Greg Shaffran

2025 Avalanche Workshop

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Join Us for the 38th Annual Community Avalanche Workshop

📅 Date: February 1, 2025

💲 Cost: FREE — Thanks to your generous support!

What to Expect

This workshop is a skills progression event where you’ll rotate through stations designed to:

  • Build and refine avalanche safety skills
  • Refresh existing knowledge
  • Learn advanced techniques
  • Practice, practice, practice with large and realistic scenarios.

Whether you’re new to avalanche safety or a seasoned backcountry adventurer, this event offers something for everyone.

🎟 How to Secure Your Spot:
The workshop is limited to the first 100 attendees, and participation is first-come, first-served. To claim your spot:

  • Arrive at Gondola Plaza by 8:00 AM on February 1, 2025.
  • Bring the following essential gear:
    • A modern three-antennae avalanche transceiver
    • Shovel and probe
    • Equipment for traveling over soft snow (e.g., AT bindings, splitboard, snowshoes)
    • Clothing and food suitable for a full day outdoors in the backcountry

⛷ Getting Started:
After securing your ticket at Gondola Plaza, you’ll take the Gondola up to the Sundeck. During the ride, you’ll have time to review your ticket and workshop instructions. Once at the top, a Mountain Rescue Aspen team member will greet you, assign you to a group, and guide you as the workshop begins.

🕒 Workshop Duration:
This is a full-day event, running from 8:00 AM at Gondola Plaza to 3:30 PM at the top of Aspen Mountain.

Participants should be prepared to spend the entire day outdoors in the backcountry. To make the most of the workshop, full-day attendance is required. If you’re unable to stay for the entire event, please allow someone else the opportunity to participate fully.

📩 Stay Updated or Ask Questions:
Have questions, need assistance, or want to receive updates about the event? Complete the form below.

Note: This is not a registration form and there is no way to reserve a spot. Ticket availability is based solely on arriving at Gondola Plaza with the required gear at the specified time and workshop capacity.
2025 Workshop
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2024 Avalanche Workshop

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After a COVID induced hiatus the popular Avalanche Workshop is back!

The full event includes a Saturday night lecture, hands on training during the Sunday workshop, and a post-workshop dinner Sunday night with prizes.

Sorry, but the Workshop is SOLD OUT

To get on the waitlist please contact greg@mountainrescueaspen.org

December 7, 2022 – Avalanche Safety Winter Kickoff

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Join us for a FREE presentation and discussion with Brian Lazar, Deputy Director of CAIC. We will cover winter outlook, how forecasts are produced, what makes a good public observation, what to know before you go, and MORE.

WHEN: December 7th, 6-8PM
WHERE: CB Cameron Rescue Center, 37925 HWY 82 
WHO: skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, hut trippers, snowshoers.
WHY: Whether you are experienced and want a refresher or new to backcountry adventures, be ready for winter conditions.

When to call for rescue

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Check out this great post by the Colorado Search and Rescue Association (COSAR).

When someone is injured or ill and cannot get back to their car on their own, that call is necessary and should be made sooner rather than later.  When someone is lost or overdue for a reasonable amount of time, and/or dangerous weather is approaching, that is also an obvious need for assistance.  

But in some circumstances the decision to call SAR is not so clear cut.

WHEN SHOULD I CALL SEARCH AND RESCUE?

Read the full post about what it means to ‘call for rescue’ here:

https://www.coloradosar.org/when-should-i-call-search-and-rescue/?fbclid=IwAR3Hyof4N2AGRIF4v4oLYHUE3a9qVt97avm62XFdQfYPP0lp02oZ_qbJoBY

How To Build Anchors

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Part 1 Covers single point anchors

Part 2 Introduces building multi-point anchors using simple gear carried by Mountain Rescue Aspen

Part 3 Demonstrates building multi-point anchors using gear likely to be found on your own harness.

A close call on the 4 pass loop

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A midnight rescue in July 2016 saved Wookie Kim’s life. His blog post here details that experience.

After a summer of running America, I was excited to return west and tackle another run on my ultra-running bucket list. The run was destined to be great.

But this run turned into the scariest experience of my life. By midnight that same day–17 hours after we’d left the trailhead at 5 a.m., and several hours past the absolute latest we anticipated being on the trails–I was passed out, convulsing and vomiting violently, stuck at 11,000 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. 

ON THE BRINK: MY BRUSH WITH DEATH WHILE RUNNING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

We do what we do for outcomes like this, and appreciate reading about it in Wookie’s own words. Read the full blog post with photos and video here:

http://wookierunsamerica.com/blog/2017/7/10/on-the-brink-my-brush-with-death-in-the-rocky-mountains

Navigation Video Series

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Join this 4 part series about navigation.

Part 1: Basics

Part 2: Orienteering

Part 3: Online Resources

Part 4: Real world Navigation challenge on the streets of Aspen, CO

Part 1: The Basics

Part 2: Orienteering

Coming Soon!

Livestream Event: Why Avalanche Education Matters

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“You need to take an avalanche course.” Have you heard that and wondered exactly what that means or where to start?

Join these outdoor education professionals for a virtual conversation about what the modern avalanche education system looks like, how it impacts behavior, and what people should be thinking about when considering a course.

Video Timing

Liz Riggs Meder @ 2:35
Melis Coady @ 20:17
Anne St Clair @ 33.52
Q&A @ 48:38

Jan. 25, 2021 – Why Avalanche Education Matters

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“You need to take an avalanche course.” Have you heard that and wondered what exactly that means or where to start?

