Got any plans for this weekend? On this Saturday and Sunday (1&2 February 2014) we are running a two day Avalanche Awareness Training Weekend in Courmayeur in Italy. This is a foundation level course, and there are just two spaces left on it. For course details, please click here. If you want to join, the spaces cost just £149 each, with all avalanche safety equipment provided. You can book securely online via our UK office in Windermere, and if you have any queries please call us on 01539 44 22 17.

The photo above was of a ski group avalanche training this Monday above Les Houches in the Chamonix valley, but this weekend course will be operated on foot / snowshoes (provided if required), to make it accessible to all, whether you ski or snowboard or snowshoe. Our priority for this and all our avalanche weekends, is to spend as much time teaching you as possible, rather than losing valuable hours skiing or walking around.

You are guided by either a IFMGA or UIMLA guide, who speaks English as a first language, to ensure that you are guided by a highly qualified mountain professional, who can teach you the maximum amount possible in the two days. In terms of the technical syllabus that we cover, it is an intensive weekend where we teach you the following skills and awareness points;

• Evolution of the snow pack
• Avalanche tranceiver searches
• Rutschblock stability tests
• Column snow stability tests
• Tranceiver detection fields
• Trip planning and preparation
• Avalanche form / release patterns
• Different types of avalanches
• Crystal metamorphasis
• Slab formation and layering
• Victim recovery methods
• Travel techniques on snowpacks
• Assessing different snow profiles
• Decision making processes
• Weather & climatic influences
• Adapting to the conditions
• Key warning signs of danger
• Identifying islands of safety