International Ski and Avalanche Course

This half year course offers you a winter experiencing skiing and avalanche danger evaluation in the Alps, Canada, Northern Norway and Northern Sweden?

Snow and avalanche evaluation are practiced differently in different places. We will gain an understanding of crucial nuances and important experience by spending a lot of time on skis in avalanche prone terrain together with professionals, other students and through project periods.

Course outline
The half-year programme starts in Alta in Norway in November with a weekend gathering for planning and mountain trips, where we get to know each other with and without skis.
In January the course in the Alps (Switzerland and Davos) sets of, and you will go through:

A 3-day NF approved introductory course in avalanche evaluation with an internationally approved mountain guide (UIAGM)
A 4-day off piste course with an internationally approved mountain guide (UIAGM) emphasising the Swiss method of avalanche evaluation
Two weeks working on a project of your own choosing

In February we travel to Canada and the Canadian Rockies to experience:

A weeklong advanced avalanche course with Canadian expertise (Yamnuska)
Two weeks working on a project of your own choosing

After a couple of weeks off in the Canadian mountains, we return to Norway and Øytun in Alta in the middle of March. During March, April and May there will be ski trips in the mountains of Northern Norway and Sarek National Park in Northern Sweeden. You will join the class trips of the Off Piste course to Lyngsalpene and Sarek as assistant guides. You will also get to work on individual projects in Lofoten, Kirovsk in Russia or wherever your interest lies.
In the end of May we round it all off by experiencing Northern Troms and Lyngsalpene in the midnight sun...

International Ski and Avalanche Course, so what?
What will you gain from this course?
Foremost, you get to ski in a lot of different environments, with pertinence to snow, skiing, risk culture, and, most certainly, available avalanche information. There is a great leap from the Norwegian reality, with no official information concerning avalanches, to Switzerland, where there is extensive facilitation and information with regards to avalanches. We assume that you are already a devoted skier, but that you would like to improve your skills with regards to snow and avalanche evaluation. The only way to gain the necessary knowledge of avalanche evaluation is to spend a lot of time on skis under various conditions, as well as systematic work on the subject. We try, through this course, to provide you with experience in a craft it can take a lifetime to learn.

In addition to documented competence from real conditions, which is beneficial for applications to further study, you get:

3 day NF approved avalanche course
4 day course in Swiss avalanche evaluation
5 day Advanced Avalanche Course in Canada
Documented avalanche evaluation practice in e.g. Lyngsalpene and Sarek National Park.

Application requirements:

The programme will demand advanced skills in telemark or alpine skiing from the start
You must be able to document general experience of winter outdoor life in the high mountains
You must have experience with, and great interest for, knowledge of snow conditions and avalanche evaluation

The programe involves a lot of cooperation and high standards of own learning and independence

Equipment
It is the student’s responsibility to obtain all necessary equipment for the programme. A list will be sent to the applicants. You will need a snow shovel, a searching rod, and an avalanche beeper. Those who do alpine skiing, must have touring abilities.

Economy
The enrolment fee of Nkr 24 500 (for 2010) is to be paid to Øytun by November 1st (unless other specific arrangements are made). The sum covers Øytun’s participation in the Alps, Canada, and the gathering in Alta, Lyngen and Sarek. The fee is non-refundable in the event of a student aborting all or some of the course.
The enrolment fee does not cover your travel to and from the gatherings, nor food expenses in the Alps and Canada. In addition, individual costs will be incurred by what you set up for your self. The end sum for the individual participant depends on standard of living, form of travel, and project. It is possible to keep costs low, should this be desired. In particular, airfare and lodging in the Alps are areas in which costs can be substantially cut if one shops around. Camping in tents during the project weeks is very affordable! The Øytun guide will be able to provide helpful tips.

Admission
Admission process starts April 1st. The application deadline is October 1st. Students are advised to apply in good time prior to this deadline, however, as available places may be filled rapidly.

The application should include:

A statement that you are applying for the half-year programme Ski and Avalanche
Full name and address
Birth date, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail address
Name of legal guardians if applicable, and their full adresses and phone numbers
Why you are applying, and what you expect to get from the course
Outdoor resume of previous experience in outdoor pursuits, with an emphasis on your experience of winter outdoor life in the high mountains, skiing, and avalanche evaluation
Resume including all school transcripts and diplomas, credentials and references

Send your application to:
Øytun folkehøgskole, 9518 Alta.
Tlf + 47 78 44 91 40, fax + 47 78 44 91 70.
E-mail oytun@oytun.no

Do you have any questions? Please mail me at bjorn@oytun.no

Øytun reserves the right to cancel the programme should there be an insufficient number of applicants. Minor changes with regard to content and dates might occur.