When people think of search and rescue, the first thought may be of a call they hope they never have to make. Yet many of these response teams do more than emergency backcountry recovery. Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA), one of the oldest rescue teams in Colorado, is approaching four decades of offering safety skills workshops to the outdoor community.
While MRA will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2025, it will also mark the 38th anniversary of its winter Avalanche Workshop, which started in the 1980s after a group of skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Elk Mountains. The skiers from that incident, who were not caught in the deluge, left to get help with the best of intentions. Still, their partner, trapped beneath the slide, perished. The workshop started to help spread awareness and the skills necessary to avoid, and react when necessary, to avalanches.
MRA Vice President Greg Shaffran spoke with The Sopris Sun about the rescue organization’s educational offerings. As recently as the 2010s, the Avalanche Workshop focused on the basics of terrain and snow science, teaching how to avoid or mitigate avalanche terrain and evaluate snowpack, with some rescue practice. In recent years, the focus has shifted to practicing rescue skills.
Since 2018, it has been structured as an avalanche rescue course with groups of different experience levels. Three rescue scenarios over the course of a day follow an evening lecture. The current focus is on companion rescue. MRA encourages touring partners and groups to do the workshop together.
Historically, the workshop has cost $30 per person. While MRA receives donations to fund their work, the small participation fee is partly an incentive for people to show up and because there is limited space. The workshop has a capacity of 100 people and sells out every year. The money collected goes directly to event facilitation costs. This year’s workshop is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1, with more details to come.
Shaffran noted that backcountry safety practices can start with a checklist. “Make sure to consult Colorado Avalanche Information Center, have a plan, make sure someone knows where you’re going and when to expect you back, have a SPOT or Garmin communication device in case of no cell service, check and practice transceivers [and] refresh your training often.” He added that written communication with friends or family about location and timing, as well GPS communication capabilities, help significantly when things go wrong and search and rescue services are needed. “Have an emergency response plan in case something goes wrong,” he said.
MRA also facilitates a summertime workshop, which they are hoping to relaunch this summer after a pause during COVID. The backcountry basics taught at that workshop can apply to any outdoor sport and activity, which Shaffran said is a big plus. While the Avalanche Workshop helps people improve a set of specific life-saving skills, he explained that the summer workshop focuses on skills with broader applicability, and therefore can improve backcountry preparedness to an even greater degree.
When asked about what kind of patterns search and rescue teams see in calls for help, Shaffran answered carefully, noting that he didn’t have specific numbers in front of him at that moment.
“It feels like we see voluntary separation a lot, where small things go wrong and the group splits up — which then leads to rescue necessity,” he said. Group separation is well-known in experiential education circles as a problem amplifier. GPS communication devices are one tool that can help when an individual is immobilized in the backcountry.
Shaffran commented on conversations he and fellow volunteers see unfold in public circles following rescues. “When people hear about rescues there’s an impulse to distance oneself,” he said, and brush off rescuees as inexperienced. He sees that pattern as frustrating and dangerous, since it undermines a sense of caution and mindfulness. He elaborated that search and rescue teams respond to calls involving both inexperienced and well-seasoned outdoors recreators.
“Experiential education is a fundamental part of who I am, it’s an integral part of my life,” said Shaffran, but he couldn’t pin down one specific memory within that realm. He expressed deep gratitude for having grown up in this Valley and having had countless opportunities to learn outdoors. So much so that, to him, that style of learning feels like the normal rather than inciting one memorable occasion.
“It’s great to see the lightbulb moment for people when they’re developing skills,” he concluded.
Shaffran and his teammates look forward to sharing knowledge and awareness with the community during the Avalanche Workshop on Feb. 1 at Aspen Mountain. Registration and event details will be available soon at www.mountainrescueaspen.org