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International Mountain Climbing School 2733 Main Street, Rt. 16 P.O. Box 1666 North Conway, NH 03860 PHONE: (603) 356-7064 FAX: (603) 356-6492 EMAIL: guides@ime-usa.com |
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IMCS LEVEL
I AVALANCHE COURSE |
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| objectives & schedule | general information | avalanche safety tips | ||||||
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General Information |
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The Level 1 Course provides a complete introduction to the avalanche phenomenon, avalanche terrain, decision making, and rescue. This is an ideal first course for those new to travel in avalanche terrain and a great review or upgrade for anyone who has some experience or prior training but feels they need a skills "tune-up." The Level 1 is designed as a stand-alone course for back-country travellers; it also serves and an introduction to avalanches and is a lead in to the AIARE Level 2 Course for those who wish to progress. The course is designed for all winter recreationalists including climbers, skiers, snowboarders, and snowmachiners. For the purposes of this course you must be capable of traveling in the winter environment off trail. Skis w/ skins are best. Snowshoes will suffice. The more efficiently we can travel, the more you will learn. The more time we spend helping you figure out how to use your snowshoe bindings, the less you will learn, so come prepared. Two days is a very short amount of time to cover the basics. Efficiency will radically affect the learning curve. See objectives and schedule. |
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Prerequisites
Reccommended Reading:
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It must be very clear that this is an introductory course. If you are an avid winter traveler and wish to travel in avalanche terrain then your education MUST be ongoing. |
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| The best local resource for avalanche conditions is the USFS Avalanche Bulletin written and posted daily by USFS Snow Rangers. | ||||||||
| Feel free to take the Level 1 course a second time if you have been exposed to this information before but feel rusty. Take a Level 2 (3 days minimum) next year. If in doubt, hire a guide. IMCS would be happy to customize courses that cater to your levels of learning with a smaller student to guide ratio. | ||||||||
| So what will I learn? What you will be learning on this course are the rules of thumb that will give you a foundation for you avalanche skills. These will apply to all aspects of the "Decision Making Model," ie. Planning and Prep, Observations, Human Factors, Terrain and Travel Techniques. | ||||||||
| A word about rules of thumb: Ron Perla once said that, "the first rule of thumb is that there are no rules of thumb." What he meant is that for every rule of thumb there are 10 exceptions. Nonetheless, the first step is to learn the rules of thumb and know them well. Then, as you continue to travel in the backcountry, you begin learning the many exceptions. On this course we will teach you the elemental rules of thumb. | ||||||||
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