selected, before you read the avalanche bulletin for that morning, what are you expectations?
Now read the avalanche bulletin: how did the forecast match up with your expectations?
What are your specific travel plans and associated concerns for backcountry (or “sidecountry”) skiing that day? Who are your partners? How familiar are all of you with the terrain? Do you have appealing and accessible alternatives?
Repeat the preceding steps for the following day.

Send in your write-up along with the referenced avalanche bulletins (in accordance with the deadline noted in the student checklist). If the avalanche bulletin does not already do so, create a simplified avalanche danger rose, showing the rating by aspect and elevation. Also identify the relevant avalanche "Problems" for which you can use this spreadsheet version of the new AIARE Avalanches and Observations Reference. For each "Problem" separate out on a five-point scale the Probability (with "Likely" and "Unlikely" at opposite ends of the scale) and "Size" (with "Large" and "Small" at opposite ends of the scale). And identify the Trend over the next 24 hours (either Increasing Danger, Same, or Decreasing Danger).

For your touring plan, utilize the Decision-Making Framework and "STOP" series of questions as referenced in the assigned Volken backcountry skiing book. Complete a section of either your own field book or these sample pages from the 2012 AIARE field book. (You can also try using this new internet application that integrates Google Earth with avalanche trip planning concerns, or this more limited tool for slope angle estimation.)

Be prepared to deliver a very brief oral presentation to your fellow students at the Winter Field Sessions during Saturday night dinner and also bring a dozen sets of printouts to distribute (as the PNVC dinner scene is unfortunately very loud).

Fall Session: Winter Pack & Gear

2010-04-17T11:23:00.005-04:00

Bring your full winter day pack to the Fall Session. L1 students should bring as complete a pack as possible in preparation for the Winter Field Sessions, but all students (i.e., both L1 and Intro) must bring at least winter gloves and some sort of pack, so as to practice unzipping layers to access the beacon, manipulating the beacon with bulky winter gloves, and extricating from a pack then assembling probe and shovel. All students also need to be prepared for outdoor beacon practice in whatever weather is forecast for the day.

Toward the end of the afternoon, Intro students will be released for the day, while L1 students will take their winter packs and avalanche rescue gear (but not on-snow backcountry travel gear), and wearing hiking boots or trail runners (but not ordinary sneakers or running shoes), we will then hike a little over 800 vertical to the summit of Northfield Mountain and back to assess fitness levels and overall outdoor travel competence for the Winter Field Sessions. This hike will take place in whatever weather conditions we have that day, even full-on cold driving rain. Only dangerously high winds will cancel.

Upon the return from the hike, the instructors will present a gear show-and-tell, then inspect student gear, both packs and on-snow travel setups. Any deficiencies will be noted and will have to be corrected to the satisfaction of the instructors by the deadline noted in the student checklist.

Fall Session: On-Line Courses

2010-04-17T11:22:00.013-04:00

All students need to complete these by the deadlines noted in the student checklist:

Complete this self-paced incident command course and send in your FEMA Certificate of Achievement pdf file.
Register for this self-paced Mountain Weather course and complete the quizzes for “Part 1: Foundation Topics” (and the other parts too if you have the additional time). On the initial registration form, enter AvyCourse@gmail.com under “Supervisor/Instructor E-mail” for automatic notification of your completion.
Complete this on-line avalanche rescue course then email your course-closure "reflection exercise" -- be sure to run a screen capture/print immediately upon typing in your answers, since the automated submission button does not seem to be functional. (The navigation through much of the rest of the course can be somewhat confusing, but in particular be sure to watch the video of the different groups at the hut, and think through the questions concerning what you would have said to the poorly prepared group. Also, ignore the outdated advice about ditching your pack: to the contrary, if caught in an avalanche, your pack can provide protection from trauma as well as increased buoyancy both via lower density and larger sheer mass.))
Watch the powerful and educational documentary A Dozen More Turns -- just search on the film title to either watch on-line or to purchase a DVD (for only a few dollars). Write an essay in which you identify at least three human/psychological factors that you think contributed to the incident, and in which you describe how you once succumbed to such a factor (in any context -- whether route selection in potential avalanche terrain or buying an item at the supermarket). Be prepared to deliver a very brief presentation on one of these factors at the Fall Session.

Fall: Pre-Course Reading and Review Quiz

2010-04-17T11:10:00.014-04:00

The following required texts are available from the NSP accessories catalog, Amazon or other on-line book sellers, outdoor gear shops, and even some regular “brick-and-mortar” book stores:

Snow Sense, by Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler (fifth edition: the top of the cover reads “new edition of a bestselling classic” and the bottom credits include “Edited by Karl Birkeland and Doug Chabot”) – Must read all chapters, and thoroughly understand them too. This small book is a very quick and easy read, so this is probably the easier prerequisite. (NSP members might want to order from the Accessories Catalog if combining shipping cost with other items.)
Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, by Bruce Tremper (second edition: cover photo shows a skier on a slope just starting to fracture, not tracks leading into a fractured slope) – Must read all chapters except for the snow pack evaluation tests in Chapter 6, which are more appropriate for a Level 2 course.
Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, by Martin Volken, Scott Schell, and Margaret Wheeler – Must read the one chapter that deals exclusively with avalanche safety, but the other chapters (all of which are outstanding) in this highly comprehensive book will help to prepare you for backcountry travel during our field sessions, although feel free to skip over the more technical mountaineering portions, which include: climbing gear portions of Chapter 1, glacier travel sections of Chapter 5, all of Chapter 6, crevasse rescue sections of Chapter 10.

Based on this reading, complete the review quiz, which you can download here, and send in the completed form (in either doc or pdf form) by the deadline noted at the student checklist. The quiz will not be graded (especially since some of the questions are designed more to elicit thinking rather than any particular well-defined answer), but it will be reviewed for completeness.

You can also preview some of the instructor presentations -- feel free to print them out in "handout" format if that will facilitate your note taking.

And if all of this isn't enough, we have even more . . .