With current avalanche conditions being at an all time high in Australia, and the grade IV avalanche in Hotham side country today, there’s never been a better time to take an avalanche course.
Whiteroom Tours in conjunction with Avalanche NZ is proud to launch in Australia for the first time, a certified Avalanche Awareness and Backcountry Avalanche Avoidance course in Australia for the 2017 winter.
Working with the experienced team from Avalanche NZ, Whiteroom has secured exclusive rights to run these 2-day and 4-day courses for the first time outside of New Zealand. Having run these successful educational programs for multiple years in Japan, Whiteroom will be running these courses in both New South Wales and Victoria.
Thredbo Avalanche Awareness course dates:
28 – 29 August 2017
7 – 8 September 2017 9 – 10 September 2017
Thredbo Backcountry Avalanche course dates:
24 – 27 August 2017
7 – 10 September 2017
14 – 17 September 2017
Victorian courses and private courses are available upon request.
Avalanche Awareness Course
Our Avalanche Awareness course is designed for people that want to step out past the resort boundaries and learn the fundamentals of avalanche avoidance. This 2-day course will have a mixture of theory and practical application in the field. The focus of this course will surround avalanche terrain identification and own party rescue. As we know 90% of avalanche accident are caused by the victim or someone in the victim’s group. Learning how to use an avalanche rescue transceiver alongside other rescue techniques will begin to lay down the building blocks of what is needed if something goes wrong.
Backcountry Avalanche Avoidance Course
The next step on avalanche education pathway will be the 4-day Backcountry Avalanche Avoidance Course. When travelling in the backcountry identifying avalanche terrain is a must. Great days can be had during higher periods of danger if you can read the terrain you are in. This 4-day course will begin to teach the students how to pre-trip plan for a day out past the rope lines and look at weather forecasting and basic avalanche forecasting to have a safe day in the snow.
These courses are not only important skill sets to obtain if you plan on travelling in the backcountry but can also be used as a pathway to jobs in the snow industry. These courses are prerequisites for professional courses in the study of Avalanche Phenomena as well as a requirement for Instructors to obtain the ISIA stamp.
With the backcountry becoming more accessible to people with better equipment and a greater desire for people to find new terrain we are excited to launch these course in Australia.
To register for a course or for more information check out the course website.
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