Henry’s Avalanche Talk (HAT) in association with ORTOVOX and Ellis Brigham has begun its 2019 Off-Piste Awareness Tour, a popular series of talks and training sessions that includes over 30 live events in venues across the UK.
The talks focus on how to manage risk when skiing or snowboarding off-piste and are aimed at all levels of riders from off-piste first timers to experienced veterans looking to reinforce their knowledge.
This winter, we’re offering InTheSnow readers an exclusive 20% off tickets from the talks right the way through to the events. Simply enter the code hatinsnow at the checkout!
The main theme for this year’s HAT talks, above and beyond learning and refreshing ‘the essentials’, is ‘application’. It is becoming increasingly clear that the vast majority of accidents are caused by individuals not applying decision making and risk reduction measures; and this is because of human factors and flaws that are magnified within a mountain environment. The solution is a risk reduction framework that Henry and his team will be introducing and building on across all events.
Founder of HAT, Henry Schniewind, said: “We’re going to discuss the latest lessons from recent research on the Human Factor and how it applies to decision making and risk taking in the backcountry and off-piste skiing.
Why is it that when there are clear clues indicating danger, people who should know better and have the basic training needed in order to recognise these clues, still get caught out in avalanches”?
There tour consists of three different events that participants can attend:
The Essentials Talk
A must see talk, full of ‘essential’ information for all off-piste skiers who want to have fun and be safe, no matter how experienced you are.
The In-Depth Talk
For anyone who has attended the Essentials Talk, this is an in-depth look at one subject: Henry will explore how and why avalanches are triggered.
Transceiver Training
Hands on training and practice with avalanche transceivers. This is a practical session in the UK where you learn how to use a transceiver, shovel and probe to locate a victim in 5 minutes and dig them out in 15 minutes. Here at InTheSnow, we had the chance to take part in one of Henry’s transceiver training sessions ahead of last season and we absolutely loved it. If you’re unsure how to use a transceiver but want to ski more off piste this winter, we would 100% recommend this session. Indeed, we used it as a refresher course having not used our transceiver over the summer months and found it incredibly helpful for this purpose too.
All the UK talks take place in Ellis Brigham stores and the Transceiver Training sessions are held in outdoor spaces suited to hiding and locating objects in the ground.
Full schedule:
The Essentials Talk – Ellis Brigham Stores, cost £15 per person
London St Pauls – Tuesday 12 November 2019
Castleford – Tuesday 19 November 2019
Braehead – Wednesday 20 November 2019
Cambridge – Wednesday 27 November 2019
Grenoble – Wednesday 04 December 2019
Val d’Isère – Wednesday 18 December 2019
Covent Garden – Tuesday 07 January 2020
Val d’Isère – Wednesday 22 January 2020
Book: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/essential-talks
In-Depth Talk – Ellis Brigham Stores, cost £15 per person
Manchester – Thursday 31 October 2019
St Pauls – Wednesday 13 November 2019
Castleford – Wednesday 20 November 2019
Braehead – Thursday 21 November 2019
Cambridge – Thursday 28 November 2019
Grenoble – Thursday 05 December 2019
Val d’Isère – Thursday 19 December 2019
Covent Garden – Wednesday 08 January 2020
Val d’Isère – Thursday 23 January 2020
Book: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/in-depth-talks
Transceiver Training – outdoor venues, cost £60 per person (3 hour session)
Wimbledon – Sunday 27 October 2019
Wimbledon – Friday 01 November 2019
Wimbledon – Sunday 03 November 2019
Sandbanks – Sunday 10 November 2019
Wimbledon – Sunday 17 November 2019
Ilkley – Saturday 23 November 2019
Manchester – Sunday 24 November 2019
Wimbledon – Monday 30 December 2019
Sandbanks – Sunday 05 January 2020
Wimbledon – Sunday 16 February 2020
Book: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/transceivertraining
Find out more at: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/events-in-the-uk
