The Emergency Mapping Masterclass
In the event of a natural or man made disaster, having a personalized emergency map is critical to both short and long term safety for your family and friends. This online course will bring you from zero map-making skills to creating a finalized product that can be shared with those in your emergency plan through both physical and digital maps. From travel considerations to neighborhood networks to integrating regional natural disaster data, increasing your chance of safety has never been easier. When disaster strikes, it’s better to be prepared with a plan, than without one at all.
As the world continues on, the likelihood of both natural and man made disasters seem to increase year by year. From wildfires to floods to civil unrest to pandemics. While FEMA recommends every household stocks at least 72 hours worth of supplies, having an emergency map that is customized to your family's disaster plan is just as important.
Masterclass Instructor
Will McKay is one of less than six hundred American Ski Guides certified by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and works as a mountain guide & avalanche forecaster in Utah. He holds a degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Geography. For nearly a decade, Will has spent his time working and recreating in the mountains, charting adventures to some of the world’s highest peaks and remote woodlands. Through these experiences, he’s honed his tactics for both physical and digital navigation. He has become one of the authoritative voices on mapping for outdoor travel.
Growing up on the western banks of the Mississippi in Iowa, natural disasters were thought of as a part of everyday life. From tornado season to the annual river flooding to destructive midwest blizzards, these experiences shaped Will’s view of what it means to be prepared when disaster strikes and how to hedge your bets. Moving to the West, these disasters simple changed from tornadoes & floods to earthquakes, droughts, and wildfires.
With an ever increasingly unstable climate, these disasters have never been more prevalent and frequent than they are today.
What Topics Are Covered?
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Introductions and training on programs like Caltopo and OnX Hunt. We don’t all come from a navigation background, but luckily modern applications can make map making a breeze once you’ve learned the processes.
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Fundamentals of creating an emergency map for disaster preparedness, both in the short and long term. Creating organization and clarity for use of multiple members of your emergency group.
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Resource considerations utilizing digital mapping tools for e-scouting and planning. Tactics of thinking outside the box and incorporating local micro and macro knowledge of the surrounding area.
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Travel considerations, incorporating fuel calculations and safe route selection. We tackle how one can both plan for an exit of their home region and also hunker down, creating safety routes.
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Incorporating hunting zones, seasonal habits, beneficial geographic zones into your map is critical for a sustainable, long term emergency plan when things begin to go past the week long power outage.
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Taking it mobile and offline. Learning how we create maps digitally and get them secured to a non-internet based fashion on devices and in your home.
A Sample From The Course
With over 3 hours of video content, there is plenty more where this came from. This video shows how we can discover new & old burn zones and integrate them into our map specifically for travel evacuations routes. Throughout the course we cover the major natural disasters in a similar fashion.
As the world continues on, the likelihood of both natural and man made disasters seem to increase year by year. From wildfires to floods to civil unrest to pandemics. While FEMA recommends every household stocks at least 72 hours worth of supplies, having an emergency map that is customized to your family's disaster plan is just as important.