Last Sunday concluded our 8th AIARE Avalanche Course of the season. Back to back snowstorms brought almost 2 feet to Hermit Lake, which set the field for another excellent avalanche course as 7 participants acquired some new skills to help them travel more safely in the backcountry.
Only 4 more courses left this season, and the next one is booked solid. Go to http://www.emsclimb.com/aiare1.html to see course details or call 800-310-4504 to book.
10+ inches of snow graced us for our 7th Avalanche Course this season. Hermit Lake picked up 13 inches and the conditions were ripe for an avalanche course. Seven aspirant backcountry travelers joined us for a few days of snow study and risk management discussion.
Other than seeing the obvious recent avalanche activity in the bowl and the cornicing near Hillmans we got some pretty positive results on the Little Headwall while conducting some snowpack tests. CTV Q1 on a 15cm soft wind slab followed by consistent CTM Q2’s 55cm down on a crust. We got a Rutschblock score of RB4 MB on the 55cm layer. This all matched up pretty well to the info we had gathered from the bulletin and the current weather observations we were making.
The turns down the Sherbi were the best of the season so far. Great powder skiing and fun fun fun! Still a couple course left this season. If you’ve been thinking about it, well, now is a great time to sign up!
An EMS Climbing Guide, an Alaskan Heli-Ski Guide, an outdoor educator from PA, two other backcountry travelers joined us for the first and only Level 2 Avalanche Course of the season.
The level 2 course is a 4-day program that provides backcountry leaders the opportunity to advance their avalanche knowledge and decision making skills. This course also includes the introductory and prerequisite components for the professional progression: the level 3 certificate.
We started the course at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch. After reviewing the knowledge from the Level 1 Course we spent the afternoon upgrading our companion rescue skills to handle multiple and deep burials with a close look at rescue leadership.
The next day after some morning classroom which looked closely at the process of snow formation and metamorphism we jumped on the summit Quad lift at Wildcat and explored the snow pack right off the 4,400 feet summit with a detailed snow profile.
6 more avalanche courses scheduled as long as the snow holds! http://www.emsclimb.com/aiare1.html
A couple hours ago we concluded another Level 1 Avalanche Course. You’d think there wouldn’t be much difference between one course and the next, but you’d be very wrong. Each weekend this winter has presented different and interesting weather and snowpack characteristics to consider when traveling in the backcountry. 2 days before the course while on a personal ice climbing day I came across a few cool snowpack related conditions. The first, was this “surface hoar” which was on the eastern side of Mt. Willard:
Then as we rounded the corner to a more southerly exposure we came across some “pinwheels”, indicators of strong solar radiation effecting the slope, often a warning sign of wet loose snow avalanches:
After a couple days conditions in the area changed dramatically. Arctic air rushed in for the COLDEST day of the season, which happened to be our field day.
We still managed a pretty good field day getting up to Hillman’s Highway, checking out some fresh debris at the bend in the gully, the rockslide from Irene, and some layers down below in the sheltered lee area of the runout.
That was it for pictures. With the mercury at about -9 Farenheit and a -30 windchill we didn’t spend too much time in any one place. We did see some cool layers in a 1.5 meter pit just below this last photo. And the fresh debris, slightly visible in the above photo was a nice bonus. All in all it was a good field day given the weather stress, and I’m hoping to see the four of you out in the mountains again. Now to get ready for the Level 2 Course starting on Friday!
Another weekend, another avalanche course, but not the same conditions as the last course! Shallow snowpacks and prolonged cold led to some “Continental” type conditions during our Observational Outing on Day 2, and a blue bird day on our Ski Tour on Day 3 yielded a deep faceting snowpack with a lot of fellow backcountry travelers to watch and learn from.
We conducted a quick Hand Shear test before crossing under the Chute:
Great conditions right now to take an avalanche course, so check out this link for details:
Winter has definitely arrived and the 4th avalanche course of the season concluded with a very interesting day in the Ravine. Light density snow from the higher summits has accumulated into pencil hard wind slab with varying thickness, all sitting on top of a thick melt-freeze crust from last week’s thaw.
At the end of the day we got some nice turns in some fresh powder before taking the Sherburne trail back to Pinkham. Couple spots left for next weeks course! http://www.emsclimb.com/aiare1.html
Another weekend, another avalanche course. This time there was a bit more snow so after two days of preliminary classroom and field exercises 5 skiers and 2 motivated snowboarders headed up the Tuck’s trail to learn about traveling in avalanche terrain.
Another course has concluded and an interesting week it has been on the mountain. Despite unseasonable conditions and low snow accumulations there were 2 avalanche accidents in Huntington Ravine last week. Details and pictures can be found here:
http://www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/search-rescue/2011-2012-summaries/
Here’s some pics from this course:
Couple spots left in next weeks course: http://www.emsclimb.com/aiare1.html
With great anticipation the 1st avalanche course of the season has come and gone. We had a full course with 12 participants with various backgrounds in skiing, mountaineering, and ice climbing. Despite a slow start to the season and the forecasted areas on Mount Washington being under a “General Advisory” we were able to move through some interesting terrain and see signs of recent loose snow surface slides.
There’s been some cool changes to the curriculum of the AIARE Level 1 Course this season. The “Avalanche’s and Obs” checklist is a great new addition. Any former students are welcome to contact me so I can show you this new tool, it’s in all the new field books. A handy communication checklist helps the group dialogue flow.
Last year saw 9 reported avalanches involving 19 skiers, snowboarders, or technical climbers on or near Mount Washington, including one near fatality. If you haven’t taken an avalanche course yet, or it’s been a few years and you’re in need of a refresher, visit http://www.emsclimb.com/aiare1.html for dates and info to sign up. The first course was filled far in advance, so don’t delay, space is limited.
Yesterday I observed and assisted with a Level 1 Instructor Refresher course at the AMC Highland Center. AIARE requires current instructors partake in an IRC every three years to stay current with changes to the curriculum of AIARE courses and to improve their teaching skills through a facilitated open group discussion on a variety of topics. Tim Brown, an IFMGA guide and contributor to some of the recent changes in the curriculum facilitated the day.
This particular IRC was open to anyone interested in AIARE’s curriculum and mission. With 9 people in attendance we covered a lot of the new updates to the student manual, presentation ideas, new tools empower students with, and ideas about how to take ownership of your course in a professional way. This was a good warmup for me before I head to Silverton, CO in less than a month to observe a full Level 1 Instructor Training course along with a Level 2 IRC. For more information about AIARE please visit http://www.avtraining.org.
