10.10 am, outside the Hotel Shima
Advanced Avalanche Course with a Mountain Guide | Davos
Join us as we delve into the world of snow and avalanche science, avalanche rescue and route planning. On stunning ski tours to the peaks around Davos, we’ll put what we’ve learnt into practice together.
Technics
Endurance
Graubünden, Davos
In this course, you’ll gain the skills you need to navigate winter terrain confidently and plan your ski tours independently and responsibly. You’ve already gained some initial experience of ski touring and are familiar with the basics of avalanches and snow conditions. However, you want to feel even more confident when planning ski tours on your own. To this end, you’d like to deepen your knowledge and gain more experience in accurately assessing avalanche terrain, moving confidently through the snow in a manner suited to the conditions, and making assured decisions whilst out on the mountain. Then this three-day advanced course with us is just right for you. Discover various tools that will help you assess the terrain and snow conditions correctly. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Davos mountains, we’ll undertake a varied ski tour every day, during which we’ll apply the tools we’ve learnt as a group.
One of the highlights will be the Exclusive guided tour of the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research which our host at the Hotel Shima, Benjamin Zweifel, will be giving us. He works at the SLF himself and will be sharing his expertise with us directly at the SLF site in Davos.
Course content and procedure
We’ll meet in Davos, right outside the Hotel Shima. The hotel is situated right next to the Davos Dorf, Duchli bus stop. The address is Dischmastrasse 63 in Davos Dorf. We’ll take our luggage to the hotel and then get ready for our first easy ski tour.
On a lovely little ski tour, we’ll brush up on our basic knowledge of avalanches and snow conditions. During an avalanche transceiver exercise, using a shovel and probe, we’ll practise the rescue procedures until we’ve got every step down to a fine art.
In the evenings, we’ll take the time to delve deeply into tour planning. You’ll learn how to read the avalanche bulletin and maps so that you can correctly identify hazardous areas the day before and plan and prepare your ski tour accordingly.
We’ll go ahead with the planned ski tour. Out in the terrain, we’ll help you develop a keen eye for warning signs and the current avalanche conditions. We’ll also carry out a load test on the snowpack and dig a snow profile. We’ll learn to recognise the layering of the snowpack and examine the snow crystals in the weak layers under a magnifying glass to reveal their structure.
In the evening, our host, Benjamin Zweifel, takes us to the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos and shares his first-hand expertise with us during a one-hour guided tour.
Back at the hotel, we reflect on today’s ski tour and plan together the practical tour for the final day.
The ski tour on the third day is the highlight of the weekend. You’ll learn to take responsibility, apply risk management based on the three key factors (terrain, conditions, people) and practise assessing individual slopes on the spot. Ultimately, you’ll be able to make sound decisions (go/no-go).
After three informative, intensive days, we’ll wrap up the course together on Sunday afternoon in Davos Dorf – ready for your next adventures on your own.
Requirements
- Some experience of ski touring and a basic understanding of avalanches gained from a beginners’ or taster course.
- Basic skills in off-piste skiing.
- Fitness level suitable for short ski tours involving an ascent of around 800–1,000 metres at a leisurely pace (approx. 300 metres per hour).
- Splitboarders are welcome.
Price and services
- CHF 865.-
- Small group with 4 - 8 guests per mountain guide.
- Including professional planning and realisation with a mountain guide and his travel expenses.
- Including overnight stay in a hotel with half board.
- Excluding travel expenses, possible train tickets, personal consumption.
Material and equipment
- For this tour you need the material from this PDF. We carry our equipment with us the whole time. Only pack the essentials.
- General material and packing tips we have also put together for you.
Bergschaft tours and courses are conducted in German as standard. However, our mountain guides speak good English, as do many of the participants. If you speak English, you are of course very welcome. Depending on the tour, it may be worth asking us in advance whether the guide and the group are comfortable speaking English.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us, preferably via the Contact form.
Accommodation
Hotel Shima Davos
The Shima Nature and Conference Hotel is situated at the entrance to the picturesque Dischma Valley in Davos. The light-filled timber-panelled rooms, the large conference room, the bright guest rooms and the inviting yurts provide the perfect setting for conference and sports groups. The unspoilt natural landscape, ideal for fantastic ski tours, is right on the doorstep.
Highlights: Advanced Avalanche Course, Davos
Here’s how you can deepen your knowledge of avalanches with us:
- 5 - 7 February 2027, Friday - Sunday, 3 daysFreie Plätze
Mountain guidesStill PendingCHF 865.- - 19–21 February 2027, Friday–Sunday, 3 daysFreie PlätzeMountain guidesStill PendingCHF 865.-
- 12 - 14 March 2027, Friday - Sunday, 3 daysFreie PlätzeMountain guidesStill PendingCHF 865.-
As Private Tour on your desired date with your group:
As Voucher give your favourite as a gift:
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