Event Details

• • Backcountry 101 Classroom Session with Utah Avalanche Center

  • When:

    Friday, March 11, 2011, 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM

  • Where:

    REI Salt Lake Wasatch Room (3300 S)

  • Info:

    This description includes information for both the Classroom session (on Friday March 11) and the On-hill portion (Sunday, March 13)

    Evening session (session 1 of 2):

    Backcountry 101 for women only is a completely new course developed and offered by the Utah Avalanche Center this year in cooperation with REI. Brighton, SheJumps, and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. 

    We created this new course to answer this basic question:  What do I need to know to ski / ride avalanche smart in the Utah backcountry? You will come out of this class with the confidence and skills to make good decisions for yourself and your group in the backcountry.

    SheJumps strives to increase female participation in outdoor activities by building upon a supportive community that inspires its members to reach their highest potential. We believe in offering an opportunity for all women to get outside and live life to the fullest by creating community-organized events for all seasons. By working with the Utah Avalanche Center to offer women's specific beacon clinics and avy seminars, we hope to get more ladies skiing and riding safely in the backcountry. If you are a female looking to get involved, join our social networking site, shejumps.ning.com or check out our website, SheJumps.org!

    The course includes a 3 hours lecture on Thursday evening and an 8 hour field day on skis, snowboards, snowshoes, or spllitboards on Sunday. Student: instructor ratios at both sessions are kept low and students can expect to learn about the following subjects: 

    • Understanding avalanches and identifying avalanche terrain
    • Using the avalanche forecast to understand current conditions
    • Identifying dangerous avalanche conditions in the field
    • Safe travel protocol
    • Understanding how we make decisions in the backcountry
    • Companion rescue

    This is your opportunity to learn from the best and most innovative avalanche educators in the region—who happen to be women. Lees, Forest Service Avalanche Forecaster with an Alpinist background, will lead this event. Plan to meet some great like-minded folks and potential riding partners. We are all really excited to be involved in this new course!

    The details:

     Location:        Friday March 11th, 6 - 9 pm @ REI in Salt Lake

                            Sunday Mar 13th, 8:30 am at the Alpine Rose at Brighton, just uphill from the ticket window

    We will spend all day out touring together in small groups led by an instructor. We may start out with one ride on the lift (donated by Brighton) to get up high quickly. We will go for a tour, taking the time to discuss a destination, do some quick snow evaluation and some more detailed snowpack analysis, route selection, group dynamics, rescue considerations, and hopefully take a few runs in the Greatest Snow on Earth!  We will finish up back at Brighton for a debrief and chat over beverages and snacks.

    Cost: $125 for both sessions (all proceeds go to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center)
    
    Sign Up: Sign up by sending an email to friends@utahavalanchecenter.org and paying via Paypal or credit card (make a donation at the link and under Add Special Instructions to Seller indicate that your donation is to pay for the March 101 class).

    Required gear: Beacon, shovel, probe, (we have loaners available) for field day, method of uphill transport (ie: ski or snowboard touring setup or snowshoes)

    Questions: friends@utahavalanchecenter.org