For as much as eight months of the year, a pair of skis or a snowboard is the tool of choice for mountain travelers. Avalanche danger, however, forces winter travelers to master specialized tools, knowledge, and practices. The classes listed here are designed to take you from on-piste skier or snowboarder to serious winter explorer. American Alpine Institute offers the widely accepted AIARE Avalanche curriculum as well as other curricula approved by the American Avalanche Association (A3), with courses for both recreational winter travelers and mountain professionals.
Avalanche Safety & Rescue Courses
Instruction in Terrain Assessment, Decision Making, Rescue, and Snow Science
For much of the year, skis, split-board snowboards, and snowshoes are the tools of choice for mountain travelers. Avalanche danger, however, forces winter travelers to master specialized tools, knowledge, and practices. The classes listed here are designed to take you from on-piste skier or snowboarder to serious winter explorer – whether your preference is backcountry skiing, split-board snowboarding, or snowshoeing.
Avalanche Safety Courses
The American Alpine Institute's Avalanche Course instructors are trained and qualified by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) and/or by the American Avalanche Institute. The standardized AIARE curriculum is taught on all courses for recreational winter travelers.
There is no single nationally recognized curriculum for avalanche safety education in the United States. The American Avalanche Association (A3) instead sets standards for education and training, and AIARE, as well as other organizations, create instructional materials and train instructors in accordance with A3 standards. AIARE has developed a standardized curriculum for a complete program of avalanche training and certification courses that meets the needs of students at all levels, from recreational to professional and from novice to advanced. AIARE continually updates its curriculm to keep up with the latest research in snow science, wildeness medicine, and risk management.
The New AIARE Curriculum
In 2017, AIARE introduced a major revision to its standard curriculum. In past versions, courses were designed for both recreational and professional winter travelers, with professional level courses simply building upon the material covered in earlier courses. The new, redesigned curriculum contains a wealth of new material and has added a second, distinct track for snow safety professionals.
AIARE's introductory Level 1 avalanche course, renamed AIARE Rec 1 Avalanche Course, provides students with the tools, knowledge, and decision making skills necessary to minimize your exposure to risk in avalanche terrain. The first day of this three-day program is in a classroom in a nearby city or town followed by two days in the field.
The new AIARE curriculum places greater emphasis on knowledge and decision making in the entry level courses. The topic of avalanche rescue is now covered extensively in the new AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course, a 1-day course devoted exclusively to rescue skills.
The AIARE Rec 2 Course is also new for the 2017-2018 season. The Rec 2 Course builds on the AIARE 1 Decision Making Framework and the hazard management model and gives you the skills to evaluate critical hazard assessment factors.
The Rec 2 course is a 3-day (24-hour) course that teaches existing backcountry travelers decision making skills to deal with more complex situations that they might encounter while in avalanche terrain. It might be just that you are traveling in more complicated terrain, or maybe you are the leader of a group of other recrationalists, or maybe you need to build a tour plan but you don't have access to an avalanche forecast or other resources. You'll learn techniques to handle each of these situations, plus others, and will improve your overall decision making skills.
The Avalanche Pro 1 Course is a new 5-day, pass/fail course designed to train and certify workers new to the avalanche and snow safety industry (educators, patrollers, guides, forecasters). We will cover skills essential to the workplace including conducting weather, snow and avalanche observations, making an assessment of basic hazard and risk factors, participation in team meetings, succinctly communicating observations in the field, and applying basic safe travel protocols in avalanche terrain.
The AIARE Pro 2 Course, formerly the AIARE Level 3, is a 6-day course and exam that requires students to travel safely and efficiently in avalanche terrain. Field days will include travel on rugged terrain up to and exceeding 30 degrees, trail breaking, and 8 hours of travel carrying a day pack with rescue equipment and clothing.
Please look through the listings on this page to learn more about your desired course.
This entry-level avalanche course provides skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, mountaineers and snowmobilers with the tools, knowledge, and decision making skills necessary to minimize risk in avalanche terrain. AAI's program employs curriculum developed by American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), an organization with decades of experience developing techniques, protocols and skills for those that recreate and work in avalanche terrain.
- Location:Washington
- Season:December - March
- Length:2 Online Evenings + 2 Field Days or 1 Lecture Day + 2 Field Days
- Cost:$725 (Register by Nov. 15th for a $100 discount)
This course was originally introduced in the 2017/2018 season, but has since become an integral step in the AIARE avalanche education progression. This 1-day course is intended to be retaken on a regular basis in order to keep abreast of best practices in rescue techniques and gear. New participants will learn the basics of companion rescue, while return participants will expand their skill set with advanced topics and realistic scenario practice to help improve their skills after the course.
- Location:Mount Baker backcountry, Washington
- Season:December - March
- Length:1 day
- Cost:$295
The AIARE Rec 2 course is designed for advanced recreational winter travelers who have already taken AIARE 1 and the Avalanche Rescue Course. Focusing on snowpack, weather, and terrain assessment, the course builds decision-making skills and grooms students for leadership in the backcountry.
- Location:Mount Baker backcountry
- Season:December - March
- Length:2 Online Evenings and 2 Field Days
- Cost:$745
The Pro 1 Course is the introductory program for the new Professional Course Flow. Similar to the traditional Level 2 course, it is designed to train and certify workers new to the avalanche industry.