Join these outdoor education professionals for a virtual conversation about what the modern avalanche education system looks like, how it impacts behavior, and what people should be thinking about when considering a course.

Speakers

Liz Riggs Meder – Director of Recreation Programs at AIARE

Liz Riggs Meder is the Director of Recreation Programs at AIARE and is based in Seattle. Liz is responsible for all aspects related to the development and delivery of AIARE’s recreational education programs, which includes curriculum development, managing the instructor training program, and overall program delivery and evaluation. Liz is an AIARE Instructor, occasionally works as a Cascade mountain guide, and holds an M.Ed from the University of Washington. A learning and cognitive science nerd, Liz loves combining her education interests with her love of traveling through the mountains.

Anne St Clair – Researcher, Avalanche Canada Public Forecaster

Anne is pursuing a PhD with the Simon Fraser University Avalanche Research Program (SARP) in British Columbia to better understand how people process information to manage avalanche risk in their environments. She holds a BA in Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University. Anne works with Avalanche Canada as a Public Avalanche Forecaster and with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) as an Instructor Trainer. She is currently based in Revelstoke, BC.

Melis Coady – Alaska Avalanche School Executive Director

Melis has lived and worked in Alaska for 20 years enjoying a career on snow and glaciers as a climbing ranger for Denali National Park, senior guide for the Alaska Mountaineering School and a field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School. She has completed Pro 1 avalanche training, and has skied/climbed on 7 continents including two seasons as a field guide for Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions. A dedicated educator, Melis has spent over a decade certifying students in emergency medicine as a wilderness medicine instructor for the Wilderness Medicine Institute and as a climbing instructor navigating avalanche terrain.

If you enjoyed this event, please consider making a donation to help support future outreach.

Livestream event: Snow Science

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The Speakers

Fracture Mechanics 101: How Slabs Fails (starts at 0:14)
Brian Lazar – Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Deputy Director

Monitoring and Studying Colorado’s Snowpack (starts at 1:06)
Jeff Derry – Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies – Executive Director

Meet Aspen’s New Backcountry Forecaster (starts at 1:40)
Polly Layton – Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Backcountry Forecaster for Aspen Zone

Know Before You go

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Know Before You Go is a free avalanche awareness program developed by the Utah Avalanche Center. Not much science, no warnings to stay out of the mountains, no formulas to memorize. In 1 hour, you will see the destructive power of avalanches, understand when and why they happen, and how you can have fun in the mountains and avoid avalanches.

You can watch videos, and learn more here: https://kbyg.org

Avalanche Rescue Card

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Check out this handy card we distribute to participants of our annual Winter Workshop.

The one side is a general overview of the various steps of avalanche companion rescue.

If you practice to refine your technique, rather than simply solving the contrived scenario quickly, during a real incident when panic and confusion inevitable become involved, you will be better able to go smooth and fast.

The opposite side is a score card to keep track of yourself as you practice companion rescue. Like golf, participants with the lowest score (fewest errors) win!

Companion Rescue Score Card

December 11, 2020 – Snow Science Virtual Event

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We often hear that people want to learn more about snow science. Well, here is your opportunity.

Join this virtual event to learn more about snow science. It will also be an opportunity for Roaring Fork Valley residents to meet our newest backcountry forecaster.

The Details

Date: Friday December 11, 2020

Time: 6pm Mountain Time. Bring some good questions, and the event should last until 7:30pm.

Location: Live Zoom Virtual Event.

Cost: FREE! Thanks to your support.

The Speakers

Fracture Mechanics 101: How Slabs Fail

Brian Lazar – Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Deputy Director

Monitoring and Studying Colorado’s Snowpack

Jeff Derry – Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies – Executive Director

Meet Aspen’s New Backcountry Forecaster

Polly Layton – Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Backcountry Forecaster for Aspen Zone

If you registered in advance you were emailed instructions for joining the webinar at 11am Friday morning. If you don’t remember seeing that email, please check any spam folder/filters that you might have set.

Be sure that we have your email address correct for future events by signing up at the bottom of the page.

Footage from the event will be edited and archived on our education tab at https://mountainrescueaspen.org/education/

Tune in to the livestream

If you enjoyed this event, please consider making a donation to help support future outreach.

Summer 2021 – Hybrid Workshop

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With all of the uncertainty of the past year, we decided to forego the planning necessary to host a traditional summer workshop, and instead will be available for informal hands-on skills training at our rescue center.

We will host these monthly public trainings throughout the summer on the following dates*.

Dates: June 8, July 7, August 3, and September 8.

Time: 6pm – 7pm

Location: CB Cameron Rescue Center. 37925 Hwy 82. Aspen CO.

Mask Requirements: Same as the country guidelines found here.

We won’t have any formal agendas for these trainings, but will be there to open up our training facility and experience to address any questions you want addressed, and practice skills you want to refine.

These informal gatherings are opportunities to build on skills that will be outlined and demonstrated in a series of videos and articles hosted on the education page of our website.

Some of that material is there now, and more will be rolled out throughout the summer.

Much of the material is based off the Ten Essentials: a well adopted packing list for any trip into the mountains. These items all fall into one of 4 themes: self-care, medical, planning, and survival.

Here is a handy card we have distributed to Summer Workshop participants in the past that outlines the 10 Essentials, and provides prompts to apply them to your day.

*We do anticipate a busy summer rescue season, and so if the parking lot is full of cars, and/or there are Sheriff deputy’s cars there, then we likely have a rescue and the training will have to be cancelled.

Med Kit 101

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Join Mountain Rescue Aspen member Liz Bergdahl as she outlines the various items that make up our standard med kit.