AIARE Level 1
the AIARE Level 1 is the industry standard INTRODUCTORY avalanche education course.
This course is designed for the backcountry enthusiast that wishes to gain awareness of avalanche rescue, identify avalanche terrain, interpret the avalanche and weather forecast and contribute to the decision making of the group.
Our AIARE Level 1 course consists of 8-10 hours of self-paced pre-course online learning, a 2-hour evening zoom meeting, and 2 full field days. You must complete the online learning prior to the Zoom meeting, and the Zoom will take place within the week prior to your field days. The field days will take place adjacent to Timberline and/or Mount Hood Meadows ski areas.
Please see below for dates.
Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation email. About three weeks prior to your Zoom meeting, you will receive an email with more course details and links to the online learning modules.
AIARE LEVEL 1
Mt Hood $600
2024
December 7-8 (sat-sun)
December 14-15 (sat-sun)
December 19-20 (thurs-fri)
December 21-22 (sat-sun)
December 28-29 (sat-sun)
2025
January 25-26 (sat-sun)
January 27-28 (mon-tues)
February 20-21 (thurs-fri)
February 22-23 (sat-sun)
March 19-20 (wed-thurs)
April 19-20 (sat-sun)
May 3-4 (sat-sun)
You can place yourself on the WAITLIST by following the registration process.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email. Full course details and links to the online learning modules will be emailed to all participants. Zoom meeting take place the Wednesday (6pm, 2 hrs) before the field days.
MountainSavvy instructors are all certified active AIARE instructors. All of the primary instructors are A3 pro members, hold Pro2 credentials, often have over a decade of professional ski patrol experience and are licensed and trained to use explosives for avalanche mitigation while on ski patrol duty. They also work as professional international mountain guides and are long time mountain rescue volunteers.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel within a week of the course, we will make every effort to fill your spot from the waitlist, if this can not be achieved, you will NOT get a refund. We have been burned too many times. If you give more than a weeks notice, full refund. We will also make every attempt to reschedule you into another course but if all courses are sold out, you will be placed on a priority waitlist. We will be fair, but if you are a no show because you didn't get up early enough to shovel snow to get your car rolling, you lose out, sorry.
This is a 24 hour course. To receive the certificate, participants must complete the online learning and attend the 2 field sessions.
For the field days you must be ready and able to spend the entire day outside in winter conditions with food and drink, warm clothing etc. We will brief you on what to bring so you are properly prepared. Hours for each day are 8am-4pm. We do not provide accommodations or meals. If you would like to rent backcountry touring gear (skis, skins, boots, splitboard) I recommend the Mountain Shop in Portland and for folks in the Gorge, Doug’s Sports or Pure Stoke.
This course will prepare you to make good decisions during your attempts to shred the gnar.
At the end of the AIARE 1 course the student should be able to:
Plan and prepare for travel in avalanche terrain.
Recognize avalanche terrain.
Describe a basic framework for making decisions in avalanche terrain.
Learn and apply effective companion rescue
Topics covered during a Level 1 course.
Avalanche types and anatomy
Basic slab mechanics
Terrain
• Terrain evaluation and route selection
• Travel protocols & group communication
Snowpack and Weather
• Mountain snowpack development leading to instability or stability
• Field observations, tests and judging instability
• Use of avalanche & snow pit tools: inclinometer, compass, probe, saw
• Introduce elementary pit diagrams with hand hardness profiles, basic grain
type symbols and stability tests. Expose to recording field notes.
• Avalanche & snow climates
Decision-support Tools
• Human factors and the need for systematic decision tools
• Application & limitations of decision tools
• Avalanche bulletins
Rescue
• Companion rescue including scene size up, organization, beacon use, probing,
shoveling
• Recovery of victims not wearing beacons
• Common mistakes in avalanche rescue
• Single and multiple beacon search techniques
• Role of first aid and emergency response in real avalanche rescues
Critique: Recommendations for further skills development, preparation for a level 2.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel within a week of the course, we will make every effort to fill your spot from the waitlist, if this can not be achieved, you will NOT get a refund. We have been burned too many times. If you give more than a weeks notice, full refund. We will also make every attempt to reschedule you into another course but if all courses are sold out, you will be placed on a priority waitlist. We will be fair, but if you are a no show because you didn't get up early enough to shovel snow to get your car rolling, you lose out, sorry.
Taking an avalanche course does not guarantee your safety in avalanche terrain. It will help you to understand the subtleties of the many factors required for consideration to make safe decisions.