Event Details
Learn the foundational knowledge of avalanche terrain and risks to become a more-informed winter hiker in the backcountry.
Backpackers, hikers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers can face avalanche hazards both above and below the treeline. In this webinar-length (1 hour) course, we’ll provide the foundations for recognizing those hazards and a framework for assessing risks.
- hazard assessment vs. risk management
- hazard assessment: terrain, weather, and snowpack
- risk management: route finding, human factors
- interpreting avalanche forecasts
Sponsorship Information: Backpacking Light provides trusted education to highly-engaged user communities of backcountry enthusiasts, industry professionals, land management agency staff, trail advocacy groups, and more. If you are interested in sponsoring this online education and gaining access to these communities to increase your brand awareness or reach please complete our partnership intake form.
Interactive, Live-Streamed, Online
This masterclass is a live-streamed online video broadcast that includes live keynote presentations, pre-recorded videos, and live audience Q&A with course instructors.
Key Questions
Some of the questions addressed in the course:
- Why have US avalanche fatalities increased in the past 70 years?
- How does the risk of and type of death change following burial in an avalanche?
- How are hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and risk related?
- How much control do you have over your exposure to avalanche risk?
- How is avalanche risk related to aspect, elevation, and slope angle?
- How can we relate what we see in the field to our topo maps/mapping app to evaluate avalanche risk?
- What unique considerations do snowshoe hikers have to consider?
- What habits can I implement to minimize my risk if I don’t have avalanche skills or gear?
- How do I interpret an avalanche forecast?
- What are the differences between persistent slabs, wind slabs, and storm slabs?
- How can I use and interpret snowpit analysis graphs?
- What human factors do I need to be aware of, individually and as a group?
- Recommended books and resources?
- Where to learn avalanche safety if use snowshoes, which aren’t allowed on some courses?
- How do you know where to camp to avoid an avalanche plowing through your tent? (i.e., runout zones and runout angles)
- Can I still use a 20-year-old avalanche beacon?
