AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course - Washington Avalanche Training 

Decision Making In Avalanche Terrain 

We have spent the past 23 years honing our delivery of this program. We developed this course with a mix of IFMGA guides, ski patrollers, DOT workers, and NWAC forecasters to give you diverse perspective as we explore the "dark art" of traveling safely in avalanche terrain.

We are conducting the classroom portion of the program via an online learning course that may be completed by students in advance of the course. We will then conduct an online lecture 3 nights before your course covering the classroom portion of the course as well as a short (1-hour) online meeting with your small field group the evening before the course field days, so that we can discuss the current forecast and make sure our equipment and logistics are dialed in. Online learning will also include quizzes to help you check for understanding. You will be able to retake quizzes as needed to understand all the information. We will also have set office hours when you can zoom in and speak with instructors to clarify anything that remains fuzzy in advance of the pre-trip lectures.

The online meeting will run from 6:30-8:30 PM and will be conducted by the field instructors as they prep you to prepare for the terrain, and conditions expected during the field portions of our courses. The course is designed to give students a basic understanding of why avalanches occur and to develop a framework for making decisions while traveling in avalanche terrain. We made the transition to doing the lectures online during COVID and have stayed with it as it reduces the amount of time students spend driving, reduces lodging costs, and provides more field time, which is the most important aspect of any avalanche course.

Additionally the course provides instruction in beacon use and companion rescue should an avalanche occur. Students who successfully complete the course will be given an AIARE level 1 certificate of completion. We also run AIARE Avalanche Rescue Courses and AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Courses for those looking to build on their Level 1 training or enter the AIARE Pro track courses.

Women's Specific AIARE Courses - Lead by Olivia Race & Ingrid Backstrom 

Ingrid and Olivia have deep experience in the ski world. The paths that lead them to their current role as AIARE instructors are very different, allowing for excitingly diverse teaching perspectives. Both are excited to share their knowledge to help others progress on their own back country ski journey!

Olivia was the 3rd woman in the US to achieve IFMGA guide credentials and has worked as a ski guide & AIARE instructor for over 20 years. Olivia guides both locally & internationally in places like Europe, Japan, and Canada. Stevens Pass holds a special place in Olivia's heart as her first job in the industry was ski patrolling here.

Ingrid has been a professional skier for 23 years and has taught avalanche courses since 2012. She has skied on six continents, made first descents all over the world, coached free skiing for 25 years and appeared in over 20 ski movies.

AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course Itinerary 

Pre-trip Study: You will be sent a link to the online learning component well in advance of the course. This is self-paced and can be completed online. Completion of this materials counts towards 6 hours of your total course time.*

Pre-Trip Orientation: Three days prior to your field session, from 6:30-8:30 PM, you will attend an evening Zoom meeting with our instructors. This meeting will review the online materials, get your ready for your first field day, and give you an opportunity to understand the things that instructors doing in preparation for a day of backcountry travel. This will include a review of the weather forecast, current avalanche forecast, tour plan.

*Evening Meeting:*The evening before your first field day, from 7-8 PM, you will meet with your field instructor and your small pod of fellow students (6 students per instructor) via Zoom. This session will ensure everyone is ready and there is a good plan in place for the following day and will also allow time to ask questions about the field day or follow up on questions related to the pre-course study.

Day 1: We begin with a review of the current avalanche & weather forecast, overnight weather observations and our plan before heading out for a backcountry tour. During our tour we touch on companion rescue and make observations relevant to our tour and tomorrow's objective. Our goal is to make observations relevant to the avalanche problems we are currently experiencing and help us to anticipate avalanche problems we can expect in the future. We end the day with a short planning session in preparation for the next day's full-day tour. (8 AM - 4 PM)

Day 2: This day will utilize different terrain than the area where you toured the day before and will build on our understanding of the current and future snowpack as we undertake a longer tour. Our goal is to have you back to your car and moving towards home by 4 pm. (8 AM - 4 PM)

Course Locations 

Due to the increasing parking challenges at PNW ski areas, courses listed as taking place at Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, etc. will not necessarily meet right at the ski area. We utilize a variety of field locations up and down the highway corridors leading to these ski areas that offer excellent training locations and avoid the pressure of being immediately adjacent to the ski areas. These locations will be chosen prior to your course and you will be given detailed directions on where to meet your group. Our goal is to spread backcountry use during what we anticipate to be a busy season in the backcountry.

