Join Brian Lazar, Deputy Director of CAIC, for a discussion about decision making in the backcountry, and other winter recreation considerations.

Sorry, but the Workshop is SOLD OUT

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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.