Forums Splitboard Talk Forum Intro to Splitboarding – Course Curriculum Ideas Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total) Author Posts August 12, 2005 at 9:12 pm #566746 bcrider 4149 Posts See this thread to get started. http://www.splitboard.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=891 I’m just looking for some ideas regarding a list of things a new splitter would like to see covered in a course like this. What would be your ideal course (as a new splitter)? Some of the things I’d like to see covered are. 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 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? Please feel free to share you thoughts and comments. Ps. If anyone has ideas for the Advanced or Destination courses those are welcome as well. Thanks, bcrider August 12, 2005 at 10:54 pm #582441 Ecobrad 2068 Posts 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. August 13, 2005 at 12:08 am #582442 SanFrantastico 1514 Posts I’m with Ecobrad on the accomodations. At the ASI Snowboard Mountaineering course, it was up to us to find our own accomodations for the night. Would have been funner in a lodge or something, but camping out would have been miserable after a tough day of learning new skills. We didn’t use crampons or ice axe in our 2-day course and there was still plenty to learn… maybe an advanced/destination course would be a good place to teach those skills along with the camping, etc… Putting the poo in swimming pool since 1968. August 13, 2005 at 6:34 am #582443 jimw 1421 Posts 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”?? 🙂 August 13, 2005 at 6:48 am #582444 Ecobrad 2068 Posts Oh, BTW… what is “pre-trip planning”?? Posting a Partners Wanted query announcing I’ve got a hall pass! August 13, 2005 at 5:26 pm #582445 Matt 77 Posts 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. 😉 August 13, 2005 at 7:55 pm #582446 dave 100 Posts Matt says: 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… haha. funny, but on a more serious note: how do first time users know what a mistake is and what isn’t? unless something serious happens, nothing is gained if you’re just out there gettin ‘er done. a simple knowledge and pointing things out is probably a better way to approach the course instead of just learning from their (or others) mistakes. sure, if you’re out with an experianced group, you might be able to charge it. when trying to emphasise the safety and the dangers of the consequences that come along with our “playground”, it kind of puts on a little bit of a scare for first time users. (the human factor) the same thing that’s always mentioned. we’re real cautious as first timers, but once we get the hang of things and nothing serious has happened we tend to let our gaurd down. some basic riding skills is a great part too. different riding techniques to approach different terrain is something that you would hope that most “experts” and backcountry users would already know, but with understanding the nature of the uncontrolled backcountry terrain, many different styles are needed. sometimes you’ve just got to point it. provide them with the knowledge to keep themselves (and group) alive, and what they do with it is up to them. sounds like you’ve got the bases covered already though, for the most part. August 14, 2005 at 6:22 pm #582447 Matt 77 Posts 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. 😉 August 15, 2005 at 3:06 pm #582448 SanFrantastico 1514 Posts I guess I’ll bite… Goodness! That’s quite a line in the sand, there! I’m sure that you learned all your skills by trial and error in splended isolation in the wilderness. Who does that remind me of… Anyway, I actually believe that you can learn from the experience of your fellow humans by taking classes, reading books, meeting people, and visiting message boards online. Obviously learning from experience is paramount, but I think it is quite a stretch to say if a person augments his learning by methods other than wilderness experience he is not ‘self-reliant and tough’ enough for the backcountry. I’m not really sure how taking a class makes a person less tough… Putting the poo in swimming pool since 1968. August 15, 2005 at 7:05 pm #582449 Matt 77 Posts 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… August 15, 2005 at 9:56 pm #582450 SanFrantastico 1514 Posts Oh c’mon… you’ve got to give some props for digging up the most awsome Nell pic… I guess your diet is the ‘healthy alternative’ to the Capp St. diet: Step 1) Steal something Step 2) Smoke Crack Step 3) Repeat Yours for free… you’ll be really really skinny… Putting the poo in swimming pool since 1968. Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total) You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
