I just returned from the Eastern Sierra where I took an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course from the awesome company Sierra Mountain Guides. This was a 24 hour course that took place over 3 days in the June Mountain area.

Our instructors were Neil Satterfield lead guide and owner of SMG, and Jed Porter who is also a lead guide for SMG. These guys were great! Super knowledgable, friendly, and I always felt safe in the field with them. I can’t imagine a better team to teach a course like this where the knowledge you learn can be so critical to your survival in the mountains.

As they state in the syllabus for this class the expected outcomes are to:

• Provide a basic understanding of avalanches
• Describe a framework for decision making and risk management in avalanche terrain
• Focus on identifying the right questions, rather than on providing “answers.”
• Give lessons and exercises that are practically oriented, useful, and applicable in the field.

While all this was a lot to learn in 3 days they really made it work. I feel I gained the knowledge needed to start to understand avalanches, safety and decision making. In the end it will take several years to achieve all these things, however, this course was the perfect start.

Day One

The first day we met at 8:00 am at the June Mountain Backcountry Center. When I arrived I got a friendly greeting from Neil and a prompt to grab a cup of coffee (BTW the coffee they had everyday was awesome). The morning was spent in the classroom where we learned about AIARE, and then got right into the decision making process. In many ways this is what the level 1 class is all about. Making the right decisions when heading into the backcountry. We looked at several case studies about actual avalanches which really drove the decision making process home. We also learned about the types and characteristics of avalanches and what defines avalanche terrain. Trough out the class they showed us lots of photos, videos and told personal accounts which was very helpful and entertaining.

“It’s never acceptable to let one member of your party die at a time.” Neil Satterfield

The second half of the day was spent in the field. The goal was to learn about rescue equipment and companion rescue. We spilt into 2 groups and Jed was my groups instructor the first day. BTW, Jed was awesome. Very knowledgeable humble, and down to earth kind of guy. Apparently, from his bio, he also makes a great salsa. We spent the afternoon learning how to use our essential avalanche gear (shovel, beacon, probe) with a lot of hands on practical exercises. Next we broke into 2 more groups and practiced companion rescue techniques. What does that mean? Someone buries a pack with a transmitting avalanche beacon several hundreds of meters away and a of of 4 rescuers have to find it buried under the snow. We did this many times with several different scenarios. Great learning experience!

Finally we headed back to the Backcountry Center where they did a “pack explosion” where they showed us what a guide takes in his/her pack when in the backcountry. This was very informative and pointed out some things I wanted to change that I carry in the backcountry.

Day 2

Day 2 started out with my new favorite game. Avalanche Jeopardy. With categories such as avalanche terrain, snowpack, and decision making it was a fun way to wake-up and start the day. My team lost by 100 dollars in final Jeopardy, but we all had fun playing. The classroom section was all about observations and information gathering. We learned about avalanche danger factors, observation techniques, and clue gathering. We also learn how to interpret the Avalanche Hazard Forecast. And what better person to learn from than the person who writes it every day for the Easter Sierra, Sue Burak. She was a great reference and we all felt lucky she was the one who explained how the forecast is created, and how to use it.

The second part of the day was spent in the field. Today my group went out with Neil where we learned about avalanche terrain identification, slope angles and bonding tests which included compression and Rutschblock tests. After a quick lunch in the snow we got right into learning how to dig a proper snow pit. We broke into groups of 4 and Neil and Jed went through the process of how to dig a pit. Then we went off to dig our own test pits. After all of the groups had dug their pits we went back to Neil and Jed’s pit to learn how to record and examine a pit for things such as slope incline, depth, and several tests that would reveal the layers of snow that we were looking for. We also learned how to do a compression test. Again we went back to our own pits to make some evaluations. We found several layers along with one deep persistent layer of weak faceted snow. It’s amazing how easy it was to see the week layer next to the layers of more stable snow. Then we did the first of 3 compression tests. These were classic. It was dramatic to see how easily the layers sheared off. It was exactly what happens in a slab avalanche, but to an entire slope. Finally we watched Neil and Jed do a Rutschblock test. This is similar to a compression test, but on a much larger scale. Neil did the first few test and the layer hadn’t failed yet. So he ask for 4 volunteers. I volunteered. We all 4 lined up at the top of the block, linked arms and jumped on the block. The layer failed and all four of us slide down on top of the block. Mini avalanche! So much fun. Next, we headed back to the classroom to plan our full day out the next day.

When we got back we once again broke into 2 groups. One group had all expert skiers and our group consisted of 3 snowshoers (including me) and 3 other expert skiers. We were presented with 3 trip options on topo maps and were told we could make one up if we wanted to. Two options were in the backcountry of June Mountain and required lift tickets, and the other was at a 9,000 foot peak outside of the ski area. Three people in my group had brought their dogs (1 husky and 2 border collies) so we chose the non-lift option. Then it was time to go get some food and sleep.

