December 12, 2015: AST1 students practicing Companion Rescue.

Are we lucky or what?  I hope you’re all getting a chance to enjoy the best start to the ski season in several years!  We’ve had fantastic conditions for the first three AST courses.  Thanks to all the students.  You’ve been great learners.  We’re really delving into the psychology of decision making in this years’ courses.  We’ve been using Breathing/Sensory Exercises and linking Brain Pathways to made better decisions in the back country.  The new Trip Planner and Slope Specific Decision Tool has been very well received.

There are other new learning tools in the Student Resources part of the website.  The Avalanche Canada Trip Planning Form can be printed and filled out to help plan a backcountry day.  Thanks to Scott Forsyth, a former student, who asked for the Avalanche Symbols and Abbreviations.  I compiled this to help people understand all the abbreviations used by people who submit to the Mountain Information Network on the Avalanche Canada website.  Those blue raindrops are submissions from recreational backcountry users across Western Canada.

Looking ahead, there is one space left for my AST1 course on Dec. 26/27, 2015.  There are also a few seats left for the Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2016 AST2.  For this AST2 only, we’ll be joined by International Ski Guide Joe Stock.  This will be an awesome opportunity to learn from myself and Joe.  Combined, we have over 50 years of experience in mountain environments all over the world.

Looking further afield, sign ups are happening for the Lodge Based AST2 at Hilda February 12-19, 2017.  We keep going back to Hilda because of the quality of terrain and challenging route finding.  Check out the cool video when you click the link to the Hilda AST2.  Also, see the special requirements before signing up for this demanding course.

I hope everyone out there has a nice Holiday Season.  Thanks again to Ullr for the great snow!