Avalanche Rescue Course

As a full day course, participants will meet at a designated park and ride convenient for all participants and carpool to the course locations. All driving will take place on plowed roads to the summit passes and chains for your vehicle will be required.

The course covers:

• Beacon use and how to wear it
• Beacon function: range checks
• Techniques on how to locate target quickly and efficiently
• Practice searching in a single-burial scenario
• Rescue digging
• Practice searching multi-burial scenario
• Group rescue

There will be some snow travel on this course. Please plan on bringing your snowshoe/ski/split board gear you would use in the backcountry for practice. There will be long moments of standing in the snow for education in a cold environment. Be prepared to stand in the snow for up to 30 minutes at a time as well as long periods of physical movement.

Plan on being home by 7 p.m.

• 18+ for adult courses or 16+ with consent from a guardian and Kaf approval
• 12-18 for youth courses

• Students must be able to travel on snowshoes, skis or split board in a backcountry setting.

At the end of the Avalanche Rescue Course, the student should be able to:

1. Describe what to do if they or a member of their party is caught in an avalanche.
2. Identify and be able to use the gear necessary for avalanche rescue.
3. Set up a realistic scenario in order to practice avalanche rescue response.
4. Improve their response time and skills during and after the course, through feedback from instructors and peers.
5. Develop a plan for continued practice.

All participants will work intensively with our AIARE instructors during realistic, timed scenarios. At the conclusion of each scenario, you will be given detailed feedback on how to improve your technique and tips on how you can continue to train on your own time throughout the season.

If you have previously taken an AIARE 1 or an Avalanche Rescue Course, this is an opportunity to refresh your skills. You will also benefit from being exposed to the latest practices, techniques, and equipment used for avalanche rescue. As guides and instructors, we train these techniques several times per season.

• Eight hours of professional instruction with AIARE qualified instructors
  
• Rescue beacons for recovery practice

• Touring skis (not cross-country skis), split-boards, and snowshoes are all welcome options.
  
• Personal avalanche safety gear: beacon, probe, and shovel

• Snowshoes with waterproof boots (we recommend insulated boots)
  
• Skis, boots, and bindings (metal edge skis, plastic boots, and Randonee/alpine touring/downhill Telemark bindings). Cross-country skis will not work for backcountry tours.
  
• Splitboard with adjustable bindings that move into “tour” mode efficiently (Soft boots are okay, and hard boots are preferred.)
  
• Personal avalanche safety gear: beacon, probe, and shovel
  
• Personal layers

• Transportation and times will be coordinated by email when the pre-trip announcement is sent to all registrants.

Still can’t get enough snow? Join us for Skiing/Splitboarding: Intermediate or our Avalanche Safety Courses.