Avalanche class THIS weekend - 12th...

[Van Epps]

New perspective

First off, thank you to all the instructors at today's event. IMO they were very good. Having this course available (course material specifically designed for sledders) will save lives.... period. Some of these lives will be lost if you do not take personal responsibility... and get yourself "trained up".

With a degree of shame I realized that due to my lack of preparation / knowledge I have been risking my riding partners life. Thinking of the many times I've ridden with my dad really brought this point home. Several times throughout the day I found myself thinking how lucky we have been.

I, like the majority of guys on here, always ride with the 3 basics... beacon, probe, shovel. I think we tell ourselves ........ avalanche, I'm ready... I've got the tools... I can handle it. I know I did. Today stripped me of my false sense of security, letting me know I was neither mentally / technically armed to face the worst. Sign up for your personal "wake up call" asap. Your partner will thank you.

Ask yourself these questions:

Mental preperation:
1. Do you know the most effective way to avoid an "incident" in the first place?
2. Do you know how to organize a safe / effective / timely search?
3. Do you know even know what a "timely" search is?
4. More important.... does your partner know any of this? Think about that for a minute.

Technical:
1. Do you utilize the avy forecast?
2. Do you know how to plan the days ride around it?
3. Do you carry the proper equipment allowing you to fully utilize all the awesome info in the forecast?
4. If a burial happens, can you safely / efficiently search... efficiently excavate.... Efficiency means life, confusion means death.
5. Is your equipment up to the task? Will your flimsy 1/4" thick / 6' long probe hold up? Is a 6' probe long enough? How helpless would you feel if your cheap probe breaks during a search, or isn't long enough to reach ground? It'd feel awful to be probing for a buried buddy in 8-10' of snow with a 6' probe. Shovel? My gear sucks. Lesson learned. New gear coming. Not worth the chance.
6. The best gear in the world is worthless if you don't know how to use it.......fast.....accurate.
7. Are you prepared to transport a trauma victim out of the back country? Are you at least prepared to improvise?

I have always felt a sense of responsibility toward my riding partners. Today I realized how far I need to go to properly fulfill that responsibility. I realized how much I have to learn and need to practice. Watching the pro's I saw how far there is to go, how good I can become / have to become.

Thanks to this class I am dedicated.

 

[cpatts2000]

thanks so much for the response, it is crazy to me that we still have so much trouble filling these classes. I know everyone of my riding partners is worth one day a year to make sure that I am prepared. Thanks for the feedback and spread the word.
chad

 

[sidehil]

Mike J and I grew up climbing,skiing together. He has been thru the hell of an accident. It turned into my first time as a paulbarrer. I have not had an avy class in 25 years but its time for a refresher and he is the man.

 

[modsledr]

Van Epps,

Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for signing up!! This was a great class, and that has a lot to do with the participants and your willingness to be open minded and get the most you can from the information presented.

Pretty much universal feedback from students is how eye opening the information is. I think the general mindset of most sledders is similar: you think you are prepared because you have the gear...until you have to use it.

Hopefully the word will continue to spread and the classes will be easier and easier to fill up.

Thanks again!!
modsledr

 

[spooner187]

best money ever spent

Van epps could not have said it better! I am just blown away the knowledge our intructors passed on to us in just a very short time! Anyone thinking that they ride in a safe area so this class is a waste of time. Consider whats at stake and ask yourself."whats my friend, wife, or kids life worth if there is an accident?" Most guys are willing to spend over $300 dollars for a beacon assuming that it will help save a life. It will only get you close to them, if you have practiced with its operation and you know ou can trust it. What then?? Why is this aspect always so commonly overlooked.
Until yesterday I thought I was somewhat prepared and had all the gear I needed. Unfortunatley my probe had a ding on the tube that prevented it from working properly and all my gear was on my sled. Onto the mental preparedness. could you stay calm while trying to dig your loved one out?
Even in the drills frustration and anxiety set in and what felt like 20 minutes was only a matter of 5 minutes.

After taking this class i am going to have a hard time riding with people that have not attended some sort of avy training These classes are cheap! why not spend one day on the mountain learning how to use your equipment and testing your ability.

Thanks Again Modsledr, MVR and Dan for Sharing your knowledge and time with us yesterday!

 

[smitty5.9]

Avy Training

Van Epps,
I and some friends took this class in January and came to the same revelation - we were clueless. We thought we had the basics covered because we owned some probes and beacons but we really had no idea how to use them. I suspect the majority of us have a false sense of security that if we spend the money on the gear we must be "Avy Safe", but without some practical training it's not going to help.
Since our class we have been much more careful about checking our gear, testing our beacons, planning our ride, and practicing in the field. We absolutely recommend this course to everyone because it teaches you what to do after the avalanche as well as how to avoid one - who knows, maybe it's not one of your party that gets in trouble... wouldn't you feel terrible to come upon something like this and not know how to help or take charge in a situation like this? 15 minutes...it's all you have.
Great thanks to Ott, Chad, and Scott who were our instructors. They did a great job and we will be sending more folks their way as well as refresher courses for us next year!

 

[spooner187]

photos from the Class

Here are some pictures from the class

Beacon training 101

Proper probe technique

Hands on training technique and simulated scenarios!

 

[snoboy]

Just got home so I fired up Snowest ready to post about the avalanche awareness training I took this weekend and found this thread still active. I was all excited to post about the intense training and the quality of instruction from Ottis, Dan and Brent. After reading the above post from VanEpps I realized he said everything I wanted to say and he said it better than me. so I'll merely add this to what VanEpps said. Please take this course created by ASAP Alpine Safety Awareness Program you will be a better snowmobiler for it. It's not your typical seminar, it's taught with passion, it's 100 percent involvement and you'll learn real fast if your current equipment is up to the task of rescueing someone. I could go on for hours about my experience but all I'm going to say... Thanks ASAP I'll be back for more and anyone on the fence about this type of training can go to the http://www.alpinesafety.org/about_us.php web site or pm me with questions.