|
Enjoy a great ride in the Rocky Mountains!
|
|
|
Snow Sports Winter Backcountry Survival |
Learn the skills needed to survive in winter extremes.
Ease your mind during your winter recreational experience by learning skills to help you survive outdoors during winter extremes. This winter outdoor survival course focuses on how to deal with many emergencies from creating snow shelters to staying warm and sending for help. Learn important information on how to be confident, expedient and stay alive in a winter emergency.
We all love to play in the great outdoors and enjoy the beauty of the winter landscape. Just like any day outdoors, sometimes things can go wrong. An unexpected medical condition, a skiing accident, getting lost in a snowstorm - any of these scenarios can happen and you need to be prepared for these winter emergencies. This winter survival course focuses on evaluating, brainstorming, and problem solving several likely winter recreational scenarios. Learn to create snow caves and other shelters to survive winter storms. Create emergency survival plans to prevent getting lost and maximize being found by rescue crews. This class is a must for any winter backcountry user.
|
Itinerary
Evening meeting: (Tuesday 6-9pm)
Winter Survival Course Syllabus
| Evening meeting | Field day I | Field day II |
| Introductions | Prep | Cook breakfast |
| Course overview and schedule | Route plan, navigation | Pack for day hike |
| Winter survival issues | Gear check-out/shake-down | Day hike |
| Hypothermia, frostbite | Load cars - head to field | Navigation, route finding |
| Shelter | Travel to campsite | Avalanche avoidance |
| Nutrition, hydration | Set up camp | Break camp |
| Travel - snowshoe, ski use | Kitchen area | Return to meeting room |
| Clothing requirements | Shelters | Course debrief, evaluation |
| Synthetic fabrics | Cook dinner | |
| Layering | Bed down | |
| Footwear/socks | | |
| Shelter | | |
| Tent, pyramid | | |
| Snow cave | | |
| Quinzee | | |
| Snow trench, igloo | | |
| Nutrition, hydration | | |
| Food selection, nutrition requirements | | |
| Cooking | | |
| Sanitation | | |
| Snow travel | | |
| Snowshoes | | |
| Skis | | |
| Winter Survival Class |
Fee: |
| Per Person |
$0.00 |
| Snowshoe Rental Package |
Includes: snowshoes, poles, gaiters |
$0.00 |
| Backcountry Safety Package |
Includes: avalanche beacon and a shovel |
$0.00 |
Up to 7:1 student to instructor ratio
Minimum of 5 students are needed to run this lesson
Dates for Rocky Mountain National Park: (Sign
up online, click on the class date of your choice.)
1 Evening of classroom and two days on snow training in Rocky Mountain National Park for your field training. (Park fees are extra) The on snow occurs outside and in any weather conditions so come prepared for anything that Mother Nature might have in store for us.
Dates:
We currently do not have any trips scheduled or we have an error in our data which we need to know about. Please give us a call if dates do not show up here.
Get 5 or more people together and we will run this on other dates.
Our goal is to provide our guests with ideal backcountry experiences. A custom tour allows you to experience the backcountry at your own pace and on your own schedule and with your favorite ski partner, family, or friends. Let us help you create a trip of a lifetime! Contact us!
Minimum Age
There is not a minimum age for this trip, but all participants must be prepared to hike the snow slopes and spend the day out in the mountains.
|
This Pica was found at 13,000' on the back
side of Longs Peak in the dead of winter.
|
Meeting Place and Time
The first evening will be located at REI from 6pm to 9pm and the two full days are located in Rocky Mountain National Park starting at 9am. Once you have booked this class, we will contact you regarding logistics and your needs. At the classroom session, we will go over logistics regarding meeting location up at Estes Park and encourage car pooling. Please see our directions and driving times in the upper right hand corner of this page for the meeting location for the classroom portion of this class. You can enter a starting location and our website will load a Google Printable Map for you and estimate your drive time.
Gear/Clothing List
Winter Survival Course
The Boulder Outdoor Center online store has lots of outdoor gear to help you with this list.
Clothing
All clothing must be wool or synthetic fibers (nylon, polyester, capilene, etc.). Cotton or cotton blend fabrics must not be used.
Light-weight long underwear top and bottoms.
Mid-weight fleece shirt (zip tees works well)
Wool or soft shell pants.
Fleece jacket or light synthetic filled "puffy" jacket.
Waterproof/breathable wind/snow shell jacket with hood.
Waterproof/breathable shell pants.
Heavy down or synthetic fill insulating jacket.
Socks
Depending on footwear, activity, length of trip, personal preference and other factors you may want anything from only very thin socks to combinations of thin liner and heavy insulating socks.
