Avalanche Courses
Instructors for the Avalanche Courses
Our instructional staff consists of highly qualified individuals from our community. We are pleased to have Erich Peitzsch, Morgan Goetting, Jamie Burkholder, Kody Coxen, Burket Kniveton, Hannah Farrell, Jeremy Primmer, James Young, Paul Fotter, Addie Elm, Guy Zoellner, and Riley Elgerd joining us in this capacity. Each is an active and experienced trainer and backcountry enthusiast. In order to meet or exceed the American Avalanche Association (A3) guidelines for student-to-instructor ratio, each course will have one lead instructor and two co-instructors with an overall 5:1 ratio.
Location
All classroom and field studies will be held at Whitefish Mountain Resort and in the backcountry immediately surrounding.
Parking
Most classes will convene at 8:00 in the Mt. Jackson Room, on the top floor of the Base Lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort (but please check your email before your course with your instructor’s information). We recommend parking in the Spruce Lot at the base area and walking on snow to the Base Lodge. The Willow and Willow Tail lots will be available for parking as well. If this confusing here’s some more info and a handy map that should help.
Lift Ticket & Access
The resort is providing day-use tickets for students and/or instructors who do not have a season pass.
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• Whitefish Mountain Resort ski pass (if you don’t have one please let us know that you need a day ticket)
• Skis or split-board (must be fitted with some sort of brake/retention device)
• Skins for skis or split-boards (no snowshoes)
• Boots
• Ski poles (also required for snowboarders)
• Avalanche transceiver (with two or more antennas)
• Avalanche shovel (no plastic shovels)
• Avalanche probe (at least 260cm length)
• Sunglasses
• Goggles
• Sunscreen
• Ski pants or bibs
• Ski jacket or shell
• Warm gloves and/or mittens (at least 2 pairs of hand-warming clothing is preferable)
• Warm hat
• Neck gaiter or scarf
• Water bottle and/or thermos
• Lunch/snack food
• Warm Layers (extra insulation for the non-moving time in the snow pit like a “puffy” jacket)
• Backpack with a reasonable method for attaching skis/board
• Be prepared to fit all of your belongings into your backpack! Students will not have indoor storage space while we are in the field.
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• Compass (phone is acceptable)
• Inclinometer (compasses with inclinometers are fine - we recommend app called Theodolite)
• Pencil
• Snow saw (required for Level 2 courses)
• Rutschblock/ECT cord (provided for students)
• Magnifying lens/loupe (recommended for Level 2 courses)
• Crystal screen/card (required for Level 2 courses)
• Folding ruler or marked probe (marked in centimeters)
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• Pencil
• Notebook/paper/tablet
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• Camera for reviewing avalanches, pits, or noteworthy terrain observed in the field
• Tablet/phone with wireless connection for accessing remote weather data, avalanche advisories.
• Hand/foot warmers
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• Rocky Mountain Outfitter (Kalispell) sells most of the snow study gear and, of course, other stuff.
• Great Northern Cycle and Ski in Whitefish sells most backcountry ski and avalanche rescue equipment.
• Stumptown Snowboards in Whitefish sells splitboard equipment.
Some recommended brands:
• Backcountry Access
• SnowPit Technologies
• Snow Metrics
• Rite In The Rain (make sure it is spiral bound, recommended: No. 313)
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations received up to 30 days prior to the registered course are eligible to receive a refund less a $50 service fee. Cancellations received up to 14 days prior to the registered course are eligible to receive a refund of 50%. Cancellations within 14 days of the registered course will NOT be eligible for a refund. No exceptions.
Cancellation requests are made on the website OR via email directly to The Patrol Fund, Inc.
In the case a course is cancelled, full refunds will be administered to all participants.