Basic Snowshoe One-Day Classroom Session - Olympia Friends Meeting House

This is the classroom session of the Olympia Basic Snowshoe Course.  You must register for the course to be in this class.  This will be an all-day session with a lunch break. It will include an introduction to winter activities, avalanche awareness, safety, equipment, 10 essentials, cold weather ailments and first aid, winter recreation etiquette, contents of a winter day pack, donning and adjustment of snowshoes and poles. We will also have a brief overview of what to expect on the field trip. Even if you already know how to ski or snowshoe, the training in avalanche terrain recognition and avalanche avoidance, is well worth taking the class and improving your safety in the backcountry.

Please bring the boots you plan to wear on the field trip, and your own snowshoes, if you already have them. We will have everyone practice putting on, adjusting and taking off snowshoes, and adjusting trekking poles for their height.  This class is also the gear shakedown for the field trip.  Please bring any other gear you plan on using on the trip, and the pack you plan to carry it in.    Our volunteers do not "inspect" or "approve" participants' gear, but may offer some guidance based on their experience.   If your necessary gear is inadequate when you show up for the field trip, you will be turned away for safety reasons.

We have several pairs of adult and youth snowshoes available to lend on a first-come, first-served basis.  These are mostly MSR Denali Ascent or MSR Evo Ascent snowshoes, which we recommend as a functional, rugged mountaineering snowshoe at a moderate price.

Please see Leader's Notes re youth registration in the listing for the course.

Olympia Friends Meeting House, 3201 Boston Harbor Road NE; Olympia, WA  98506-2800.  From I-5, take Exit 105, follow signs for Port of Olympia, and take Plum Street/Boston Harbor Road north through Squaxin Park.  Just past Vista Flora Dr. the center median ends.  Look for two driveways on the left, and one-story meeting house. Volunteers and instructors will set up chairs, etc. and student sign-in will begin at 8:30.  Class begins at 9:00 a.m.  Hot water, and refrigerator space for your lunch bag is available.