Sponsored by Missoula Avalanche

Course Description
Format

3 days and two nights at the lodge.

1.24.20 – 1.26.20 Classroom Backcountry Field Component | Downing Mountain Lodge

Price: $595.00

AVALANCHE LEVEL 1 | SAVY
This season’s new females only “SAVY” level 1 course is designed for current and aspiring female backcountry travelers. This course focuses on developing a solid foundation in avalanche knowledge and backcountry travel skills. Following both the AIARE and American Avalanche Association (A3) curriculum, instructors cover systematic approaches for sorting and prioritizing information in the complex environment of decision-making in the backcountry. Forty percent of the course is classroom based and the other sixty percent is field based. Participants will travel in the backcountry, in and around avalanche terrain.

This course focuses on the following:

Basic avalanche terminology
Recognizing avalanche terrain
Travel procedures in avalanche terrain
Formation of the mountain snowpack
How weather changes the snowpack
Human factors and how they can influence decision-making
Interpreting the avalanche forecast and advisory
Tour planning
Avalanche transceiver use and rescue skills
Field observations of terrain, snowpack, and weather
Use and interpretation of stability tests
Implementing systems for prioritizing information, working as a team, and minimizing possible human factor traps
Classroom decision-making scenarios to practice use of the checklist
Next steps


RECOMMENDED READING
Snow Sense, Jill Fredston & Doug Fesler
Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, Bruce Tremper
Avalanche Essentials, Bruce Tremper
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
What is included:

Professional instruction
Course workbooks
Classroom and field instruction
Food
Downing Mountain Lodging
What is not included:

Transportation to and from the trailhead
Personal gear
Avalanche rescue gear