Intro to Avalanches: Motorized

This course is an opportunity to get your hands in the snow and gain familiarity with essential concepts and practices for travel in avalanche-prone terrain. This course offers 11 hours of instruction time, with a midweek evening classroom session at FVCC on Thursday, February 1 and a field day at on Saturday, February 3. We will cover avalanche terminology, identifying avalanche hazards, snowpack and weather factors, trip planning and preparation, simple decision-making tools, backcountry travel protocols, and companion rescue techniques.

Field day location TBD on Flathead National Forest. Information and directions will be provided to students before the course date.

Bring a helmet and wear appropriate clothing and provide your own lunch. You are required to have a fully operational modern avalanche transceiver, an avalanche shovel (no plastic blades) and an avalanche probe. Also, you must have your own registered snowmobile/snowbike that is in good working order. Information needed with registration: machine make, model, year.