Pettigrew Foundation Class at Mission 2/13

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the Companion Rescue Workshop provided free of charge by the Pettigrew Foundation and the Mission Ridge Ski Patrol.  The class covered transceiver basics, coarse and fine search methods, probing, and strategic shoveling techniques to get your partner out of the snow as quickly as possible.  They also covered differences in strategies for when you are searching by yourself versus as part of a group. 
The part that I thought was the most valuable was that they gave us lots of opportunities to try it all out from start to finish.   We had to ski down the slope, get our gear together, and save our buried backpack “victim”. After we did this a few times we skied down the mountain and the instructors would take turns skiing ahead and burying backpacks, but this time we had to organize, search and dig as a party of five.  One of the searches even involved side-slipping a very steep, narrow, and icy chute until it fanned out at the base and conducting our team search there.  It was by far the most realistic search practice I have ever done.  It was also nice to have professionals watching our technique.  I learned that I have been conducting my fine search slightly incorrectly for years.   It felt really good to hit the backpack on the first probe.
I highly encourage anyone to take this class that wants more practice searching.  If you sign up and can’t make it, let them know.  This class was full (12 people) with a waiting list and only 5 of us showed up.    Our class was scheduled for 10 am to 1 pm.  It actually started at 9:30 and lasted until 3.  I wished I would have packed more food, but other than that, it was great and I have no complaints.  Lift tickets were provided courtesy of Mission Ridge, but there wasn’t much time for skiing other than what we did during class.

My friend John and I also took this class. I was blown away by how much I learned in a few hours. It was definitely worth every minute and I would highly recommend it to any backcountry traveller. If anyone has a chance to attend this class - DO IT !The simulated rescues had a sense of urgency to them that you just don't get when you are on your own practicing.Brad and Taylor were great guys with tons of knowledge. How often do you get to draw on the experience of both the head of area ski patrol and the avalanche forecaster!
Dave