Backcountry Skiing and Avalanche Course Survey


Thank you for stopping by. The first part of the survey will help us to better understand who the audience is on the avalanche courses. The questions in the second part will help us to improve the course material and delivery. Even if you have never taken an avalanche course, please answer as many questions as you can. Spread the word of this survey to all your skiing friends.
As a more ambitious goal, once we have enough completed surveys, we will endeavor to publish the survey results in a form of an article.
This work is not supported by Canadian Avalanche Association, National Research Council, Government of British Columbia, or any other body.

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1.Name
2.Age
3.Sex
 Male   Female 
4.Date I finished my avalanche course
5.Number of years I have been backcountry skiing
6.Number of days I skied last season
7.My skiing ability is
 Beginner   Green Runs   Blue Runs   Black Runs   Expert 
8.For navigation I carry
 Map   Compass   Altimeter   GPS 
9.My mode of travel in the backcountry
 Ski   Snowboard   Snowshoe   Snowmobile 
10.The percentage of my trips last season by the avalanche danger scale forecasted for the area
 low   moderate   considerable   high   extreme 
% % % % %
11.The percentage of my trips last season by terrain complexity on the ATES scale
 simple   challenging   complex 
% % %
12.I have my own backcountry gear
 True   False 
13.On a typical outing, I always carry
 shovel   probe   beacon   thermometer   inclinometer   first aid kit   rope   emergency blanket/tarp   emergency sled 
14.On a typical outing, I sometimes carry
 shovel   probe   beacon   thermometer   inclinometer   first aid kit   rope   emergency blanket/tarp   emergency sled 
15.I understand and can use the Avaluator planning tool
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
16.I understand and can use the Avaluator Obvious Clues
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
17.I will use the Avaluator planning tool (choose percentage of trips)
 0%   20%   40%   60%   80%   100% 
18.I will use the Avaluator Obvious Clues (choose percentage of trips)
 0%   20%   40%   60%   80%   100% 
19.I select my trips based on the ATES scale
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
20.I know how to do beacon search effectively and efficiently
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
21.I can do beacon search for one burial within 3 minutes
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
22.I can recognize avalanche terrain
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
23.I can find optimal route in avalanche terrain
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
24.I can travel safely
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
25.I can manage the group
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
26.I can organize group rescue
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
Which skills did you find were the most important to you to learn?
Please rank the following 6 skills in order of importance, 1. being most important.
Each of following 6 questions should have different answer (rank)
31.Beacon search
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 
32.Avalanche terrain recognition
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 
33.Route finding
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 
34.Safe travel in avalanche terrain
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 
35.Group management
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 
36.Small group self-rescue
 1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6. 

50.I was satisfied with the course
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
51.The course matched my expectations
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
52.The instruction was clear
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
53.My questions were answered
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
54.The concepts were illustrated with examples in the field
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
55.The classroom session prepared me for the field session well
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
56.I would reccomend this course to my friends
 Strongly
Disagree 		  Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly
Agree 
Free form answers
61.What I liked about the course
62.What I did not like about the course
63.I would have liked more emphasis on
64.Topics not sufficiently covered
65.Topics I missed in the course
66.Suggestions I belive would have made the course more useful
67.Any other ideas/feedback
99.I give permission to the authors to contact me regarding this survey
 Yes