Avalanche Terrain Avoidance

This seminar requires no prerequisites. 

1. Morning session will be a  3-4 hour classroom lecture where you will learn and review different avalanche terrain risks, and practice route finding through case studies. 
2. Next is a 3 to 4 hour session in the field. The field portion of the course is immediately after the morning lecture. In the field, the students will observe terrain and make travel decisions based on the planned route, and travel adjustments in the field in avoiding exposure to avalanche terrain. We'll use slope meters to identify potential avalanche terrain to avoid as we travel through non-avalanche terrain. These techniques can be taught with or without snow conditions.

Students should bring the regular 10 Essentials and be prepared for winter conditions in the field.

In order to AVOID avalanche terrain, you must be capable of RECOGNIZING IT.

This is the WHY - why you take ATA.

Our Learning Objectives are:

• Understand why Colorado has the most dangerous avalanche conditions in the US
• Learn what an avalanche is and what factors contribute to an avalanche
• Understand and apply current avalanche forecast
• Recognize & avoid avalanche hazards
• Use tools for planning a successful trip
• Learn from  case studies how to plan a route to avoid avalanche terrain
• You will learn how to use slope meters to assess slope angles and determine routes that  avoid avalanche terrain
• A separate Zoom session prior to the ATA dates will be held for those who need to brush up on map reading skills or have never used a map to navigate.