When you ski the backcountry, preparation and education is key. One annual way to get prepared for the upcoming ski season is to attend the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop. The public session is full of networking, educational seminars, informational presentations, and lots of interaction with professionals through Q&A sessions. It may sound a bit boring, but here’s the deal – the knowledge you glean from USAW could save your life.
The morning session is only open to snow safety professionals, but for those on the recreation side, the afternoon session is custom made for us. Here’s a breakdown of the afternoon session from the Utah Avalanche Center:
1:00-1:05 Welcome
1:05-1:35 Education Levels Framework- Update of avalanche education paths, KBYG viddy rollout- Paul Diegel, Craig Gordon, Jaime Musnicki AAA
1:40-2:15 Backcountry Roundtable/Backcountry Responsibility Objective- Trends in backcountry users and their level of responsibility to each other- Drew Hardesty – Utah Avalanche Center; Steve Scheid -USFS, Laurie Delaney -UDOT , Jay Pistono -Teton Pass Ambassador, Jon Schofield- Dawn Patrol Skier/Splitboarder
2:20-2:40
Climate Change and Variability: Snowy and Not So Snowy Projections for the 21st Century and the Winter of 2015–16- Cutting through the hype and taking a look at what we can and can’t expect this winter and in the coming decades- Jim Steenburgh
2:40-3:00 Break
3:05-3:40 Jaws Avalanche Accident Case Study-12.24.2014- A summary of the Christmas eve slide in Jaws from both the victim and rescuers perspective of the events that led up to the avalanche, the ride, rescue efforts, and lessons learned- David Brown and Mike Hales
3:45-4:05 Magoo, Me, and You: Developing Expert Intuition in the Backcountry- Research shows that most of our decisions are unavoidably influenced or even determined by subconscious cognition. In the backcountry, this tendency often shows itself as heuristic errors or the illusion of skill. We can, however, develop expert intuition by relying on practices that increase feedback reliability and quality- Blase Reardon
4:10-4:30 Proceed with Caution: Traveling to Ski the World Without Avalanche Forecasts- While enticing to visit, most of the world’s mountains don’t have experts trying to keep you on top. Safely climbing and skiing objectives outside the forecast zones is possible. Brody Leven presents practical, real-world approaches to worldwide skiing.
4:30-5:00 Forecasting then, now, and in the future- Bruce Tremper
In addition to the session, there will be a gear raffle from the sponsors, and all proceeds will go directly to the Utah Avalanche Center to pay for avalanche forecasting in Utah. Plus, stay after the event for happy hour with food and beer.
Tickets are $27 in advance until Oct 29 at 8am. The price will go up to $30 at the door. The event is on October 31st at 1pm at the Southtowne Expo Center, (9575 S. State St
Sandy, UT).
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to the Utah Avalanche Center’s events page.