Avalanche Field Book

Avalanche Field Book

Standing around listening to an instructor teaches you little. It needs to be hard. Getting your hands in the snow and writing your findings with paper and pencil is hard. It makes students think and learn the right lessons. Seasoned avalanche instructors have all learned the importance of using field books.

I’ve tried all the avalanche field books, from detailed versions for professionals, to blank Rite in the Rain #311. Problem is, they’re expensive and not what I wanted. So I made one for our Alaska Guide Collective avalanche courses, and tested it over the years.

But still, I wanted something better. This is it.

56 pages on Rite in the Rain paper that fits in your pocket.

This field book is for recreational avalanche courses. It has trip plans, observation worksheets, pit profiles, reference tables… what you need to learn to make good decisions in avalanche terrain.

$20 retail (Rite in the Rain paper ain’t cheap)

$12 wholesale

As always, I’m seeking a better way to think about avalanches. I came up with a decision-making flowchart, an updated avalanche triad that organizes information the way we actually think, a teamwork checklist, and a stripped-down rescue outline designed to help prevent freezing. More on those in future posts.

The core of a recreational field book is the trip plan. This trip plan is stripped-down, simple, and teaches our most important decision making tool: making your best decisions before going into the field.

Avalanche Pro 1 course at Turnagain Pass.