AMN13 comes to Valley Forge

The NSP Eastern Division will hold its fall seminar and refresher for Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and  Nordic (AMN) instructors and evaluators on the weekend of September 20 to 22, 2013, in Valley Forge National Historic Park, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

The event is registered with NSP as Nordic, MTR, and Avalanche 1 Instructor Continuing Education Clinics.

Visit the AMN13 website.

AMN Seminar in New York State

The Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors of the NSP Eastern Division will meet at Highland Forest Park, Fabius, New York over the weekend of September 14-16.

For more information, visit the website.

New MTR Manual due in October

A new Mountain Travel and Rescue manual is scheduled for release October first. Many new features have been added to this second edition.

For details, visit the website of The Mountaineers, publishers.

Patroller Education Conference 2012

The 2012 Patroller Education Conference will be held April 12 – 14, 2012, at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The program includes Avalanche and Mountain Travel & Rescue clinics and a presentation about the Nordic Master program. You can register online for the Patroller Education Conference, all the clinics, and lessons. Get started by reading the brochure, studying the program, and signing up at PEC12. See the reminder from Christine Albertson.
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AMN Seminar and Refresher

The Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors of the NSP Eastern Division will meet again at Northfield Mountain. The event will take place in Northfield, Massachusetts, Friday to Sunday, September 16-18.

For more information, visit the website.

Cross Country Skier Magazine now Online

The Cross Country Skier magazine is now online, and no password or subscription is required. Take a look at the October issue.

Zoom in on articles or photos; print pages, email article, or download the issue as a PDF. All website links and email addresses (including advertisements) are active. Click the title or page number of any article in the Table of Contents and you'll jump to the corresponding article in the body of the magazine.
 

AMN Meeting a Success

The Eastern Division's Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors and supervisors enjoyed a productive meeting and skills refresher at Ski Big Bear in Eastern Pennsylvania, on the weekend of September 17-19.

CRREL Report

The Eastern Division successfully held a Continuing Education Winter Sciences and Survival Seminar at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH. Approximately 58 Avalanche, MTR, and Nordic instructors attended. Topics presented included emergency sled (Sked) use and construction, avalanche forecasting, treatment of cold-related injuries and hypothermia, cold weather clothing design and construction, and rescue techniques.

Fall AMN Refresher Announced

After meeting three years at Northfield Mountain, the Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors of the NSP Eastern Division have moved to a new venue. The AMN annual refresher will take place at Ski Big Bear, Mast Hope Mountain, in Eastern Pennsylvania, Friday to Sunday, September 17-19.

For more information, visit the website.

Animated Knot-Tying

This is undoubtedly the best way to learn knots and their tying. View a fast or slow animation of each knot or step through the process at your own leisure. Grogono demonstrates both rope and webbing knots and hitches. The illustrations are dramatically clear, and color is used to advantage. The search and rescue section includes 14 knots, including the Trucker’s Hitch, my personal nemesis. Perhaps I’ll finally master it.

While you’re at the site, look at the 17 climbing knots. You may be interested in reading the review on Kevin Kelly’s site.

Image courtesy of Alan W. Grogono.

Improvised Tarp Shelters

Here are almost one hundred plans for folding and pleating tarps into improvised survival shelters. The 76 pages are chock full of how and why and why not. Don’t skip the great introduction in Q & A style about shelters, tarps, and ropes.

Australian David B. Macpherson lends his experience and creativity to this essential skill.

You may be interested in the Cool Tools item on Tarptents.

“Wilderness Survival Guide”

Author Monty Alford is a veteran of 35 years of expeditions and first ascents in the Yukon, Alaska, and other cold regions. In “Wilderness Survival Guide” he summarizes much of his experience and knowledge. Chapters cover travel on rivers, ice, snow, and glaciers and kits, signalling, and shelters for cold weather survival. Alford provides helpful tables and plans and instructions for tools, including a gear sled.

Published by Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Edmonds, Washington, 1987, 104 pages, paperback. It’s out of print, but copies may be had on the internet and in libraries.

Improvised Rescue Toboggans

Improvising an emergency toboggan in the field is a standard part of the Nordic program. The Faher Flyer is tried and true, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Couloir Magazine presents the whys and hows of three field expedients here.

Connecticut Nordic News published Chuck Boyd’s modifed Flyer in this nicely illustrated article. A similar field expedient sled has been described by New Jersey patrollers.
 

“Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book”

Subtitled “Travelling & Camping Skills for a Winter Environment”, Allen O’Bannon’s text and Mike Clelland’s art inform and entertain the winter backcountry skier. You’ll delight to chapters on safety, gear, technique, shelter, cooking, and minimal impact. An appendix directs you to further resources. This is like a Mountain Travel and Rescue course in 114 pages. See Kevin Kelly’s reviews of this book and of the same authors’ “Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book” and “Lighten Up!”. See also “Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Telemark Tips”.

Published by Globe Pequot Press