Avalanche AIARE Level 1

The Everett Mountaineers will offer an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course starting December 2015. The course is oriented towards recreational backcountry users like skiers, snowboarders, climbers, scramblers and snowshoers. The course will:

• Provide a basic understanding of avalanches and how to make pertinent terrain and snowpack observations for the avalanche problem at hand.
• Use a framework for decision making and risk management in avalanche terrain
• Focus on identifying the right questions, rather than on providing “all the 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 in avalanche terrain, to make relevant observations, to understand basic decision making in the field, and to learn rescue techniques required to find and dig up a buried person. The overall goal is to improve safety and decision making in avalanche terrain. It is a basic hazard management course and uses rule based tools in combination with introductory knowledge based decision making tools. The course is a stand alone course, but provides a great link to an AIARE 2 avalanche course.

The course is a combination of home study, classroom work and field trip work.  

The classroom lectures will be in a meeting room at Snohomish Co PUD in Everett at 2320 California St, Everett, WA 98201. Please bring pen and paper for taking notes. Equipment will be discussed at the first lecture.  Shovels, probes, avalanche transceivers and either backcountry skis, snowshoes or splitboards are required for field trips.

For enrollment or course information, please contact: Mike Palmer at mike@cascadespecialty.com or Lee Wilcox at leebttrcup@aol.com. Sign up online www.mountaineers.org or phone 206-521-6001.

The field trip is in the Mt Baker backcountry with optional overnight stay at the Mountaineers Lodge. The field trip could involve cold and wet weather and elevation gain of about 2,000 feet. The terrain is extremely well suited for an avalanche course.

Lectures: Dec 2 630-930p, Dec 9 630-930p, Jan 6 630-930p.  Field trip (both days) Jan 9-10 8a-4p