Day 3

This day started out with a short session on decision making and how that related to the planning and preparation for our day out in the field. We also found out our instructor would be Jed for the day. The point of the day was to apply all of the learning we’ve done for the past two days in real terrain. We looked at the avalanche and weather forecasts an discussed how we thought they would affect our planned trips. The avalanche warning was at low and had been at moderate the day before. The weather forecast consisted of snow, high winds and the possibility of rain after 10:00 am. Currently it was snowing with gusty winds. Neil and Jed were hesitant about the low avalanche rating. They did explain that the forecast was for the entire Eastern Sierra and the conditions we see at any given location can be different. The day before we had observed a weak persistent layer of faceted snow and knew the conditions around June we a bit different than the overall forecast. We decided it was safe to go where we were going because we had already come up with alternate and emergency escape routes if we observed avalanche conditions. This turn out to be a good thing for both groups.

We got to the trailhead around 10:30 am geared up and did a group function test on our beacons before we headed off. The peak had no name or trails and was just north of Mt Downs. The trailhead was at at about 7,800 ft and the summit was at 9,000 ft.

It was snowing as we left the cars and headed up the mountain. The first hour was mostly uphill with a lot of tree cover. After that we emerged onto a nice little plateau where we stopped for a few minutes to eat some food and drink some water. I’m not sure what it was, but all of the dogs kept surrounding me and my food bag. Later I found out the husky only likes fruits and veggies just like me. At this point we could see the summit dome for the first time, and it looked pretty awesome.

As we started hiking again everyone noticed that the snow was somehow different. We all did pole test and sure enough there was a week layer under foot. After discussing the situation we determined the cause was radiational heating from the sun. We were on the flats so there was no avalanche danger and we kept going. After some more uphill we found ourselves on the summit. It was rather small but had some great views. We took a group picture and continued along the ridge line. We decided before we descended the slope on the other side we would dig two test pits. We had seen unstable snow on the other side and the slope we were going to go down was 32 degrees which is prime avalanche terrain.

Both of our test pits showed a weak persistent layer of faceted snow. Ours was so weak it failed on the first four finger test. After discussing we decided traveling down a 32 degree slope with a weak persistent layer would not be a good idea. So we decided to use our emergency route off the mountain. We backtracked across the ridge line past the summit and head down to a nice flat spot to refuel. The views were great! After about 15 minutes we were on our way again. The skiers took off their skins and glided down follow by the snowshoers. We met up every few minutes, and then continued on. At one point Jed told us to stay where we were for 5 minutes and then follow his tracks down. He said he was going to show us a new navigational technique. We were all suspicious. After 5 minutes we headed down. After 5 or 10 minutes we saw Jed standing in a clearing and headed over to him. He pointed back up slope and said his friends had just been avalanched so we went into companion rescue mode. It only took us about 10 minutes to find the buried beacons. Then we packed up and kept heading down. After one more tricky 27 degree slope we were back at the cars in about a half an hour. Great trip!

After that we headed back to the classroom for one last meet-up. We did a self evaluation and answered some questions about what we thought of the instructors and the course material and then we all headed home.

This was one of my favorite outdoor classes I’ve ever taken. If you’re a backcountry boarder, skier, or climber I would suggest this is an important class to take. Also, if you plan on taking an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course I would also highly suggest Sierra Mountain Guides. They’re  a really great group!

---

Course Gallery

---

June Lake Logistics – Getting there

June Lake is located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada on highway 395 just 15 minutes north of Mammoth Lakes. The closest airport is Mammoth (MMH) which is how I got there from San Francisco. The two rental car services at Mammoth are Enterprise and Hertz. I initially booked a car with Enterprise. When I spoke to them the night before they said they could not guaranty I would have a car when I arrived even though I had booked it a week before on Expedia. I canceled this reservation, and called the Hertz at Mammoth. They could guaranty there would be a car when I arrived, so I re-booked with them. My first piece of advice would be to not book with Enterprise. I would call the Mammoth Hertz and book with them.

June Lake Logistics – Motel

There are several motels and cottages in the June Lake area and many more in the Mammoth area. I decided to stay in June Lake since it’s only a minute or two from the June Mountain Ski area where the class is taught.

I stayed at The Haven. An awesome small hotel right off main street in June. You can walk to restaurants an the grocery store from here. It’s owned by a family that lives right across the street. I got a studio with a kitchen and didn’t have to eat out until the last day (just because I wanted to).

There is a lot of benefits to a small family run motel. Such as, the last day my flight wasn’t until 5:45 pm and they let me stay in the room for free until 3:30 pm and their check out time was 10:00 am – try that in a city. The room had a comfortable bed, sofa, chair and a good kitchen. Awesome place to stay!

• The Haven
• 78 Knoll Ave, June Lake, CA
• (760) 648-7524
• Toll Free:(800)648-7524
• www.junelakehaven.com

June Lake Logistics – Grocery

I bought most of my food at the June Lake General Store. Well stocked, friendly and the prices weren’t that bad.

• June Lake General Store
• 1 Main St.
• June Lake, CA 93529
• Winter: 9am-6pm 7days

June Lake Logistics – Dinning

I only ate out twice while I was there. The last day I had breakfast and lunch at the Tiger Bar & Cafe. The food was great, portions were large and the prices were fair. If you’re in the June Lake are I suggest a meal there. Both times I noticed that locals out numbered tourist. This is always a good sign.

• Tiger Bar & Cafe
• 2620 California 158
• CA 93529
• (760) 648-7551
• www.thetigerbarcafe.com

---