Report on snow surveyors training conference at Alta, Utah

Snow Surveyor Training Conferences are sponsored by the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture every two years in mid-January. The conferences are held at some ski lodge or winter recreation center where actual snow survey techniques and winter survival can be taught to men who are going to do this specialized work in remote locations of the mountains of the western United States, Australia, Pakistan, India, and South American countries. The 85 to 120 men are divided into groups and specialists in the various techniques of snow surveying teach their specialty. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing, winter survival, winter first aid, and rescue operations. Considerable time is spent on the techniques of snow sampling to obtain accurate results, and a comprehensible set of field notes on snow conditions. Evening classes include lectures on the use of snow survey data and visual aids of avalanche detection and rescue operations. Men are required to spend one night in 'bivouac' to learn how to sleep in the snow, to allay fears of outdoor living.