Intro to Snowshoeing

Learn the gear, maintenance, safety and entry level techniques for this entry into the winter wonderland for many people and a common activity in the winter schedule.  This is also a wonderful way of beating the ever rising resort lift ticket fees and crowds.  There will be two classroom sessions in Colorado Springs on 02 and 03 Jan from 6:00p to 9:30p and one field session on 06 Jan all day.  The field session location is normally Hoosier Pass, but a final location will be weather dependent.  Attendance at all classroom and field sessions is required to earn the badge.  The course cost is $35 for members and $135 for non members.  There are also rental costs from local gear shops if you don't own the gear.  A general fitness level to go on a full day snowshoe trip is required for the field session.  The first classroom is the same as the BC Ski class.  The target audience is anyone new to snowshoeing.  

Agenda:

Class 1 - Handouts, Sources of information for planning, Avalanche Awareness, What to wear, What to bring, Winter hazards, Conclusion - what to think about

Class 2 - Snowshoe construction, Activity types, Snowshoe selection, Gaiters, Poles, Snowshoe travel, CMC snowshoe trip classification

Field Session - Become familiar with putting on the gear, Learn basics of uphill and downhill travel, crossing obstacles, getting up from a fall in deep snow, learn LNT ethics, Learn team effort to punch a trail, etc.