Snowholes
& Survival 2022 |
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| Course
overview |
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Course
dates & availability |
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You
are learning skills that could save your life,
if you were to be caught out in the future,
whether in Scotland or the Alps. For just
£299 for the weekend, you can't afford
not to book on one of these popular safety
courses. |
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We
care for the environmental impact of snowholes,
and this course is carefully planned in line
with our role as a Leave No Trace partner,
to ensure that we leave the mountains as we
found them. |
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We
fully check your equipment, to ensure it is
up to the task, and that your safety is not
put in jeopardy. It is essential that you
have a four season sleeping bag of your own,
but we provide waterproof bivi bags to keep
your sleeping bag dry, as well as a foam roll
mat. |
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Snow
safety and avalanche awareness is a key focus
of the weekend, and you will be wearing avalanche
tranceivers throughout the course. Safety
winter kit such as tranceivers, shovels, probes
& snowshoes are required. |
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On
demand: if
no scheduled course dates are showing in the
column on the right, we can still operate
a course on demand for just three or more
people booking together, on any dates that
suit from January through until the end of
April. |
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Dates: these
are listed in the column on the right, and
they show the live availability from our secure
online booking system. When you book online,
you receive immediate confirmation, your Alpine
Information Booklet, course specific kit list
and invoice. |
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Course
Photo Gallery
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Brief
Course Itinerary |
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the morning you meet at 10:00 in Chamonix with your instructor
who will be an expert in backcountry travel and snow safety.
Over a briefing they will talk through the plans for the
next days, and the latest conditions. Then it's time for
a quick route safety plan, and sorting out any safety
kit that is needed. There is a great choice of locations
to operate these courses, such as the Plan de l'Aiguille,
Berard Valley, or La Tour. We can always find a suitable
and safe location to react to the snow conditions and
avalanche forecast. |
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| Typically
the days are conducted in rolling nordic syle terrain,
where you can study the snow pack safely. To access the
region you either take the train up the Chamonix valley,
or take a cable car, and then walk in on snow shoes to
reach the region. This means that the course is equally
accessible to skiers with no touring experience, winter
walkers / climber, or boarders. The key learning points
of these courses are as follows: |
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| • Avalanche
tranceiver searches |
• Slab
formation and layering |
| • Kit selection
for Alpine winters |
• Winter
navigation methods |
| • Tranceiver
detection fields |
• Travel
techniques on snowpacks |
| • Trip
planning and preparation |
• Construction
methods for snowholes |
| • Choosing
sites for snowholes |
• Decision
making processes |
| • Different
types of avalanches |
• Weather
& climatic influences |
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| During
the day you will learn about snow pack evolution, crystal
metamorphasis, and layering. You also judge snow stability,
and are taught how to react to an avalanche in terms of
tranceivers, probing and search patterns. Later in the
day you reach the area for the snowholes and are taught
how to construct one. Even with snow shovels, it takes
about one hour per occupant to construct your shelter,
and good teamwork is required. You learn how to look after
your kit, then move in to your snowhole! |
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| A
well built snow shelter will be relatively warm and will
protect you from the elements. As darkness falls you cook
dinner and go to bed. Your
instructor will ensure you have built a good shelter,
so you should get a good nights sleep. In the morning
you wake up, and get the stove on for some hot drinks
to coax you out of your sleeping bag. Then you pack up,
and set off on the second day of your winter journey.
The trek ends back in the valley, and you travel back
to Chamonix to arrive around mid afternoon. |
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| ITINERARY
NOTES: Where possible we follow itineraries. Mountain
adventures are weather and conditions dependant,
so occasionaly we are forced to alter the plans.
If this is the case, suitable alternatives are offered.
Please use this outline itinerary as a guide to
the types of route / activity that you will attempt. |
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| Course
Prices |
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Standard
course |
2 full days mountain guiding, 1:6 max ratio
2 days holiday in total, Saturday-Sunday |
£299pp |
Live
availability |
Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
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Secure
online booking system |
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| Standard
Course Inclusions: 1) IFMGA Mountain Guide
or UIMLA International Mountain Leader for two days, with
their kit and food, 2) Chamonix course hosts for logistics
& briefings, 3) Pre course information booklet, 4)
Equipment discount voucher for UK shops, 5) Chamonix logistics
support, 6) Loan of group safety equipment (tranceivers,
shovels, probes & snowshoes). |
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| Exclusions:
1) Travel to & from Chamonix, 2) Cable Cars (c.£15)
or in-valley travel (c.£5), 3) Accommodation, 4)
Personal laundry, telephone calls, lunches, & any
purchases in mountain huts / hotels / restaurants, 5)
Your food and bowl, fork, mug & stove, 6) Activities
insurance, & excess baggage charges. |
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| Group
sizes: 3 - 6 people per IFMGA
mountain guide. For group sizes of over 6 people, there
are multiple guides, and the teams travel independently
of each other. |
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| Upgrade
options |
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Avalanche
Skills Training
£75 (throughout the season) |
To
learn avalanche prediction, reutschblocks and use
of avalanche transceivers. Course is available on
any day during the week (includes ARVA), details. |
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