Hand protection
At least two pair of gloves and/or mittens. Lighter fleece gloves are good for dexterity, high activity levels or warmer conditions. Heavy mittens are good for very cold conditions. Multiple pairs guard against getting wet or lost.
Head protection
A combination of light and medium weight wool or fleece hats is preferable. One of them should be a "balaclava" type that can be pulled down around the face and neck.
Eye protection
Bring both sun glasses for mild conditions and ski goggles for cold, snow and wind.
Footwear
This will depend on your activity and mode of traveling over snow. The essential requirement for over night trips is a double boot with a removable liner. For snowshoeing "pack" type boots with felt liners are recommended. For climbing or skiing, double plastic boots are in order.
Gaiters
These fit over the pants and boot tops to keep snow from going into the boots. If you have ones you use in summer, make sure they fit over your winter boots.
Camp boots
Down booties or "mukluk" type foam boots may be useful for camp living.
Personal gear
Bowl, spoon and insulated mug with lid.
Two 1 liter H2O bottles, one with insulating pouch. (Don't even think about trying to use a bladder system - no matter how well the manufacture says it works in the cold).
Sunscreen.
Chemical heat packs. Bring enough hand warmer size for one pair a day plus a few large size.
Two bandanas.
Minimal toiletries. Basically a tooth brush and travel size tube of paste and possibly a few hand wipe packets.
Optional
An extra 1 liter bottle with lid for use as a pee bottle.
Huge back pack
Winter back country living requires much more equipment than summer backpacking and most of it is bulky. A minimum 70 liter (4,500 c.i.) size pack is required for over night trips and larger for multi-day expeditions.
Sleep system.
Sleeping bag
The temperature rating of the sleeping bag will depend on the coldest expected temperatures and how "warm" you sleep. For Colorado, a bag rated to at least 0 deg. is recommended. For bags of equal temperature ratings, a synthetic filled will be heavier, more bulky but cost a lot less. A down bag will be lighter but will be more expensive and more vulnerable to getting wet.
Sleeping pad
For winter use, inflatable sleep pads are not adequate. The ideal system is a thin full-length closed cell foam pad with a full-length inflatable pad.
Ground sheet
If sleeping in a floorless tent or snow shelter, a waterproof nylon or plastic ground sheet or a bivy sack is needed to protect the sleeping bag from moisture.
Travel system
Winter wilderness travel requires a floatation system to allow movement over deep, unconsolidated snow.
Snowshoes
These must be of sufficient size. Modern recreational snowshoes only work on packed trails. In order to keep you and a heavy pack from sinking up to your armpits, the snow shoes need to be really big.
Skis
Skis must be useable with either double telemark or alpine touring boots. Cross country skis do not provide adequate floatation or stability for a heavy pack and the boots are not warm enough for multi-day use.
Skins
If skis are not waxless, climbing skins will be required. Waxing will not provide adequate traction for difficult terrain or conditions.
Poles
For both skis and snowshoes, poles are required for balance and climbing. Large "powder" baskets are recommended. Adjustable length poles are preferred.
Cancellations/Refund Policy
Cancellations 5 days or more before your class dates are refundable less a 10% reservation fee. You can reschedule your class (subject to availability) without any penalties if you notify Renaissance Adventure Guides 5 days prior to your class date. With-in 5 days of your class date, your funds are committed and are non-refundable.
|
|
|
If you get caught in a winter storm, do you know what to do to survive?
|
For directions and driving time from where you are to where the Survival Classroom session at REI Flagship Store is located/meets at, enter your starting point as:
City, State or Zip Code or Airport and click on our button.
Trip Length: One Evening of Classroom and 2 Days in the snow
Level: This class is for snowshoes, skiers, snowmobilers or anyone that will find themselves out in the snow.
Season: December-April
Meals are not included with this class.
Click here to see the Avalanche Safety Gear that we recommend you eventually own for safer backcountry travel.
Also available:
Avalanche Awareness
Avalanche Level One Certification
Avalanche Level Two Certification
for the Backcountry enthusiasts.
Before you go
Be familiar with avalanche conditions and weather
You can see our online snow reports.
What to bring:
Please see our list to the left and our Backcountry
Gear List for a complete list. Gear is not included with this class.
|
Renaissance Adventure Guides
730 E. Center Ave.
Denver, CO 80209
Places to stay in Estes Park, Colorado
Alpine Trail Ridge Inn
(800) 233-5023
Silver Moon Inn
(970) 586-6006
Rodeway Inn
(970) 586-5363
Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
(970) 586-3386
|
Questions?
Please call the BOC at:
303-444-8420
|
|
|
