UPSKILL YOUR OFF-PISTE & AVALANCHE SAFETY
Designed for advanced skiers and snowboarders who like powder snow, this 1-day course in mountain safety helps to equip you with the skills, knowledge and tools to be safer and to find the best conditions.
ENROL NOWDO YOU WANT TO:
- Make fresh tracks in powder snow?
- Ski or snowboard in off-piste and backcountry environments?
- Stay safe & avoid accidents & injury?
- Become the kind of partner you’d like yours to be?
IF YES, HERE'S THE PATH
- Learn how to understand & analyse avalanche terrain.
- Understand the equipment you need.
- Learn modern skills in forecasting, mapping & route planning.
- Learn from common mistakes in order to avoid them.
- Develop routines for group management and safer travel.
- Build skills for monitoring snow stability and terrain
- Study & practise companion rescue procedures for avalanche response
"Very informative and well presented. George is extremely clear and engaging in passing on critical knowledge, awareness and understanding to all mountain users venturing off the piste."
Neil McNair - McNair Snowboarding - Instructor & Coach, Nov 23
COURSE INTRODUCTION
An introduction to the course and what to expect from it's content
ENROL & BEGINCOURSE INSTRUCTOR: GEORGE TREBLE
Hi Folks, welcome to this course on off piste safety skills for skiers and snowboarders. I am a BASI Level 4, ski touring guide and avalanche instructor based in the French Alps. After 15 years skiing, guiding and filming in the Alps, NZ, Norway and Japan, I have worked with Backcountry Access and the British Association of Snowsport Instructors to create this 1-day course in Off-Piste Safety Skills for skiers and snowboarders. During the 2023/2024 winter season, over 200 BASI instructors completed the course as a licence refreasher qualification and you can see their feedback here.
As more and more people are exploring highly dangerous off piste and backcountry winter environments, it is becoming increasingly vital to make quality safety training accessible. I deliver avalanche awareness and off piste safety courses with the Avoriaz Alpine Ski School all winter. This online training serves as the ideal pre-study course to cover the theory and preparation necessary for skiers and snowboarders to start venturing off piste.
" I thought the course was great! I knew a little about mountain safety going into it but I learnt lots of new info which I'm sure is going to come in very useful. It's easy to understand and interesting. I will now be recommending this course to anyone who plans to go off piste."
Zoë Gillings-Brier - Instructor & ex FIS world cup & Olympic Snowboarder
" I really liked how the course was broken down in to a modules that I could work through in my own time. It also provided structure to the learning and teaching. The video clips were well put together and the end of topic assessments were relevant and focused. "
Gavin Carruthers - British Backcountry partner & L4 ski Instructor
8 HOUR SELF-PACED COURSE TO UPSKILL YOUR OFF PISTE AND AVALANCHE SKILLSET
VIDEO TUTORIALS
Visual, detailed and entertaining overviews of the key concepts.
PRACTICAL TASKS
Get prepared with an organised sequence of tasks
QUIZZES
Test your understanding and recap the most important points
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Join our Private Facebook Group with 1,000 members
COURSE CONTENT:
LESSON 1: OFF PISTE HAZARDS & AVALANCHE AWARENESS
Avalanches kill and injure many skiers and snowboarders every year. Anyone going off piste must understand off piste hazards and avalanches so we can avoid them.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 2: OFF PISTE EQUIPMENT
The moment you cross the piste markers, you become exposed to a new list of hazards. Skiers & Snowboarders must carry essential off-piste equipment and know how to use it. This tutorial explains what you need, including a checklist to help you prepare.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 3: TERRAIN ANALYSIS
Arguably the most important skillset for off-piste skiers and snowboarders. In a world where weather conditions, snowpack and partners are fickle and constantly changing, terrain is your stable minded best friend. Learn how to read the terrain in order to understand how dangerous it is.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 4: MOUNTAIN WEATHER
Forecasting snow, weather and avalanches in mountain environments is an imperative skillset for off-piste skiers and snowboarders. Not only does it help you to avoid dangerous scenarios, it also helps you to find better snow conditions
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 5 THE AVALANCHE BULLETIN
For off piste skiers & snowboarders, the Avalanche Bulletin is the best deal in town. If you want to ski or snowboard off piste in powder snow, here are some of the important bits of information you need to know about before you go out into the mountains.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 6: MAPPING & ROUTE PLANNING
When it comes to off-piste skiing & snowboarding, your most important decisions are made before you even leave the house. This tutorial covers the ways you can study & plan your routes to help ensure that you are in the right place at the right time.
ENROL & BEGIN" A course that may save your life; The course is engaging, interesting and full of great utilisable knowledge. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the backcountry "
Dom Turner - Director & Co-owner of Skiology
LESSON 7: HUMAN FACTORS & HEURISTIC TRAPS
Human psychology causes us to make common mistakes. In Off-Piste environments, these can get you killed. Learn and remember these classic errors so you can make sure you don't fall into one of these psychological traps.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 8: FIELD OBSERVATION SKILLS
As well as forecasting and route planning, skiers and snowboarders must be able to read the real world, identify red flags in avalanche terrain and analyse the current conditions during the day. This tutorial lists the things to look out for and the tools which will help you to 'read' the real world in snowy environments.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 9: SAFER TRAVEL & GROUP MANAGEMENT
Learn the principals and safe travel procedures which allow you to limit your's and your group's exposure to off-piste hazards.
ENROL & BEGINLESSON 10: COMPANION RESCUE
Learn the systematic strategies to implement in emergencies so you can be prepared if things go wrong. Your partner's lives may depend on it.
ENROL & BEGIN"George has taken a complicated subject matter and split it into digestible bite size pieces that are easy to understand. The amazing pics and vids keep you interested, and the whole thing is just super slick and really thought about. Everyone going off piste needs this course!"
Paul Wagstaffe - ISTD L4 ski instructor
" Thanks George for a really enjoyable, well structured and presented course. The balance of photos, video and words made it super interesting and easy to digest. "
Tim Scott - ISTD ski Instructor @ LGS Snowsports
" Fantastic videos with a lot of good information presented in one place"
Simon D - August 2023
PRICING SCHEDULE:
October Early Bird - 20% Off until 31/10/2024
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the structure of the online course
Who is the course for?
Is there a pre-requisite level?
Will I earn certification upon completion?
Who made the course?
When do I get the course?
Is there a money-back guanrantee?
How long does it take?
T&Cs, Liability Waiver & Privacy Policy
LEARNING OUTCOMES
AVALANCHE AWARENESS
Use greater understanding for avalanche avoidance. Types, characteristics, locations & times. Awareness of other off piste & backcountry mountain hazards.
EQUIPMENT UNDERSTANDING
To know what equipment you need for off piste & backcountry snowsports. How to use it and how to pack and prepare effectively
TERRAIN ANALYSIS SKILLS
in order to understand the likelihood and consequences of avalanches. To have a better idea of where and when to go during certain conditions as a result.
WEATHER & AVALANCHE FORECASTING
Better understand mountain weather relevant to snowsports. How to read and understand weather forecasts & avalanche bulletins.
ROUTE PLANNING
Know how to study & plan your routes before you leave the house. Combine this with improved understanding of avalanche terrain to make smarter plans
SAFER TRAVEL
Understand tactics and protocols for group management and safer travel in mountainous environments. Know about common decision making mistakes to avoid.
FIELD OBSERVATION
Develop skills and tools for monitoring snow, weather and avalanche conditions whilst you are out in the field.
COMPANION RESCUE
Understand rescue procedures and search patterns in Avalanche response.