Avalanche Awareness for Walkers

#Winter Walking

Our one day Avalanche Awareness training course is aimed at winter hill walkers who find themselves in the mountain environment making decisions about the stability of the snowpack.

The risk of avalanche in the Scottish mountains is often underestimated. However avalanches do occur, many as a result of walkers and mountaineers, and many with disastrous consequences. Anyone who plans to spend time in the mountains during winter should know about avalanches and how to avoid them. Our Avalanche Awareness courses educate on the various types of avalanches, why they occur and where they occur. We also analyse and test the snowpack for stability and look at indicators that could result in an avalanche. 

Understanding an avalanche forecast and being able to apply this information to a map is essential. Once on the mountain, being able to identify key places, safe routes and slope angles are all vital skills.  

We start with the basics and work through to planning and going on a mountain journey as follows:

The focus of the day is to learn about avalanche avoidance and gain greater understanding of how avalanches are triggered.

To get the most from this course you should have some winter walking experience and be comfortable moving in the mountains. 

We can cater for up to six people per course.

Level > Easy