An
increasing number of mountain professionals are
seeking winter skills and snowshoeing Continual
Professional Development (CPD) courses, learning
alongside real clients. We offer CPD spaces on our
Best of Mont Blanc snowshoeing courses (click
for details), with a 10% discount
to UIMLA members so it costs just £539. So
who do these courses appeal to?
Existing
mountain professionals
Many are members of the British Association of International
Mountain Leaders (BAIML), who are seeking to develop
their skills further. The training officer of BAIML
has previously agreed that those who attended these
courses were awarded 2 CPD points, the same as the
official BAIML Course.
Those
seeking to get winter 'quality mountain days'
These courses are often used by those considering
becoming a BAIML member, who are after increasing
their number of quality mountain days (QMD's), as
the course offers a guaranteed five days to add
to your tally.
People
on the IML scheme seeking further training
If you are enrolled on the IML scheme, and are seeking
extra specific training on snowshoeing in preparation
for you winter training course or assessment, these
courses give you more confidence and experience.
Bespoke:
If
none of the dates of the standard course suit you,
we can run a bespoke course for you on any week
during the winter season, from early December through
to April each year. We only require a minimum of
two people to book, and the bespoke price is £699
per person based on two people sharing, or £1299
if booking alone. Contact us to arrange a bespoke
date for you.
Dates:
these
are listed in the column on the right, and they
show the live availability from our secure online
booking system. When you book online, you receive
immediate confirmation, your Alpine Information
Booklet, course specific kit list and invoice.
A
brilliant week exploring hidden the gems
of the region. I will definately be back
next year for more of the same. A huge thanks
to you all so much. Jill
Wheldon , Snowshoeing
Meticulously
planned, and extraordinarily knowledgable.
A brilliant holiday led by a guide who so
obviously loved every minute of his job,
and looked after us very well. Brian
Atkinson , Snowshoeing
Day
1 - Avalanche Awareness
Today we started to cover a lot
of the technical content of the course (see below), especially
the avalanche awareness and reaction elements. The photos
show the use of ARVA's (transceivers) being taught, and
the three stage search pattern for victim recovery. The
weather was stable, but we found several areas of wind
slab and also depth hoar in the snowpack. We spent some
time on route selection and on snow isolation blocks.
TECHNICAL
CONTENT OF COURSE •
Use of snowshoes and techniques
for moving over different terrain, • The
use of transceivers, search methods, and crisis management,
• Choice of route and the planning
and selection of appropriate terrain, • Appreciation
of the snowpack, crystal metamorphasis and risk, •
Slab formation & layers, Rutschblock
and isolation block stability tests, • Winter
cold injuries / first aid, and avalanche victim recovery
methods, • Decision
making processes and travel techniques on snowpacks,
• Avalanche form / release
patterns, and islands of safety for route planning,
• Geomorphology / geography
/ ecology (flora, fauna and animal tracks), •
Weather & climatic influences,
and how to predict Alpine weather.
Day
1 - Avalanche probing on the Plan d'Aiguille
Day
1 - Avalanche Transceiver searches on Plan d'Aiguille
Day
2 - Refuge Loriaz & Summits
The focus of today was more on
route planning, and the choice of terrain to avoid trigger
points for avalanches. The group headed up from Vallorcine
to the Refuge de Loriaz, and then took in a couple of
classic snowshoe summits. The snowpack was relatively
stable, with a few areas of windslab and some corniced
ridges.
Just behind the refuge we took in the subsidiary summit
of Le Charmoz, and then traversed across to ascend to
the summit of Tête de Chevrette. The route choice
for these two peaks is critical, and though no rope
is required, the slopes ascended are towards the limit
of what is safe and possible on snowshoes.
The group members were given the opportunity to lead
various sections, in order to assess the avalanche risk
and to select the best route for the group. Some of
this planning was map based, and also field tests on
the snowpack were performed. The descent from the Tête
de Chevrette was made by a different route to Le Couteray,
and the valley.
During the day we saw many animal tracks, especially
chamois and hare, as well as a golden eagles on the
thermals above the Vallorcine slopes.
