Mark Smiley has always been one to think outside the box, so it’s no surprise that he took the challenges of 2020 by the reins to create a new approach to avalanche safety. The Jackson-based IFMGA guide just launched the online avalanche safety course A Comprehensive Guide To Avalanche Safety on his MTN Sense online school. With all manner of students turning to the internet to further their education during the pandemic, it made perfect sense to create a course giving skiers and snowboarders the tools they need to travel safely in the backcountry this winter. Much like his MTN Sense classes on ski mountaineering and rock climbing skills, this avalanche course is video-based and provides easily digestable (and often quite funny and memorable) lessons on hard skills. It’s not a replacement for a traditional AIARE or AAI course, but rather serves as continuing education for those who have already taken a class like that. The course is available at mtnsense.com for $249. Mark is offering TGR readers a 30 percent discount until October 18.
I created this course so all levels of recreational backcountry skiers can have access effective and entertaining instruction to help them make educated decisions. Avalanches are scary. This course helps you to know the “knowables,” so you don’t have just hope that you don’t get hurt out there.
-Mark Smiley
This course will benefit pretty much anyone who plans to ski in the backcountry, whether you have never taken a formal avalanche education course, have taken a formal avalanche course, and desire to learn updated and practical systems that are actually useful, desire practical concise instruction from experienced backcountry skiing professionals, and most of all if you are someone who wants to learn at your own pace, and review the content forever.
Riding in the backcountry is all about having fun, and this course will add to your skill set so you can do it safely all season long. Mark Smiley photo.
The course includes the following skills, and more:
- How to accurately interpret the daily avalanche forecast on a deeper level
- Identifying safe and dangerous backcountry terrain
- Communicating more effectively with your partners so everyone can have more fun
- Creating and executing a rewarding backcountry tour
- Understanding how to interpret snow pit stability tests
- Glean from the school of hard knocks, where several professional skiers share their "near miss" stories
About The Author
stash member Max Ritter
I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.
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February 18th, 2021
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