Intro to Splitboarding – Course Curriculum Ideas

Another question I have is whether the attendees would be interested in sleeping on the mountain (more skills and gear to cover) or if they would rather stay in a hotel room?

My thinking is that sleeping on the mountain would be a bit much for an entry level course. I think sleeping at a lodge like at the splitfest was cool. I know MAS uses a lodge in Bear Valley. You could have group talks at night in the comforts of home, mess hall eating, indoor plumbing and still be close to the goods.

Gear (types of boards, boots, bindings, skins, shovels, beacons)
Pre trip planning
Basic route finding
Basic snow analysis
Basic map reading
Skinning (flats, rolling, steeps, traversing, descents)
Using approach poles
Transitioning your board
Descents (basic riding skills)
Using boot crampons and an ice axe

Sounds to me like you’ve got it covered.

I took an intro to snow camping course with MAS. There were snowboarders and skiiers in the class. We basically just went across the street from Bear Valley and hiked up into the hills. You could see the ski area from where we camped… except you couldn’t because when we started hiking it started totally storming. Between hiking into the camp, getting camp set up, discussing and demonstrating different types of snow shelters, surviving the night while pretty much freezing our asses off, hiking for turns the next day and analyzing the snow for instability, we had our beginner hands full. So I agree that this might be a bit much to combine with other splitboard intro stuff. I think it would be good to have:

– Basic intro to splitting course, no snow camping.
– Basic snow camping course, no split-specific stuff (so if you hook up with another guide service this could be a course they probably already have).
– Destination splitting course, has snow campin, more advanced split-specific stuff and a big descent. The above two courses would be recommended prerequisites.

Oh, BTW… what is “pre-trip planning”?? 🙂

Course Curriculum:

1) Get out there and do it (aka. “get ‘er done”)
2) Make mistakes.
…….2a) Don’t get seriously hurt or killed.
3) Learn from mistakes.
4) Repeat…

This course is self-study at your own pace. PM me for where to send the check to. 😉

I wasn’t being funny. Sarcastic with a touch or irony, but not funny. Virtually everybody I know who frequents the backcountry, whether they use a board, teles, AT, or even Extreme Ironing, has learned using this basic method. I would submit that if this doesn’t suit somebody then perhaps they are not suited for the backcountry, where self-reliance, toughness, and adaptability are key skills that can’t be taught.

I’ll put my flame suit on while I wait for the server to process this reply. It’ll help keep me from double posting. 😉

Is that it? You guys are no fun (or I’m a lousy troll).

Anyway, keep the curriculum loose. Don’t get too detailed and rigid. That way the group can converge on the skill areas that that particular group needs, and the flexibility will help adjust to the varying levels of experience in the group. Look at the applications (which should have some questions to determine experience level) and formulate a loose plan for that class/group covering the most important basics they lack.

BTW I also have a proprietary diet plan called…

The Mattkins Diet:
Step 1) Eat less.
Step 2) Exercise more.
Step 3) Repeat.

Again, PM me for where to send the check…