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Want to know tricks of the trade to get people ready for avalanche season.

Last year I got a big field with long grass, and did a lot of scenario beacon searches, timed and under some pressure. This year, I would like to add a lot more fun to it. I'm thinking 4-5 people, multiple burial scenarios, with beer attached to a particular beacon and if you get them all in a timeframe, beer for you! I'm not sure, but I'd like to make it fun. I do like to throw in a few weird searches, like a person wearing the beacon with it on, just to get you an idea of what happens, because you see it out there, and it can be detrimental.

I also refresh / reread "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain". This year, I think I'll put it on the toilet for good reading.

For sure. It's a staple of my nightstand from now until April or May.

I definitely ramp up the beacon practice in early season too, though I have kind of reached my limit for "dryland training" as far as that goes. I usually just set aside an hour or two on the first few tours I'm on (depending on group size & objectives) zigzag/stomp out a big swath on a slope, and run lots of different scenarios but mostly just try to focus on single burial. Usually take a stuff sack for the beacon and bury it covered with my metal shovel handle so the searcher can practice probing too.

After the early season I try to keep doing this once or twice a month, but probably don't do it as much as I should.

Cool beer idea BTW.