Sample Programme

Friday

The course starts with a briefing at 6.45pm at the Tour D'Ai Hotel in Leysin. Your Guide will define the aims and objectives of the course, review the current weather and avalanche risk and ensure that everyone has the correct equipment. It is important that we understand the structure of the snowpack and so we will also use this time to focus on the history of the winter storm cycles and the affects that this has had on snow stability. Dinner will follow the briefing.

Saturday

The emphasis of the morning is to understand the avalanche phenomena. We start with a classroom session covering snow science and the mechanisms that trigger avalanches. We then venture outdoors to use a snow pit (profile) as a tool to enhance our understanding of snow science. We will use these finding in conjunction with the current weather and avalanche information to ascertain the current avalanche risk.

We will also do a training session on avalanche rescue protocol and the use of transceivers, probes and shovels.

During the evening we will make an avalanche forecast using the data from the snow pit analysis and weather forecast. We will also discuss potential itineraries for the next day and discuss the merits of these in terms of safety and quality of snow for skiing. Being in the right place is incredibly important in avalanche terrain and a defensive approach is encouraged. Dinner at the hotel.

Sunday

The focus of this day will be avalanche avoidance. We will assess the stability of the slopes so that we can use good judgement to ensure that a suitably safe route is taken. We will establish a structure on which to base our risk assessment ensuring that we don’t overlook any important factors which could contribute to being caught in an avalanche.

We start the day by making an initial risk assessment of the avalanche danger compared to our avalanche forecast. Route choice is very important, so we will also discuss these options in the field. Managing the group in terms of spacing (distance apart) is an important safety consideration, so you will have the opportunity of “leading” the group under the close direction of the guide.

The course ends after a debrief at around 5pm.