Most avalanche courses focus either on avoiding an incident or finding and digging out your backcountry partner in the event of a burial. Yet, if your backcountry crew lands in that high-pressure, self-rescue situation you’ll also need to know how to care for a casualty as the next step in keeping them alive until they can be evacuated. Even if your partner survives the trauma of a slide and a burial, they are not out of the woods yet.
Our Avalanche Casualty Care Course co-sponsored by Remote Medical Training is designed to provide backcountry skiers and snowboarders with the next level in backcountry safety training. The course will take an individual with little to no medical training and prepare them to provide care for a victim that is trapped or injured in an avalanche, including incident management, treating life-threatening injuries and caring for patients in remote environments. We will also discuss integrating with local ski patrol and search-and-rescue teams during the rescue and evacuation phase.
COURSE FEATURES
- Fine tune partner rescue and packaging techniques
- Learn how to identify and treat life-threatening injuries common in avalanches
- Multiple scenarios and skill labs
- Basic incident management and leadership skills
- Considerations for long term care of patients in remote environments
- ESCI CPR/AED and ACCC Certification
FIELD COMPONENTS
Field exercises are designed to give students practice performing organized response to avalanche accidents and practical experience managing avalanche casualties in remote environments.
- Multiple avalanche specific rescue scenarios
- Basic survival skills
- Integration with local ski patrol and SARs during rescue and evacuation
MATERIALS PROVIDED
- Lift tickets for non-passholders for field components. Curriculum assumes participants have the ability to ski or snowboard terrain typical to backcountry runs. Students will be accessing more/most difficult (blue/black) named runs within the ski area.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
- Backcountry rescue gear such as shovel, probe and beacon as well as outerwear appropriate for field sessions.
- Food and water for the day.
- Skis or snowboard, as we will be moving about the ski area during the field session.
- Optional: Personal First Aid Kit.
PREREQUISITES
Successful completion of MEC Avalanche Awareness & Backcountry Fundamentals.
Class not offered for winter 2020-21. Class meets for morning session in the MEC classroom, 2nd floor, Heather Meadows Aid Room at 8:30am. The afternoon session ends at approximately 4:30pm.
MEC Avalanche Casualty CareCourse InfoCourse Not Available For 2020-21 Season |
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| SESSION | Downtown Office | Ski Area |
| A | -- | -- |
| B | -- | -- |
| Session Duration | 1 Evening Session in Bellingham 2 Full Days at Ski Area Hours |
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| Session Cost |
$160 2019-20 Mt. Baker Passholders $200 Non-Passholders |
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| Class Size | max. 15 | |
