Avalanche Training

[Highfly]

Looking for info on classes this year..... are they usually before sled season starts or during?

 

[polaris011]

Go to zacs tracs they have a list of dates

 

[Highfly]

Thx, just tried. All the links I find with Google wont load?? I'll try again later..

 

[Powder Puff]

Having problem with Zac`s site for last couple days, should be fixed by tomorrow. Thanks for checking back. Check out early reg. discounts and discounts for groups of 6 or more that can be used in Zac`s store to update your gear also.

 

[OOC ZigZag]

I took a course in the Crowsnest Pass about 15 years ago. It was taught by George Field from Kananaskis Country. It was a day of classroom and a day in the field. I learned enough to stay out of trouble and learn to recognize hazards. I hope to take some more classes with my riding buddies but they seem to be more interested in riding than learning what they need to know to be safe in the backcountry.

Yeah i know what you mean but hey 15 plus years of mtn riding we gotta be dooin something right LOL

 

[Powder Puff]

Site is back up now. ZacsTracs
Snopro get your buddies together and attend one of the free avalanche awareness presentations that BRP and Carole Savage are doing at Dealers this season. Then maybe convince them to take an Indoor Rescue Workshop (3 hrs and 2 being offered in Calgary) when you all go for a beer afterwards. See where it goes from there.

 

[~Rowdy~]

Does anyone know if the classroom information or criteria has changed in the last 3 years? It's been 3 years since I took the course through Yamnuska and I want to do a refresher but will just do the field class if the classroom material has not changed.

 

[Zacs]

Does anyone know if the classroom information or criteria has changed in the last 3 years? It's been 3 years since I took the course through Yamnuska and I want to do a refresher but will just do the field class if the classroom material has not changed.

Hi Rowdy, Lori here from Zac's Tracs. The Avaluator version 2 may not have been out in your earlier class. The Bulletins have undergone an overhaul as well. The content is basically the same but the format is much different.

While the curriculum objectives are the same for all AST classes in Canada, each instructor has drawn from their background to either create or gather their own materials, images, videos and case studies. Throughout the past 12 seasons Zac's has worked hard to gather sled specific materials and content and we have developed our own 45 page, full color, fill-in-the-blank workbook and image set for the AST1 Classroom session. Our classroom style is very interactive, including group work and even a little aerobic activity.

Zac's has significant for our past students to repeat the AST1 Class and Field sessions and we have had quite a few people take advantage of this opportunity. with how much more they learned the second time around. A lot of material is introduced in the AST1. Most riders need some time to absorb all the new vocabulary and concepts. Students returning for a refresher start out at a higher level and are able to do more analysis and have more to offer in the class discussions. Hopefully they have been in the mountains applying their new skills and gaining feedback from their choices and actions.

Adults don't learn by listening...they learn by experiencing and doing.

We recommend that riders take the AST1 Class and Field, return in the following year to repeat the AST1 (apply the for annual Zac's refreshers) and in the third year complete their AST2 or a professional level class (ITP1). This 3 year progression gives ample time for learning and experiencing through riding days, BS sessions over beer (lots of learning happens off the slope too), books, websites, mentors...

Zac's also has an early season AST1.5 session offered on October 21 in Edmonton.
This is not a CAC course and our AST1.5 classes are typically custom bookings running either for 4 to 8.5 hrs.
for more info.

Annual refreshers of the AST1 field session make sense:

• Always a new blueprint in the snow
• Fresh bulletin with new avalanche conditions to analyze
• Perhaps a new terrain location with different travel procedures and observation points
• Beacon practice is super important throughout each season
• No two rescue scenarios are ever the same
• Another great day in the mountains!

Refreshers of the AST1 Classroom sessions make sense too....as the real goal is TO NOT GET CAUGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! :d

Understanding the interactions between Weather, Snowpack, Terrain and our Activities are key.
Avy safety is a bit of an art. Rules work to a certain extent but operating with a Rules Only system may not be as satisfying.

Here is a goofy example...

Kinda like the significant other in your life. Rules like 'remember their birthday', 'don't go to bed mad'...help even the most inexperienced partner...but…the more sophisticated that you are at managing:

• Emotions (Current Weather)
• Self Image (Snowpack/Result of Past Emotions)
• Personality (Terrain/Presence of Obvious or Hidden Hazards)

the greater are the chances that you will choose the right Activities to suit the Conditions and have an awesome experience.

Underestimate your ability to manage that delicate balance and...well...the results can be anywhere from dissatisfying to disastrous!

 

[~Rowdy~]

Hi Lori,

The Avaluator 2 was out during the last AST1 course that I had taken. I do understand Zacs Tracs will have more sled specific work shops, examples and of course a completely different course outline. But it will still go over the same material I have already learned. When I took it the last time the only thing that had changed from the other two times I have taken it were shoveling techniques, everything else remained the same.

I do like your idea of taking it every year for three years however. Just to make sure I am understanding this correctly. I will take it this year $350 (class and field) then next year and the following year it would only be $200?

I will have to think about re-doing the class, but it would be interesting to see the difference between your sled specific course and the back country AST1's I have taken before. Either way you can count on me being in a field session for sure. Thanks again!

 

[Highfly]

Just talked to Lori and signed Kate and myself up for the Indoor Rescue Workshop and the AST1 Classroom session. Maybe next year we will do the out door class as well.

 

[nads]

No option for Operations 1?

 

[Depsnolvr]

No option for Operations 1?

or two

 

[ferniesnow]

i'm hoping here that the 35% that have no formal training are not riding in the mountains! Please stay on the Flatland, take an AST1 and then come to the mountains.

There is scary stuff out there and even with a lot of preparation, chit can happen......

 

[Kavaleen]

If you take the course this year then a refresher next year you will be able to take $75.00 off then if you wait two years it is $50.00 off then $25.00 for three. I think you will be very suprised with the different information that you will hear in Lori's class. She has great material and you go home with lots to read and absorb. Hope to see you there. D

 

[Zacs]

Hi Lori,

The Avaluator 2 was out during the last AST1 course that I had taken. I do understand Zacs Tracs will have more sled specific work shops, examples and of course a completely different course outline. But it will still go over the same material I have already learned. When I took it the last time the only thing that had changed from the other two times I have taken it were shoveling techniques, everything else remained the same.

I do like your idea of taking it every year for three years however. Just to make sure I am understanding this correctly. I will take it this year $350 (class and field) then next year and the following year it would only be $200?

I will have to think about re-doing the class, but it would be interesting to see the difference between your sled specific course and the back country AST1's I have taken before. Either way you can count on me being in a field session for sure. Thanks again!

Hi Rowdy, yes. Take an AST1 Class and Field session with Zac's and repeat in the next year and take $75 off each of the class and field sessions...so just $200 to repeat the 2 day program after 1 year.
After 2 years the refresher discount drops to $50 per day and after 3 years the refresher discount drops to $25 per day.

We have a few students that repeat the AST sessions every year. Cheap way to stay current with skills!

 

[Barker]

Taking the AST1 classroom and field!

 

[250mark1]

i took the AST1 class room session and the indoor rescue workshop this week both are very informative
really makes you think about some of the terrain that you have ridden in the past and how safe it really was .
everyone should be taking this definitely worth the money
looking forward to the field session next month

 

[Summitric]

Hopefully doing the ast2 this year.........

 

[TylerG]

Hopefully doing the ast2 this year.........

1.5 First Ric

 

[Summitric]

1.5 First Ric

SI.........