BMC 2013-2014

The Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) has expanded rope skills and avalanche awareness compared to courses presented in the past.  Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) is now required before taking BMC. 

The classroom portion of the BMC will be held on November 23 and 24, 2013. The location is the San Bernardino Mountain Team's rescue shack, aka "Harrison Hotel." It is located at 3250 Harrison, San Bernardino, CA 92404. Please arrive by 7:30 am on Saturday. There are local eateries for lunch. There is also a kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, etc., at the facility. There is no set end time Saturday evening. So be prepared to have dinner as well. The metal chairs can be a bit uncomfortable; hence you might consider bringing a cushion to sit on. Bring necessary clothing for rain and a warm jacket and pants in case the Harrison Hotel is chilly. For people traveling great distances, you are welcome to stay Friday and/or Saturday night at a member’s home in Redlands. Let me know if you would like to take of advantage of this. 

The field portion will be held on January 25 and 26, 2014. The location will be announced at a later time.

To sign up, send a written request to Volunteer Forces along with your phone number, PVS documentation and email address. For further questions, contact Jon Woods in Volunteer Forces.

All BMC Instructional Documents

Click to read more ...

The Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) is Upon Us

More details for the next Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) are coming into place. The course has expanded rope skills and avalanche awareness. Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) is now required before taking BMC. The classroom portion will be held on November 17 and 18. The location is the San Bernardino Mountain Team's rescue shack, aka "Harrison Hotel." It is located at 3250 Harrison, San Bernardino, CA 92404. Please arrive by 7:30 am on Saturday. There are local eateries for lunch. There is also a kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, etc., at the facility. There is no set end time Saturday evening. So be prepared to have dinner as well. The metal chairs can be a bit uncomfortable; hence you might consider bringing a cushion to sit on. Bring necessary clothing for rain and a warm jacket and pants in case the Harrison Hotel is chilly. For people travelling great distances, you are welcome to stay Friday and/or Saturday night at a member’s home in Redlands. Let me know if you would like to take of advantage of this.

The date for the field portion is January 12 and 13. Depending on snow, the tentative location will be the county's new SAR facility at Heart Bar. It is located at GPS WGS84 0518080, 3780070. From I-10 in San Bernardino, take the Alabama exit in the city of Redlands to Lugonia Avenue (State Highway 38). Travel northeast on Highway 38 for approximately 30 miles. The facility is on the south side of Highway 38. Look for signs and other indications for road access and parking. This is dependent on actual snow condition at the time. Be prepared with snow chains. Four wheel drive vehicles are preferred. Consider carrying a large snow shovel in the car. There is extremely limited cell phone access. Most likely you will have no service at all. We will monitor the county radio frequency SAR TAC 1, channel 11. The wise student will arrive Friday night and car camp at the facility in order to acclimatize. Be fully packed and ready to hike at 7 am Saturday.The event ends in the late afternoon Sunday.

To sign up, send a check for $50 to Volunteer Forces along with your phone number, PVS documentation and email address. The check will be returned to you upon completion of the course. If you do not attend, the check will be given to IESARC as a donation. For further questions, please contact Sonny Lawrence email address: slawrence AT sbsar DOT org or phone: 909 dash 255 dash 6036.

BMC Field Test

BMC will be held at Snow Valley Ski Resort in Running Springs. The date is January 21-22 2012. Registration is required. Please contact Dave Alexander at Volunteer Forces 909-387-0678. In order to participate in BMC, an individual must be cleared by Dave Alexander a head of time.

Certification students: the weekend will be run similar to a SAR mission. There will not be scheduled food or toilet breaks. Eat, drink and rest on the fly throughout the day when rare opportunities present themselves. Wear slippery pants and jacket for ice axe arrest. You should show up at the parking area by at least 0630 with full packs in order to begin walking at 0700 on Saturday. You possibly will not have a significant break until you go to bed late that night. There are no toilet facilities where you will be camping. All human waste is to be packed out. Festivities for the second day begin just after sun up on  Sunday and will end in the afternoon. Our meeting location is at the western portion of the Snow Valley main parking lot at GPS NAD27, 0496308, 3786727. There is good cell phone coverage. The 155 radios will be monitored on channel 11, TAC 1. Consider sleeping at that location next to your car on Friday night in order to assist with acclimatization. Participants must officially check out on Sunday in order to receive credit.

