Safe Snowcat Operator Training

Learn from the best. Enviro-Tech International offers high-quality safe snowcat operator training for those who travel in snowcats and all-terrain snow vehicles in remote locations. Our standard 3 or 4-day curriculum is a combination of snow vehicle instruction and cold-weather survival training. The courses teach safe operating skills, such as recognizing safe slope angles, safe uphill and downhill operating techniques, avoiding slides, safe route selection, blading skills, avalanche recognition, and rescue, how to deal with common mechanical breakdowns in the field, and many others. The courses also explore the most important aspects of survival. Beginning with what happens during a survival emergency, the short-term psychological stresses that play a role in decision-making and panic, individual and group dynamics, injuries and how they affect survival planning, hypothermia and cold injuries, and essential survival equipment and kits. The training emphasizes an organized approach to safety and survival, teaching important priorities such as shelter, fire and heat, water, food, signaling, staying where you are, and when to go for help.


Our courses are taught using a fast-moving, interactive approach using discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on participation. The training is packed with vital information and skills that all snow vehicle operators will find valuable.


We specialize in on-site training programs throughout the U.S. and abroad. We travel to your location, which reduces travel and training budgets and provides a training experience that’s more relevant to participants. All of our training programs are tailored to meet your specific requirements.


Course Format


Snowcat training can be presented in standard formats of 3 and 4 days. Refresher courses are generally 2 days in length.

SNOWCAT OPERATING  SKILLS

HOW SNOWCAT ACCIDENTS HAPPEN

Poor planning
Poor judgment and skills

Poor weather conditions

Equipment failure

No survival gear

CHECK OUT PROCEDURES

Preventative maintenance
Pre-flight checklist
The essential tool kit
Survival gear (never leave home without it)

COMMON HAZARDS

loading/Unloading

Securing and hauling snowcats
Seat belts

Carbon monoxide poisoning

OPERATING SKILLS

Route selection

Terrain
Slope angle

Uphill and downhill driving
Sidehill driving
Drop-offs
Blading techniques

HAZARD SKILLS

Avoiding snowcat slides

Recovering from uphill/downhill slides

Operating in icy conditions

Mud and water hazards

Changing snow conditions 

Avalanche survival and rescue

NAVIGATION

Map and compass
GPS skills

Whiteout conditions

Operating in darkness

SNOWCAT SURVIVAL SKILLS

Stuck

Digging out
Tools to carry
Throwing or breaking a track

Emergency track installation and repair

DEVELOPING SAFETY PLANS

Dispatch, tracking, and communications

Know your resources
Activating an emergency response

Personal locator beacons

SPOT system

Consistent training and review

COLD WEATHER SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR SNOWCAT OPERATORS

THE ANATOMY OF A SURVIVAL SITUATION

Fears and anxiety

Skills vs.will to survive

Panic

COLD ENVIRONMENTS

Heat loss

The layering system

Hypothermia
Frostbite
Water and food in a cold environment

LOST

How to avoid becoming lost

How to be found

SHELTER

Principles of shelter making

Lean to
Natural shelters
Snow shelters

Vehicles and aircraft as shelter

FIRE and HEAT

Principles of fire making

Primitive methods

High-tech heat

TRAVEL

When to leave the vehicle
Direction finding methods
GPS and compass review
High-tech communication in a remote area

Emergency locator devices

Contact us today for a cost quote for a Snowcat Training Program for your organization

Call: (970) 209-1489

Email

ETI Logo

Enviro-Tech International

P.O. Box 2135 

Montrose, CO 81402

SIGNALING

General concepts
Primitive methods
Modern methods and pyrotechnics

SURVIVAL KITS

Personal kit

Vehicle kit

Aircraft kit

LEARNING TO IMPROVISE

Thinking like a modern caveman

Salvage, Scavenge, and Simplify

Putting it all together and staying alive

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