This course is for BCMC members only.  Course will be held August 14-15, 2021.

Note 1: if this course is not fully booked, i.e. 6 paid participants, this course may be cancelled and refunds will be provided to those that paid.

Base Course Fee:    $275 + GST (Special BCMC Members price).

Course Objectives and Itinerary:  Taught by Canada West Mountain School (CWMS). This 2.5 day Course is for hikers and snowshoers traveling in the backcountry of SW British Columbia. 

Online Pre-course learning
The Wilderness Survival course includes an Online Pre-course that is approximately 1 hour of self-paced learning. This will be completed in our Virtual Classroom, with an access link emailed to you after registering for your specific course date. 

Live Zoom class session
In addition to the Online Pre-course material and the Practical Field training, each Wilderness Survival course includes an essential Live Zoom theory session held on a mid-week evening from 7-9 pm prior to the overnight practical field training. During this Live Zoom session, you will meet your instructor and other teammates on the course and cover all the trip planning, logistics and have an opportunity for questions and discussion. Additional Theory is covered as well during this session, to ensure you are best prepared for the 2-day overnight session. 

Practical Field-based training
On the field day, you will meet with your group at the pre-arranged trailhead at 9:00 am. The actual location and timing of the first day will depend on the weather, time of year, location preference of the participants, and other factors. The location and final logistics for each Field Training day will be determined on the mid-week Live Zoom session. 

The overnight session is spent in an area that will take between 2-3 hours of hiking to access. This allows the group to work on navigation skills, wilderness travel techniques, and group management strategies while approaching the overnight site. Once at a suitable location, you will learn and apply the skills and techniques needed to plan and prepare for an unexpected night out, including:

• shelter construction
• fire building
• emergency signaling
• animal awareness and strategies 
• minimalist camp craft techniques
• basic Wilderness First Aid skills
• emergency communication strategies

Each person will be able to build their own shelter and start their own fire, and then spend the night in their own shelter!

On Day-2, the group will spend the morning working on wilderness travel techniques and navigation skills. During the afternoon you will head back to the trailhead for a full wrap-up and debrief. The course is scheduled to end between 3:00 - 3:30 pm on Day-2, however in some cases, the choice is made to finish earlier (i.e. bad weather, etc.)