Winter Downloads & Checklists
Printable trip plans and checklists to help turn good intentions into a clear group plan.
Four sheets. A more deliberate start.
Print these pages, fill them out by hand, or save them as a PDF for your group. Keep the trip plan with a trusted person who is staying behind.
If your browser does not open a print dialog, use its Print command, then choose Save as PDF. The print layout includes only the four planning sheets; select individual pages if you need just one.
Winter trip plan
Leave a copy with a trusted person. Update them when the plan changes and when you return.
Agree in advance: what the person holding this plan should do if you are overdue, including when to call 911 and what trip details to provide. Do not assume a phone will have service.
Resort day checklist
Use the resort’s current trail map, signs, operations updates, and patrol information.
- Check weather, operating terrain, and the resort’s safety information.
- Choose clothing, eyewear, and equipment for the conditions; have equipment questions checked by a qualified professional.
- Review shared-slope responsibilities: control speed, give others room, and obey signs and closures.
- Know the boundary. A gate does not mean the terrain beyond it is managed like the resort.
- Keep partners in sight in deep snow and trees; set regroup points.
- Carry the resort’s patrol number and agree on what to do if separated.
- Plan breaks and change terrain or stop when conditions, visibility, or fatigue call for it.
Winter day pack checklist
Adapt the list to the activity, forecast, route, group, and the possibility of a delay.
- Navigation: prepared offline map and an appropriate backup you can use.
- Insulation and weather protection: layers for moving and for stopping, plus spare essentials.
- Light: headlamp and suitable backup power.
- Food and water: enough for the outing and a delay.
- First aid and emergency shelter appropriate to the trip and your training.
- Communication: charged phone and any other device your plan relies on, with its operation understood.
- Activity-specific equipment: traction, repair supplies, or machine contingencies as appropriate.
- For avalanche terrain: each person’s transceiver, probe, and shovel, plus the training and practice to use them.
- A trip plan left with someone who knows when to act.
Trailhead group conversation
Everyone gets a voice. Revisit the plan when conditions or the group change.
- Each person understands the plan and can raise a concern.
- The group has considered slopes and runout above the route and waiting areas.
- We have discussed a delayed return, an injury, or a stuck machine.
- We are willing to change the objective or turn around.
Motorized groups: agree on where others wait, how you will communicate, and how you will reassess before approaching a stuck machine.
Read the guidance behind the sheets.
Build the skills. Keep learning.
Use these resources alongside hands-on training, current conditions, and sound decisions in the field.