Goal: To educate students how splitboards work and how to use them in the backcountry.
Approximately 16 hours
Location: Taos, NM (Carson National Forest)
Cost: $400 (minimum 2 students, max 6 students/instructor); does not include equipment, travel, or lodging.
Prerequisite(s)- avalanche companion rescue course; Avy 1 (recommended) as we will be traveling in avalanche terrain.
Curriculum
Day 1 -4 hours- Explain how different splitboards, bindings, skins, poles work. Also showing other equipment- backpack, repair kit, beacon shovel probe and how to properly carry them. Students will also learn about timely and efficient transitions, proper use of climbing wires, and how to perform kick turns.
Day1 -4 hours- Discuss how to plan a tour. Starting time, decision making points, and drop times. Importance about temps and starts. A little about group dynamics and decision making. Use of apps such as fat maps and Caltopo and OnX Backcountry. Students will plan tour for next day.
Day 2 -8 hours- Meet at TH and go for a tour discussing the things learned the day before. During tour students will demonstrate skinning technique, kick turns, switching over from ski to ride mode, decision making, and executing planned decent.
Gear list
- Splitboard, skins, poles
- Snowboard boots
- Beacon, Shovel, Probe
- Synthetic or wool base layers
- Mid layer jacket- puffy or fleece
- Ski Jacket and pants
- Lightweight touring gloves
- Mittens or Gloves
- Hat to block sun and beanie
- neck gaiter or balaclava
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- backpack for skiing (25-40 liter)
- 1 liter water bottle