It’s no surprise to those who have shown up to a trailhead on a weekend morning in the past few years to hear that the popularity of backcountry recreation skyrocketed during the pandemic. The Snow Industry Association (SIA) reported “the number of unique participants increased from 1.1M to 2.2M. Frequency was also up, with a greater proportion of participants reporting going 5+ times (30% compared to 27% in 2020-21).” The influx of backcountry users has also increased the importance for backcountry travelers to take avalanche education courses as well. With Atomic’s North American office sitting at the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah, backcountry skiing is a part of the culture. As such, so is avalanche education. To support ongoing education, Atomic has teamed up with local avalanche education non-profit Ogden Avalanche for members of the marketing team to go through annual training.
So, what motivated members of the Atomic office to take their AIARE 1? For Atomic Marketing Associate Maggie Ryan, the decision to take the course was simple. “I have begun to recreate a lot in the backcountry, and I am not naïve to the consequences that can potentially bring. So, I decided to take this course to further my learning and refresh some ideology and processes I had learned years prior.” Stuart Brown, E-tail and E-Commerce Specialist, decided to take the course because he wanted a better framework and more guidance for making decisions when it came to backcountry skiing.
The course focused on developing a plan for travel in avalanche terrain, identifying avalanche terrain, effectively using The AIARE Risk Management Framework to make terrain choices in a group setting, and companion rescue.
Maggie continues to say that “One of the key takeaways I had from the class was being able to decipher and know about the different layers in our snowpack from the snow pit we dug and from our classroom learning portion.” Kazui Kasumi, Community Marketing Lead, also said he learned lots and enjoyed hearing about the science behind varied conditions and snowpack. For him, the “best part of the weekend was of course, skiing with everyone, while also building each other’s knowledge of avalanche terrain and applying what we learned in the field.”
Digital Marketing Manager, Hannah Fleming agreed that “It is important to get in the habit of writing down your plan for the day, weather, conditions, and making time to recap. It is easy to get away from this.” Taking this course for the second time from Ogden Avalanche, Hannah points out that “I think it is awesome to go through these courses with different people and in different terrain. I pick up different things being around different people because everyone asks different questions.”
The AIARE 1 course is just the beginning. Hannah, Maggie, Kaz and Stuart plan to continue their avalanche education and continue to spend time in the backcountry to hone in their skills and decision-making processes. Kory suggests that after AIARE 1 they should “safely practice their newfound skills in the backcountry, get to know people, find mentors, have fun and be courteous to others.” Other things you could do include attending a Snow and Avalanche workshop, go to “Know Before you Go” classes, or volunteer for your local avalanche center.
The Backcountry can be an intimidating place for skiers and snowboarders. And can be intimidating for good reason. The consequences are very real, yet with solid foundational knowledge of avalanche safety, recreating safely is a fun and viable option!
Sources:
https://avtraining.org/
https://avtraining.org/aiare-level-1/
https://members.snowsports.org/