AIARE Recreational Level 1 Avalanche Course - Washington Avalanche Training 

Decision Making In Avalanche Terrain 

The AIARE Level 1 provides the basic training necessary to manage risk while traveling in avalanche terrain in winter. We have spent the past 24 winters refining our delivery of the AIARE curriculum with a staff comprised of IFMGA guides, ski patrol, DOT workers, and NWAC forecasters.

The classroom portion of the program involves self-paced online study, a 2-hour group Zoom lecture 3 nights before your first field day, and a 1-hour orientation the night before. The online learning portion of the course lets you take quizzes to check for understanding, which you can retake to help cement this knowledge.

The Zoom lecture will run from 6:30-8:30 PM (three days prior to the course) and is led by your field instructor and helps you prepare for the terrain, weather, and snow conditions forecasted for your field sessions. 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.

Additionally, the course provides instruction in beacon use and companion rescue in the event of an avalanche. 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.

AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course Itinerary 

Pre-trip Study: You will be sent a link to the online learning upon registration. This self-paced study helps you master the vocabulary and concepts encountered on the course. The online learning component need to be completed in advance of the course and takes about 6 hours to complete. This material remains accessible after the course.

Pre-Trip Orientation: Two days prior to your first field session, from 6:30-8:30 PM, we will host an evening Zoom meeting from 6:30-8:30 PM with your instructors. We will review the online materials, begin preparing you for your first field day, and answer any questions from the online learning. This will include a review of the weather forecast, current avalanche forecast, and tour plan. This very closely follows the steps we take as professionals when selecting and preparing for a particular tour.

Evening Meeting: The evening before your first field day, from 7-8 PM, you will meet in small groups with your field instructor and field group via Zoom. This session will ensure everyone is ready and that a good plan is in place for the following day. This is also an opportunity to re-check the weather and avalanche forecasts and make sure our terrain selection lines up with the expected conditions.

Day 1: We meet inside the Pacific Crest lodge at Stevens Pass Mountain Resort at 8:00 am and begin by reviewing the current avalanche & weather forecasts, checking the overnight weather observations, and confirming our plan before heading out for a backcountry tour.

We conduct a short (generally under 2000” of elevation gain) tour during which we review topics such as: trailhead beacon checks and companion rescue. On the tour, we make observations relevant to the avalanche problems we are currently experiencing and begin to think about appropriate tours for the following day. We end the day with a short planning session in preparation for the next day's full-day tour. (7:30 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 involving no more than about 2500’ of elevation gain. The weather and our tour choice will determine where we meet this morning, but all of our touring zones are within a few miles of Stevens Pass. Our goal is to have you back to your car and on your way home by 4 pm. (7:30 AM - 4 PM)

Course Locations 

We utilize a variety of field locations along the US Highway 2 corridor leading to Stevens Pass. When working right at Stevens Pass, we have access to a comfortable indoor space for group meetings. You will be given detailed directions on where to meet your group each day. In the early season, we tend to operate right at or near the pass, and as the season develops and the snow gets deeper, many of the peripheral touring venues come into play. One goal of the course is to introduce you to places you can return to for personal tours.

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 course opportunities for those traveling on snowshoes, but it depends on the group's makeup. Call the office at 509-548-5823 to discuss equipment. 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 

We have been qualified to teach AIARE courses since 2003. AIARE stands for American Association of Avalanche Research and Education, and is pronounced “Airy.” As guides, we have taken Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) professional courses and have always seen value in how Canadians have adopted a common framework used nationwide by guides, avalanche technicians, highway workers, etc. The AIARE program is thus far the closest the US has come to adopting a common standard for managing avalanche risk.

The American Avalanche Association (AAA) 

The AAA predates AIARE and is the governing body that sets standards for avalanche education. The AAA has historically been more involved in educating avalanche professionals such as snow scientists, ski patrollers, avalanche technicians, professional guides, and highway departments. The AAA defines and maintains the standards that AIARE follows. The Northwest Mountain School has been a recognized AAA avalanche course provider since 2010.

AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course Description 

Level 1 is a 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 solid grounding in how to prepare for and carry out a trip, understand basic decision-making while in the field, and 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 assess student comprehension and provide 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 Risk Management 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
• Snow Tests: Compression test, Extended Column test, Propagation Saw Test, + informal tests to help find specific layers.
• 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 (“Heuristics”)
• 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 Stevens Pass Mountain Resort or Mission Ridge.

• Online Learning - Upon registration, you will be provided with a link to the online learning, which must be completed in advance of the course and takes about 6 hours to get through.
• Pre-Course Zoom Meeting - 2 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 - 8:00 AM - 4 PM - The entirety of these days will be spent in the field. Best to arrive in the parking lot by 7:30 AM so that you have time to pack and get organized for the day.

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 Leavenworth's Christmas Lighting Festival. If Leavenworth is booked up you can often find space in Skykomish, Plain, Peshastin, Cashmere, or near Lake Wenatchee. If coming from out of the area for courses at Mission Ridge, Wenatchee is the best place to book lodging.

If coming from the west side (Seattle-Bellevue-Everett) you might consider driving to Stevens on the morning of day 1, booking a local spot for the night between the field days, and then driving home after the second field day.

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.