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AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course from White Pine Touring in Park City, UT.

AIARE Level 2: Analyzing Snow Stability and Avalanche Hazard

Starting at $640.00 per person

Description

In the past the AIARE 2 was designed to be an entry level professional course. The redesigned AIARE 2 is designed specifically to meet the needs of advanced recreational students who have taken an AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue class. The AIARE 2 provides backcountry leaders the opportunity to advance their avalanche knowledge and decision making skills in more complicated situations such as being a leader within a small travel group, traveling in more complicated terrain, and/or developing a travel plan where online resources are scarce. Students will describe and discuss weather, snowpack and avalanche processes, and identify how these processes relate to observations and travel within avalanche terrain.

Park City Based: Thanks to our unique partnership with Park City Powder Cats & Heli-Ski, Thousand Peaks Ranch, and the U.S. Forest Service, two full days of the AIARE 2 fieldwork is performed in a true, remote backcountry setting in the Uinta Mountains. We would like to thank our partners for their continued help and support in ensuring that AIARE 2 students in the Wasatch Mountains receive the best possible avalanche education. For more information on skiing and riding with Park City Powder Cats, please visit pccats.com.

Yurt-Based: This will be a backcountry-based avalanche course staged out of our Castle Peak Yurt. Students will spend two nights and three days at the Castle Peak Yurt in the Uinta National Forest. The course fee includes lodging at the yurt, all necessary equipment rentals, as well as breakfast and dinner for the two nights at the yurt. Students will be responsible for their own lunches.

Students must be 16 years of age or older.

Please review our Reservation & Cancellation Policy.

For more information, call White Pine Touring at 435-649-8710 or email us at shouse@whitepinetouring.com.

**Course logistics, times, and locations are subject to change due to the ever-evolving Covid-19 pandemic.**

Dates & Times:

  • Park City-Based
    • 1/8/21-1/10/21
  • Yurt-Based (Based out of Castle Peak Yurt) Cancelled
    • 3/11/21-3/14/21

Cost:

  • Park City-Based: $640 per person
  • Yurt-Based: $875 per person Cancelled

Price includes rental equipment.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Differentiate where specific avalanche hazards exist within the landscape and identify avalanche terrain where consequences may be more severe.
  • Use and interpret weather, snow, and avalanche observations to locate appropriate terrain prior to entering and while in the field.
  • Demonstrate leadership skills within a small team that include facilitating small group discussion, promoting appropriate terrain selection, and utilizing simple risk management strategies.
  • Implement a basic forecasting framework that can be used in conjunction with and in the absences of local supporting avalanche information.

Instructional Sessions

  • The Changing Mountain Snowpack
    • AIARE 1 Review
    • Mountain Weather
    • The Layered Mountain Snowpack
    • Trip Planning Review
    • Snowprofiles in the Field
  • Making Quality Observations
    • Avalanche Formation and Release
    • Interpreting Weather Data, Snow Surface Conditions, and Snow Profiles
    • Craftsmanship, Relevancy, and Verification of Snow Observations
    • Risk Management in Small Groups
    • Snowpack Test in the Field
  • Applying Observations to Field Decisions
    • Traveling in the Field as a Small Team
    • Field Risk Management and During Action Review
    • Communicating Observations to our group, other travelers, and local experts