Avalanche Science Program Identified Program Outcomes with Competencies :
- Core Knowledge and Skills: Students will demonstrate college-level knowledge emphasizing communication, math, science, and critical thinking as well as basic mechanical skills and tool use.
- College-level computer literacy
- College-level math literacy
- Basic exposure to and understanding of statistics
- Communication skills: effective oral, written, and listening skills with peers, students, employers, and public
- Scientific Method: parts and principles
- Evaluate scientific papers/articles
- Recordkeeping, recording, and data management
- Familiarity with common snow and weather instrumentation and tools
- Understanding and use of common language and terminology
- Basic mechanical skills and use of tools
- Field Observations: Students will be able to produce high-quality, field-based observations of snow, weather, and avalanches.
- Snow study plot observations
- Snow profile observations
- Weather observations
- Avalanche observations
- Safe Travel: Students will be able to evaluate and employ safe, efficient winter travel and travel in avalanche terrain
- Understand the impact of physical limitations and skill level on backcountry travel
- Winter survival
- Travel safely in avalanche terrain
- Efficient backcountry travel including equipment and technique
- Use, operation, and maintenance of commonly used over-the-snow vehicles
- Rescue and First Aid: Students will be able to model efficient small-group avalanche rescue including victim care and transport. Additionally, they will be able to explain the organization of a large team rescue.
- Be able to perform a fast and efficient small-group rescue
- Understand incident command system as it relates to avalanche rescue
- Be able to participate in an organized avalanche rescue effort
- Know current best practices in avalanche victim resuscitation
- Demonstrate basic care and transport for patients in winter rescue
- Rescuer safety
- Understanding of state-of-the-art avalanche rescue tools and equipment
- Leadership: Students will employ a range of leadership skills and abilities such as self-reliance, anticipation of ‘human factor’ effects, expedition behavior, and professionalism.
- Develop critical and reflective thinking abilities
- Exhibit responsible decision-making and personal accountability
- Exhibit the ability to work effectively as an individual or as part of a group
- Develop leadership skills and abilities
- Understand human factors and biases as related to group travel and safety
- Understand the value of the life-long learning process and its importance in snow, weather, and avalanche work
- Ethics as related to profession
- Be able to educate others about snow, weather, and avalanches and describe the societal impact of snow work
- Snow Science: Students will be able to describe fundamental snow, weather, and avalanche principles and processes.
- Mountain weather and climate
- Formation of snow/precipitation
- Snowpack formation and evolution
- Avalanche formation and release
- Forecasting: Students will be able to employ an elementary weather and avalanche forecasting process for a range of contexts.
- Describe the forecasting process
- Define a operational forecast problem
- Evaluate the strength, weight, and uncertainty of information
- Determine relevance of data
- Create and communicate a weather/avalanche forecast
- Understand the effect of temporal and spatial scales
- Perform an objective assessment of a weather/avalanche forecast
- Operations: Students will be able to describe and evaluate a range of operational avalanche planning and mitigation activities.
- Understand and evaluate an avalanche safety plan
- Understand the similarities and differences of various snow, weather, and avalanche operations (recreational, transportation corridors, research, etc…)
- Be familiar with avalanche terrain mapping
- Understand automated environmental remote sensing
- Coordination with other operational units
- Risk Management: Students will be able to describe and model a range of risk management concepts and techniques including risk identification, assessment, management, mitigation, and communication.
- Understand the risk management process and application
- Understand and evaluate a risk management plan
- Familiarity with relevant laws and liability
- Familiarity with ISO 31000 (International Standards Organization - Risk Management)