Student Prerequisites 

The field days will take place entirely in the backcountry. For this section students will need appropriate alpine touring (AT), telemark, or split board equipment. We do have courses opportunities for those traveling on snowshoes, but it depends on the makeup of the group. Call the office to discuss equipment at 509-548-5823. It is essential that participants show up with gear that will allow them and the group to travel efficiently in avalanche terrain. You do not need to be an advanced skier or boarder for the course, but you should be able to ascend moderate slopes using skins, and should be able to ski downhill effectively in a variety of snow conditions. The goal is not speed, but rather efficiency and safety.

The AIARE Program 

As members of the American Association of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), we use the AIARE (pronounced "Airy") framework for teaching our avalanche courses. There are certainly other methods for teaching an avalanche course, but this is the one that we have found the most effective and currently seems to closest the US has come to adopting a standard for avalanche education.

AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course Description 

The level one is 24 hour introduction to avalanche hazard management that combines pre-trip coursework and field activities. The course is expected to:

• Provide a basic understanding of avalanches
• Describe a framework for decision making and risk management in avalanche terrain
• Focus on identifying the right questions, rather than on providing "answers."
• Give lessons and exercises that are practically oriented, useful, and applicable in the field.

Students can expect to develop a good grounding in how to prepare for and carry out a trip, to understand basic decision making while in the field, and to learn rescue techniques required to find and dig up a buried person (if an avalanche occurs and someone in the party is caught).

A final debrief includes a knowledge quiz to test student comprehension and to give feedback to instructors on instructional tools. Students are encouraged and counseled on how to apply the skills learned and told that no course can fully guarantee safety, either during or after course completion.

AIARE 1 Student Learning Outcomes 

At the end of the Level One course the student should be able to:

• Develop a plan for travel in avalanche terrain.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify avalanche terrain.
• Effectively use the AIARE Decision Making Framework to make terrain choices in a group setting
• Demonstrate effective companion rescue.

Instructional Sessions 

(24 hours including both class and field instruction):

1. Introduction to the Avalanche Phenomena

• Types and characteristics of avalanches
• Avalanche motion
• Size classification
• The mountain snowpack: an introduction to metamorphism and layering

2. Observations and Information Gathering

• Field observation techniques
• Bonding tests: rutschblock, compression test
• Avalanche danger factors; "Red Flags".
• Observation checklist
• Avalanche danger scale
• Trip Planning and Preparation
• Avalanche terrain recognition, assessment, and selection
• Route finding and travel techniques
• Decision making and Human Factors
• Companion Rescue and Equipment

Logistics 

You must provide your own food, lodging, and transportation during the course. All field activities occur in the backcountry near the mountain pass of ski area indicated on your course date.

• Online Learning - Upon registration you will be provided with a link to the online learning, which must be competed in advance of the course and takes about 4-6 hours to get through.
• Pre-Course Zoom Meeting - 3 Days prior to your first field day, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Live session w/ NMS instructor to bridge the online & field material.
• Evening Meeting w/ Field Group via Zoom - The evening before your first field day, from 7-8 PM. Important logistical planning meeting w/ your small field group.
• Field Days - 8AM - 4PM - The entirety of these days will be spent in the field.

Lodging Options 

Many students will be staying at home in Leavenworth or nearby communities and commuting to and from the course each day. For those traveling from outside the area we recommend the following options. For courses taking place in December, you will need to book a room ASAP as things fill quickly due to the Leavenworth's Christmas lighting festival. If coming from out of the area for courses at Mission Ridge, Wenatchee is the best place to book your lodging and for the Snoqualmie Pass, we recommend finding lodging on the Eastside near I-90 to facilitate easy travel to/from Snoqualmie Pass.

We strongly recommend against commuting more than 45 min-1 hour on the evening between the 2 field days as this makes for potentially very long days. For example we would recommend against staying in Seattle on the evening between field sessions on a Stevens Pass course. It is a much better learning environment to plan to spend at least 1 night closer to the field venue (i.e. Leavenworth or Skykomish for Stevens Pass courses).

Custom Programs 

If you have a group of 2 to 12 people we can often put together a custom date. Weekends tend to fill quickly and we often do not have sufficient staff to conduct custom programs on weekends, but we can generally put together off-weekend custom programs for your group. Past groups include search & rescue personnel, military groups, climbing clubs, youth groups, and groups of friends that travel together in the backcountry. The cost for custom programs is based on the number of people that register, with the final cost approaching our set-date cost if you have at least 5-6 people. Best to just give us a call at 509-548-5823 to discuss your custom program.

This program takes place on US Forest Service lands under a commercial-outfitter and guide permit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs & activities and is an equal opportunity provider and employer.