JAN Avalanche Operation Level 1

I took Japan Avalanche Network’s Avalanche Operation Level 1 two weeks ago.

18 people gathered from all over Japan. Main lecturer was Mark Bender who is a heli guide in Levelstoke in BC, Canada. As the translator, we had Yusuke Hirota who works at Baldface where Craig Kelly developed. As other lecturers, we had Nori Saotome who is a heli guide in NZ and also Dave Enright from Ever Green Outdoor Center in Hakuba

In the 8-day course, started a day with observation of tempaliture, weather, wind, snow, etc and after 1-2 hours of class to put as much knowledge about avalanche as we could, went out to backcountry field to hike, dig a pit, observe snow pack and little bit of ride. Then came back to class room and analyze snow stability from the snow pack observation. Those 8 days were putting as much knowledge of avalanche as you can and dug many pits, hike and traverse slopes after skiers (it was hardest ever though) and built up the way of thinking about avalanche.

This is a new type of complession test to anlyze snow stablity called “Extended Clumn Test (ECT)”. Compression test uses 30cm×30cm snow pillar though ECT is trying to observe how the snow pillar break and how the break transmitted as using 30cm×90cm snow pillar. It has become the standard in the states and it will be also in Canada next year. Probably Japan will follow them soon.

I learned so much though those who join this kind of traiing are so unique. Below is our group pic.

Certificate of the course and my bady, BURTON Fish 160. It took me a while to get a best setting though I found that narrower stance works better.

Then I stayed one more night and rode with the guides who took the course togethere. We hiked up from the top of  Hakuba 47 and had great tree runs. It is a kind of rare for me to ride other field and it was good “market research”??