- Location:Mt. Baker and Glacier, WA
- Season:December
- Length:5 days in-person training + online lessons prior to meeting
- Cost:$1849
The Pro 2 Avalanche Course is an advanced certification course for experienced and advanced recreational backcountry travelers, professional guides, patrollers and avalanche workers moving into leadership roles within their operations or for experienced workers who desire to continue to develop their risk management leadership skills. The course is 1 evening session, then 6 days in the field and completes the professional avalanche course stream.
- Location:Mt. Baker Backcountry
- Season:Winter
- Length:1 evening + 6 days
- Cost:$2649
American Alpine Institute has a wide variety of winter programming available to teach you the skills you need to travel through the untracked backcountry. Many of these programs dovetail together and you can flow from one into another with minimal down-time. Whether you're beginner, intermediate, or advanced, there's a winning combination waiting for you.
- Location:North Cascades, WA
- Season:December - March
- Length:4 - 6 days + 2 evening lecture sessions
- Cost:$1250 (Skiing) $1475 (Splitboarding)
This course takes AIARE's avalanche curriculum and tailors it specifically towards motorized users, whether on a sled or a snowbike. This introductory level course provides students with the tools, knowledge, and decision making skills necessary to minimize your exposure to risk in avalanche terrain.
- Location:Washington
- Season:January - March
- Length:2 Online Evenings + 2 Field Days for Rec 1 and Rec 2, 1 Field day for Rescue
- Cost:Varies
You know about moving through the backcountry, and you've taken an Avalanche Course. Now take your winter travel to the next level with this course on winter overnight skills.
- Location:North Cascades, WA
- Season:December - April
- Length:2 days
- Cost:$475 (minimum 2 participants)
This 1-day course is designed for those who have little or no backcountry skiing experience and want to learn the basics. We'll introduce you to the different types of gear that allow us to travel through the backcountry, including use of climbing skins and other backcountry tools. Once on the snow, you'll learn specific techniques for moving through pristine backcountry terrain.
- Location:Washington
- Season:December - March
- Length:1 Days
- Cost:$395
"One run in the backcountry is worth ten in the front country." This is so commonly said that it has become a cliche ... and, yet, it's true. Come and join us on our 2-day clinic designed to take you beyond the basics and get you ready to go further, higher, and steeper.
- Location:North Cascades, WA; Eastern Sierras, CA; San Juan Mountains, CO
- Season:January - April
- Length:2 Days
- Cost:$460 (3 person min); Private trip pricing listed in 'Details and Dates'
This 1-day Avalanche course is for those who have already completed an avalanche education course and would like to refresh their skills. This field-based clinic provides an excellent review of the material in the AIARE Level 1 course and includes a discussion of industry updates.
- Location:Mount Baker backcountry, Washington
- Season:December - March
- Length:1 day
- Cost:From $295
Use of a splitboard allows snowboarders to easily reach places that just a few years ago were only been accessible to skiers, without the added hassle of carrying snowshoes. Snowboarders can rent splitboards from AAI's rental shop.
- Location:Mt. Baker backcountry, Washington
- Season:December - April
- Length:2 days
- Cost:$650
This course is designed for individuals who have little to moderate experience in outdoor rock/alpine climbing and ski touring or splitboarding. The objective of this course is to give participants an opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals of ski & splitboard mountaineering which combines the basics of rock/alpine climbing with backcountry riding.
- Location:Mazama, Washington Pass
- Season:May
- Length:4 Days
- Cost:$1150
Develop the technical skills and judgment required for skiing on complex glaciers, while doing some of the best skiing available in the lower 48 states. Learn crevasse rescue, roped skiing techniques, snow anchor construction, rappelling, and belaying skills as they apply to skiers and splitboarders in glaciated terrain.
- Location:North Cascades, WA
- Season:March - May
- Length:6 Days
- Cost:6 days: $1650 (minimum of 2 participants)
This is a skills- and objectives-based course in which we will climb Mt. Baker and have the thrill of skiing or splitboarding down. For people who have intermediate to advanced touring experience and moderate to advanced riding skills, a ride down Mt. Baker will be a ride you'll never forget!
- Location:Mount Baker, Washington
- Season:May - July
- Length:3 days
- Cost:$1150
These seminars are free and open to the public. While not a substitute for field training, the seminar provides a general introduction to avalanche safety in the backcountry.
- Location:Various Locations
- Season:Winter
- Length:90 minutes
- Cost:Free of charge
Snowshoeing is the perfect way for winter wilderness travelers to access some of the most wild and scenic backcountry in the United States. While skiers in the family ride the lifts, join us and experience winter's wonders in the North Cascades.
- Location:Mt Baker backcountry, WA
- Season:December - March
- Length:1 Day and up
- Cost:Group excursions starting at $195 per person, separate rates available for private trips.
This 2-day seminar will give you the knowledge and the skills to handle one of the most dangerous hazards of glacier ski mountaineering - how to perform a potentially life-saving rescue when a partner falls into a crevasse.
- Location:North Cascades, WA
- Season:April - May
- Length:2 Days
- Cost:$970 (minimum of 2 participants)