Planning and Executing a Trip Checklist:

• Look at the weather
• Research your route
  • Check to see if permits are required
  • Assess difficulty
• Look at the area's conditions (think snow coverage, snow quality, rock quality)
  • Take note of hazards
• Choose a leave time and an expected return time (be generous with the return time, big trips usually take longer than you think they will)
• Choose a hard turn around point before leaving, this could be:
  • A certain time
  • A weather event such as snow or visible dark clouds
  • A certain pain level if someone is injured
  • A level of cognition or motor control (important when going into altitude)
  • If you hit one of these points, TURN AROUND
• Pack gear (making a checklist is helpful)
  • Pack extra food and water in case something goes wrong
  • Pack a first aid kit if you can
• Drop a pin of where you will be going to someone you know BEFORE YOU LEAVE for the trip
  • A lot of trailheads don’t have service so it won’t work if you try to drop a pin when you get there
  • Give the person you gave the pin a time that, if hit, they should call search and rescue