Recertification students: in order to participate, registration is mandatory with Dave Alexander at  Volunteer Forces. Please do not simply show up at the site hoping to be tested. Be prepared to begin walking at 0700 on Sunday. Meet at the location noted above. Consider sleeping next to your car on Saturday night to assist with acclimatization. This is a test. Instruction will not be given. Feel free to join the certification students on Saturday if needed. Any avalanche beacon can be used for the test. It is  strongly suggested you test with a device you are intimately familiar with. Wear slippery pants and jacket for ice axe arrest. The test will end late Sunday afternoon. Only registrants who officially check out will be given credit.

For more information please contact Sonny Lawrence at email: slawrence AT sbsar
DOT org or phone 909-255-6036.

BMC is Around the Corner

It’s time to be thinking about our Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC). The lecture portion will be held on November 19 and 20 at the Mountain Team’s rescue shack in San Bernardino. The field portion will be held at Snow Valley on January 21 and 22. All individuals intending to take the course or the recertification must register with Dave at Volunteer Forces. A $50 deposit must be sent with registration. It will be returned if you attend the course. If not, it will be donated to IESARC. Personal vertical skills (PVS) is a requirement for the course. Contact Sonny Lawrence, Cave and Technical Rescue Team at slawrence@sbsar.org or 909-255-6036 for further information.

BMC is Coming!

The Basic Mountaineering Course is just around the corner. The lectures are Nov 20-21, and the field portion is in January. Please see the previous post for information on prerequisites and how to sign up.

Check out the flyer for more information on the class.

BMC Teaching Evaluators Wanted

BMC needs HELP! Yes, ASSISTANCE!! We are in desperate need of professional educators to critically evaluate our new, improved course. No previous SAR experience is needed. We are looking for two or three individuals who are expert in the educational system. They would attend the BMC on November 20-21, 2010 and observe. The goal is to give constructive criticism of the instructors and the course in preparation for the 2011-12 course. Please ask fellow SAR members, family and friends if they are interested. Contact Sonny Lawrence at email address: “slawrence AT sbsar DOT org” or call at 951 DASH 315 DASH 5449.

BMC 2010-2011

This year reveals the continuing evolution of our Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC). We have greatly increased the amount of instruction related to avalanche awareness.  In order to accomplish this, the BMC program had to be expanded over our standard course offered in the past. The November lecture time on Saturday will be extended into the evening. The time spent on various activities in the field has been rearranged and extended in order to cover all of the avalanche material. All SAR members, old and new, are encouraged to attend the entire course. All SAR members are welcome to attend the lectures on November 20/21, 2010 at the sheriff office. Anyone wishing to then take the field portion on January 22/23, 2011 at Snow Valley must also have a Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) certification. REPEAT:  PVS is required to take the field portion of BMC. All San Bernardino County SAR courses require registration (fill out the form) and a $50 deposit (sent to Dan Whitten).  The deposit will be returned if the participant attends.

Basic Mountaineering Course, 2010

Despite several instructors being deployed to missions, and being snowed into their communities, BMC must go on. With a great class of students from several of our teams, as well as some from San Diego and Orange Counties, we conducted the class as planned. Thank you to all the students who braved the insanity that was the 330 and 18 highways that weekend.

A Successful "New and Improved" BMC

The lecture portion of the Basic Mountaineering Course came to completion today with 26 students having attended. This year marks a significant addition to the course. Scott Cordner, Keith Church and Jeff Pierce, all from the National Ski Patrol delivered presentations on Avalanche Fundamentals and Rescue. Scott Cordner, Bear Valley SAR and Frank Hester, Wrightwood SAR have been advocating this change in BMC for a few years. The next step in this process involves adjusting the field experience for BMC. The time allotted  to hands-on field work relating to avalanche has been expanded. A much more thorough discussion of avalanche awareness, snow pits and victim search and retrieval will be held. This should prove to be beneficial to our SAR members during training and missions in our mountains in the winter. All SAR members are encouraged to take the BMC next year in order to take advantage of the new curriculum. Please keep in mind that Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) is now required for BMC.

BMC Course Information

BMC Classroom Session will be held at Sheriff’s Headquarters:
655 East Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
Check-in begins at 0730 hours, Saturday November 21, 2009
Saturday November 21 – 0800 to 2000 with one hour lunch & dinner breaks
Sunday November 22 – 0800 to 1700 with a one hour lunch break

BMC Field Session will be held at Snow Valley Ski Resort, Running Springs, CA January 23 & 24, 2010*
Directions: http://www.snow-valley.com/directions.html

Click to read more ...