Following the 6P's for Backcountry skiing
As we all get antsy waiting for the snow ( which seems to be on it's way!) we can practice our transceiver and rescue skills, hone our group gear and prepare for the season.
What are the 6 P's?
The 6 P's are something that was taught to me when learning water sports safety and instruction many years ago. There are versions of it, but here is the family friendly version:
Proper
Prior
Preparation
Prevents
Poor
Performance
There are many ways to look at this from a backcountry skiing perspective. Getting the proper training is the most valuable, and there are plenty of posts recently on that. Locally to us, there are many AST1 providers in the Kootenays, including Kootenay Backcountry Guides and Summit Mountain Guides in Nelson, and Arctos Guides in Slocan, to name but three. Whitewater Ski Resort also runs courses out of their new Hummingbird Lodge.
Part of the 6P's is making sure that we have the gear we need, a trip plan, have checked the weather and Avalanche reports, and let people know where the group is going. On a recent short tour, our experienced group realized that between us all we hadn't given our significant others a return time or a specific place we were headed. These things are usually standard practice among our group, and it got me thinking.
How can we avoid missing a step, so that we are properly prepared?
As if by magic, I stumbled across this Backcountry Checklist site in the US. There was a paper version that came out a while ago, and you can still get that, or use our one from here.
However, the beauty of this site is that you can tick off the things you have as a group and individually. Go through it all with your group before leaving cell service. At each step it reminds you of the things you should have, or have done. Then you can send your trip plan electronically to your emergency contact. Thi is a great way to ensure that nothing is missed in the group preparation, and that should the worst happen SAR is aware of everything they need to be to make a decision on how and when to find and extricate you.
A quick caveat on this site. The Avalanche bulletin is from the US only for now, so when it asks if you have checked that, skip across to look at the Canadian Avalanche Bulletin instead!
In the meantime, check your gear lists, take a course if you haven't already,a nd pray for snow!