SMR Avalanche Companion Rescue Training Course (9/10 January 2026)

There are two key aspects to this course.

1. Avalanche hazard assessment and tactics to reduce the risk.
2. The rapid location, extraction and treatment of a single buried companion.

The Avalanche Companion Rescue course aims to equip participants with the skills to enable them to operate safely within a small team during a winter search and rescue effort.

This course is not a ‘winter skills’ courses. Course participants should be confident in the use of crampons properly fitted onto winter boots and a single ice axe on easy angled ungraded winter terrain. This course does not require the use of rope, harness, or other technical climbing equipment.

Time will be spent on the effective use of a transceiver; attendees should ensure they arrive with the transceivers issued by their team and that it is fully operational. Some familiarity is useful but not essential.

Please note that the focus of the course is on safe operation in avalanche terrain, not on the science of the snowpack. Whilst instructors will discuss practical elements of this where relevant, it is not a major focus of the course.

The course is not a test of physical endurance. The distance travelled on foot is typically less than 8km during the day on easy ground. Participants should be comfortable in the conditions that can be expected in the Scottish winter mountains. There are many periods of low activity during group discussions and training exercises. THOSE WITHOUT SUITABLE CLOTHING WILL SUFFER.

Attendees should refer to the SAIS report for the Northern Cairngorms for the 5 days leading up to the course.

Overnight accommodation has been booked at Glenmore Lodge on a B&B basis for the night before your course. You will be in shared accommodation.

Glenmore Lodge offer limited bar meals (may be best to call up and check) or you could grab something before you head up the hill to Glenmore Lodge.

A packed lunch will be provided for course attendees but please pack a flask, water bottle and additional snacks as you will be out on the hill all day. Remember to collect your packed lunch at breakfast time.

TIMETABLE

2000hours (evening before) informal Meet and Greet.

0730hours breakfast at Glenmore Lodge

0815hours meet in the nominated training room, ready to head out.

1600hours debrief at Glenmore Lodge.

All participants need to have their own transport, as the course programme will necessitate travel to and from training venues.

Sufficient personal equipment is required to enable candidates to operate within a mountainous environment, in all conditions, for the duration of the course.

There is no formal presentation on Friday/Saturday evening however SMR will arrange an informal "meet and greet" the evening before each course, this will not be a formal part of the course.

Essential kit to bring

• Bring something to put your packed lunch in and pop a flask in too.
• Transceiver, metal bladed snow shovel, probe (TSP)
• Survival bag
• Helmet (essential for digging exercises)
• Waterproof shell jacket and trousers
• Warm clothing including insulated jacket
• Winter gloves and/or mitts, at least two pairs (some digging an extraction exercises can result in cold wet gloves)
• Crampons (make sure they fit your boots), winter boots
• Ice axe
• Map of training area, compass
• Rucksack
• Waterproof liner
• Headtorch
• Sense of humour!

Advisory additional kit

• Snow goggles
• Team radio
• Personal 1ST aid kit

THE SMALL PRINT!

Please speak to your Training Officer before booking this course to ensure it is relevant.

We will limit the bookings to 2 per team in the first instance to allow a good mix of teams from across Scotland.

Cancellation Policy:

SMR reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee of £100 if failure to turn up to this course or a cancellation too late in which we cannot fill your space. This fee allows us to offset any costs which we will be incurred as a result of late cancellation. SMR Office will invoice directly to your Mountain Rescue team.

If you have any questions about this course, please email bookings@scottishmountainrescue.org

Privacy Notice

Other than trainer(s) and any accommodation provider for this course, Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) will not disclose your information to any company or person, except to help prevent fraud, or if required to do so by law. SMR believe that using your data in this manner is a legitimate interest.

You have the right to see any information about you that SMR keep and you also have the right for this information to be deleted at any time. Send an email to info@scottishmountainrescue.org clearly stating you wish SMR to delete your details and we will do so within 10 working days.

SMR will send you a feedback form shortly after the event and we are grateful for any feedback. Your feedback will be anonymised for the purposes of statistics and review of the training we deliver.

Photographs may be taken at the event and may be used in publications or social media related to Scottish Mountain Rescue. We will seek consent prior to using photographs with recognisable faces. Where individuals are not facially recognisable we will use photographs without seeking consent.

We will delete personally identifiable information collected in each financial year on April 1st each year for the financial year that commenced 4 years previously. For example in April 2023 we will delete all personally identifiable information collected in financial year 2019/20 and continue this process on a rolling annual basis. Any data we keep beyond that time for statistical and reference purposes will be anonymised.

In the event of incident that requires medical treatment and completion of accident form we are required to retain this record for 7 years.

For further information on Scottish Mountain Rescues' Privacy information please see http://www.scottishmountainrescue.org/privacy/