Day
2 - On the snow covered roof of the Chalets de Loriaz
Day
2 - Vary of wind slab risks on route to a snowshoe summit
Day
3 - Emosson & Six Jeur 2062m
Today we moved over to Switzerland
for the day, and drove to Finhault village. From there
we ascended to the Emosson dam. In many places the group
was now able to assess the avalanche risk, and we crossed
several sections of avalanche debris from point releases
and skier triggered soft slab avalanches.
Once the lake was reached, we stopped for lunch before
heading upwards to the fantastic snowshoe summit of
the Six Jeur. Here there is a 360° panorama, and
you can see into France and the Martigny Rhone valley.
To reach the summit requires very careful route planning
and the snow pack must be very stable to consider an
ascent, but today our luck was in, and we picked our
way across the steeper slopes to find a safe route to
the top. The weather was a little cloudy at times, but
the cloud base was high, so the views were brilliant.
After descending to the dam, we crossed the 180m high
parabolic structure, on the thin ridge of snow along
its crest. Then we made the long descent back to Finhault,
and only encountered two other people all day long!
As if the day wasn't enough, we went out for night time
ARVA searches above Argentiere, and the group did well.
Day
3 - The frozen lake surface and dam wall at Emosson
Day
3 - Crossing steeper snow slopes on Six Jeur summit
dome
Day
3 - The summit cross of the Six Jeur snowshoe summit
Day
3 - On the summit of Six Jeur 2062m, with Switzerland
behind
Day
4 - Ascent to Bonatti Refuge
After a more relaxed morning,
to recover from the big ascents on the previous two
days, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy,
our third country in three days. After parking in Planpincieux,
we snowshoed along the Val Ferret to Lavachey and then
ascended to the stunning Bonatti refuge.
After checking in, we enjoyed the views of the enormous
south face of Mont Blanc and the Grandes Jorasses, whilst
perfecting the Avalanche Transceiver searches and recovery
times. Night spent in the refuge.
Day
4 - The stunning location of the Bonatti Refuge, Val
Ferret
Day
4 - Studying maps and route planning in the Bonatti
Refuge
Day
4 - Sunset over Mont Blanc from the Bonatti Refuge
Day
5 - Tête Entre deux Sauts
An early start from the hut, and
again we had great clear weather and well frozen snow,
as we headed up the Malatra valley towards the Pas Entre
deux Sauts. Hare tracks were the only ones apart from
ours on the fresh snow, and we moved quickly to reach
the pass in good time, where we were rewarded with great
views of the South Face of Mont Blanc at sunrise.
From here we traversed round to reach the ridge of the
Tête Entre deux Sauts. This was great terrain for
assessing the avalanche risk, as well as for studying
group management on steeper ground. The aspect of slope
and gradient was constantly varied.
After descending to the pass, we then headed across the
upper reaches of the Malatra valley and then back down
to the Bonatti refuge again. On the route we spent some
time on steep snow for the group to explore the possibilities
and limitations of the snowshoes!
A quick rest at the hut, and then we made the descent
into the Val Ferret by a more direct route, throught the
forest, and from there back to Planpincieux and then Chamonix
for the night.
Day
5 - On the roof of an abandoned barn in the Malatra
village
Day
5 - View of Mont Blanc from Pas Entre deux Sauts
Day
5 - Fresh tracks in great powder snow
Day
5 - Mont Blanc from the Tête Entre deux Sauts
Course
Summary
Whilst we had great weather and
snow conditions for the week, the group experienced a
wide variety of snowpacks and avalanche risks, and often
had to choose their routes very carefully.
A key learning point for the week was also the selection
of equipment suitable for Alpine snowshoeing, with a focus
on travelling more lightweight yet with all the safety
equipment (rope, ARVA's, etc).
In addition to the daytime snowshoeing course, there were
also evening instruction sessions each evening that the
group was in Chamonix. These varied from Alpine weather
prediction to avalanche prediction.
CPD - This courses counted as 2 CPD credits.
PHOTOS - Very many thanks to both Gerald Davison and John
Clark for providing the majority photos used in this report.
INFORMATION - If you would like any more information about
these CPD Snowshoe Courses please e-mail us at chamonix@icicle-mountaineering.ltd.uk.
The Icicle UIMLA team
Day
5 - Mel, Gerald and John on the Tête Entre deux
Sauts
Day
5 - Descending back to the Bonatti refuge and the Val
Ferret
