I’m really excited about getting this program running this winter.  This is a program that I really think will provide the best bang for your buck as far as winter backcountry readiness is concerned. Many students I work with in avalanche safety courses don’t have the background in winter survival and first aid to manage a winter emergency response and we don’t have time to cover those topics in dedicated avalanche education programs.

This two day program is meant to provide a significant practical edge to the recreational backcountry users skillset.  We will combine topics from a typical one day rescue course with a deep dive into winter survival and first aid.  Students will leave with an AIARE rescue course certification and a MRI endorsement. Students will leave prepared to effectively create emergency response plans and have the practical skills to implement them in the event of an avalanche or other accident.

There are very few programs for recreational backcountry users that really get them ready to respond to an avalanche involvement.  On AIARE 1 & 2 courses and even on one day Rescue Courses there is not enough time to really dive into and practice many fundamental skills involved with the totality of an avalanche rescue.  

On most typical courses we can give students a good framework to work on digging someone out of a debris pile we don’t have enough time to really dive into key skills regarding what comes next:

• How to care for a hypothermic patient and manage the teams exposure
• How to manage typical musculoskeletal trauma in the snow
• How to communicate well and work with professional search and rescue 
• How to self evacuate with improvised tools 
• How to deploy improvised shelter in place strategies while waiting for assistance 

The reality is most people who are rescued alive from an avalanche are hypothermic and injured.  Being ready to effectively respond to an avalanche requires a strong background in avalanche rescue as well as winter survival and first aid.  In this course we aim to give students both pieces of the puzzle.

In this two day course we aim to provide a comprehensive approach to avalanche rescue.  Over two days we will learn and practice transceiver rescue as well as the necessary skills to support a injured hypothermic patient in a winter environment.

I’m excited to partner with long time search and rescue professionals at the Mountain Rescue Institute.  This is the place I tell most of my AIARE students to call and take a first aid course from and I’m excited to work with them to create this custom program.  These guys have decades of experience in professional search and rescue as: climbing rangers, short haul technicians and WFR instructors.

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS: Initial avalanche response skills and follow up patient treatment and emergency response.

• Transceiver search and probe use
• Effective rescue digging and team coordination
• Musculoskeletal injury treatment and support, 
• Treating cold related injuries and supporting hypothermia 
• Shelter in place techniques 
• Self evacuation techniques
• Working with responding professional SAR
• Emergency response planning and team equipment selection 

Keep an eye out in August for our winter program dates.