Avalanche awareness is a subject that most winter enthusiasts will eventually come across. One sure fire way of increasing your own knowledge is to sign up for a course with the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council. At an introductory level they offer a two day course that provides a foundation knowledge for those looking to travel out of bounds.
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Day 1
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My first contact with the Mountain Safety Council approaches the avalanche phenomena from a theoretical perspective. Starting with a short introduction into understanding avalanche forecasts and how to use them effectively. From here we looked specifically at understanding all of the technical lingo associated with risk evaluation and how to identify safe terrain. For only a 3 hour lecture I was surprised by just how much they managed to cram in. In essence they aim to cover all areas that we were to explore the following day. Just as surprising, was how extensive and in depth a subject avalanche science really is. As our course leader, Lee Blazek said:
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“Increasing your avalanche awareness should be an ongoing thing. I still learn things after 30 years in the business. It’s all about reducing risk and making the right decisions.”
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After having our heads filled with avalanche wisdom we were shown a couple of sections from an educational DVD called ‘The Fine Line’. Produced by Canadian Avalanche experts, the DVD manages to squeeze a massive amount of vital information into four sections; totalling less than an hour. To find out more about The Fine Line take a look at http://rockymountainsherpas.com.
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Day 2
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The practical side of things. As a group of six we met at 8am in Frankton car park to equip ourselves with a transceiver, a shovel and a probe. Jumping back into the cars, and out of the early morning cold, we headed up to The Remarkables ski field eager to get started.
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Once up the mountain, our first port of call was the café for one final snippet of theoretical education. We ran back through the most important elements from the evening before and listen to what we should expect to learn from the practical instruction over the course of the day. Before heading up the lifts, we make a quick visit to the first aid room and then to ski patrol. As Lee quipped at the time, “its my job to stop you from ending up in here and if you do, its their job to make sure you make it back out again.”
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Our first practical piece of education for the day was to try and spot dangerous areas from the chairlift while ascending. Using our knowledge from the night before we were asked to identify trigger points across the surrounding faces. Then, while riding back down, we were shown how to assess dangerous areas in a safe fashion and subsequently choose the safest descending route of travel for the group.
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After some further discussion of how to descend safely in avalanche terrain we head back up to get to grips with our avi gear. Splitting into two groups and each burying a transceiver a short distance away from each other we are rapidly shown how to use our gear in the most efficient and effective way. Repeating the scenario a number of times, Lee stresses the importance of knowing how to use the equipment correctly before you consider heading out of bounds. “Just having the equipment is not enough. You have to actually get out there and learn how to use it. Our aim is to make sure that if there is a slide you know, by instinct, what to do and then how to use the gear correctly”.
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Once we have all managed to locate a buried transceiver a number of times we begin to look at the procedures that accompany safe rescue. Using the last point of visible reference, looking for physical clues, zigzagging towards the buried person. All ideas that may sound obvious but will ultimately ensure a higher likelihood of safe rescue. As Lee expressed at the time, “This is a pretty new science. The practices we teach are all based on experience and collaboration knowledge. ”
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Our final lesson in actual companion rescue was how to dig. Not a subject I anticipated we would be covering but something it turns out that increase a victims chance of survival by a large percentage. As a group of six we were set the task of digging a hole 1meter deep. We took just over five minutes and then learnt how we could have cut that time in half.
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Feeling suitably exhausted our final area of instruction gave us all a moment to sit down. Using a saw Lee tidied up our handiwork and gave us a basic introduction to examining the snow pack in terms of consolidation and layer construction. An area which really requires a lot more instruction to fully understand but certainly an interesting part of avi awareness to touch upon. As a final point of detail we looked at a couple of tests the industry relies upon to measure the strength of the snow pack. Firstly, using a shovel to perform a shear test and then a rutschblock test. Our final test was a full body compression test which basically involved me jumping up and down until the snow gave way. Two jumps in, it crumbled. A weakly constructed snow pack.
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Overall, for only a 100 NZD this course was incredible value for money. Moreover, the level of instruction and the learned wisdom of the professionals involved made the experience incredibly thorough. Having the knowledge to assess risk in the backcountry and consequently make the right decisions, even at an introductory level is extremely re-assuring. The MSC offer a variety of courses throughout the southern hemisphere winter season and from what I have learnt, I would highly recommend getting involved. As the most affordable method of professional instruction I have managed to find in New Zealand they are an excellent option for the financially strained seasonnaire. So much so, I am currently saving for their advanced awareness course. To find out more about the NZMSC and the courses they currently have on offer visit www.mountainsafetycouncil.org.nz. You wont regret it.
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