Winter 14er Safety with the Alpine Rescue Team
In this 75-minute webinar, Bruce Beckmann from the Alpine Rescue Team shared some critical winter 14er safety advice and tips. He covered everything you need to know, including gear and clothing, emergency preparedness, group dynamics and decision-making, and winter survival tactics. Watch the winter 14er safety webinar below anytime you’d like. Click here to view the slideshow from the webinar.
Meet the Presenter: Bruce Beckmann, Alpine Rescue Team

Bruce Beckmann is the Co-Director of Preventive SAR (PSAR) education with the Alpine Rescue Team. He conducts training for Search and Rescue volunteers from across the state and the general public, with previous sessions focused on lightning risk in the mountains, group decision-making dynamics, and GPS devices for backcountry navigation. In this session, he will share some tried-and-true advice for safely climbing winter 14ers. He’ll also provide common examples of rescues on winter 14ers, the group dynamics involved, and what you can do to be prepared.
What Will You Learn in This Webinar?
In this engaging 60-minute session, you’ll cover all the essential steps for planning and carrying out a winter hike or climb on a class 1 or 2 fourteener. Specifically, we will be discussing the following:
- How to pick a peak and route for a winter ascent
- What to research, with a focus on weather and snow conditions
- Packing for your trip and what you should wear
- Avalanche Awareness and Risk Mitigation
- Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Essential Wilderness Survival and First Aid
Additional Winter 14er Safety Resources
These are some additional articles, infographics, and resources to help you stay safe and prepare for your winter 14er adventures. If you have any suggestions for more winter 14er safety materials we should add, contact us to share them.

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