*New* AIARE curriculum avy courses this year

Vetta Mountain Guides will be offering level 1 & 2 avalanche courses this season on Vail Pass. This will be the new recreational curriculum developed over the past few seasons by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). AIARE was founded by internationally certified mountain guides when the US joined the UIAGM/IFMGA in the '90s. Since then, AIARE has led the US community in teaching skiers, snowboarders, snow-machiners, and winter recreationists of all types in making safer backcountry decisions. Courses will be taught by certified mountain guides only---including Tim Brown (IFMGA-certified), the former forecaster for the Vail-Summit zones and a lead guide at Exum in the summer, and Rob Coppolillo, (IFMGA-certified), a contributing writer on the new AIARE curriculum and the author of The Mountain Guide Manual. 

For more info on Vetta's AIARE level 1's in Colorado and Vetta's hut-based, week-long AIARE 2 in Canada, click HERE and/or HERE.

Interested in this...If I've taken the 'old' AIARE Level 1, can I progress to the new Level 2 curriculum?

Hi Jordan! Thanks for asking.

Right now I have a level 2 in Canada, at Ymir Lodge (flyer below). You could easily roll into that with a little homework ahead of time. That trip is awesome because it's six days----so instead of a hurried three days like the usual AIARE 2, we have six days to cover the material. We tour every day (3-5000ft), have a private chef along, and it's heli in/out, so we have the place to ourselves! My colleague and mentor, Colin Zacharias, is leading that trip----he goes into his 39th winter as a full IFMGA mtn guide, a former spots w-safety director at the Olympics, was head guide at CMH-Bugaboos for a decade, technical advisor for AIARE, and an ACMG/AMGA ski examiner. Awesome guy, awesome teacher!

If you wanted to backtrack a bit and do the new AIARE 1, that'd be an option, too. Courses are $525, three days, and incorporate the new curriculum---I am a contributing editor/writer on the project, also an IFMGA mtn guide...I have one spot left in my Jan 4/5/6 course on Vail Pass...one or two spots left on my Jan 8/10 (evening sessions in Boulder) and 12/13 (field days on Vail Pass) course. Hit me with questions, comments...happy to chat further.....

Thanks man, Rob C

Jordan Kobert wrote: Interested in this...If I've taken the 'old' AIARE Level 1, can I progress to the new Level 2 curriculum?

According to AIARE you need to take the new 1 day Avalanche Rescue class before you can take a Level 2.  

The AIARE 2 is a three-day course for those who have taken an AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue and have had at least a year of backcountry travel experience. The AIARE 2 provides backcountry leaders the opportunity to  advance their avalanche knowledge and decision making skills by applying their skills to new terrain and situations. Avalanche Rescue is a prerequisite for the AIARE 2. It is highly recommended that participants gain at least one season’s worth of backcountry travel experience between taking the AIARE 1 and the AIARE 2.

If you go up to Canada you can take an AST2 class without this new one day class (although they offer something similar). There are several AST2+ (week long hut based, similar to this companies offer). https://www.avalanche.ca/training Great company that also offers stuff in Canada: https://kootenayavalanchecourses.com/lodge-based-ast2/

Also good it usually they have much better snow than us!

E: wanted to add that I am sure Vetta and the guides are great as well. 

Parker thanks for the details. Rob, this trip sounds rad, I'll send you a direct message on it. Gotta check with the boss at home!

Hi Parker---Indeed, the Canadian AST courses can be cool. The new AIARE curriculum is much closer in line with the Canadian model---pro courses for future guides, patrollers, forecasters, and rec courses for serious people who want to improve/refine their skills, but who aren't going to pursue pro-level science/forecasting.

And Jordan, the eight-hour AIARE Avalanche Rescue course is included in that Ymir course we do...and Colin Zacharias teaches the Ymir course---he teaches no AST courses in Canada during the season...he mainly trains professionals...for example, he teaches the lead guides at Canadian Mountain Heli, who then teach the other guides. he's a mega legend!

Exactly as Parker says, too: "...they have much better snow than us!"

Come train with us, dude!

  vettamountainguides.com/aia…

Hello Rob - can you provide additional detail regarding the Ymir course, and the ratio of time spent on: avy. / snow science, backcountry skills, survival skills, and time spent skiing/riding. 

That’s looks like a fun trip! Can you take the course if you have a CAA level 1 cert?

Hi Pete & Bill,

Pete---good to hear from you. How's Breck? 75 and sunny?! Dude! Last year we spent a couple hours every day doing exercises/mapping/slides and 4-6 hours touring, I'd say. Ymir has great terrain within 30 mins of the hut, so it was easy to get laps and be back in time for appetizers/dinner/slides with Colin Zach.

Bill----How goes it?! You've done a Canadian AST course? Have you done any AIARE courses? This is the new curriculum, so even if you've been in the AIARE courses, the new method/tools will look different. You'll see some similarities to the Canadian AST courses, as Colin is Canadian and the prime author on the new AIARE stuff. We could certainly chat about getting you into the course---the one hiccup will be getting you "credit/cert" with AIARE---they insist on participants having an AIARE 1---but that only means they won't officially recognize you as having the AIARE 2 under your belt. We can chat more about that, too.

Our Ymir course includes the 8-hour Avalanche Rescue course, as well as the AIARE 2. We cover all that in 6 days rather than the 3-4 days, so it gives us time to tour every day.

Happy to chat further, gents, doing a pres this morning, then free in the afternoon-----thanks! Rob C

Thanks for the intel. Quite a difference in the weather this past week, shoveled about 3' off the deck, and the mt. is reporting 5'....i think that is a bit aggressive, and most likely wind aided, but by far the best conditions for opening day in the past 5+ years. Hopefully the NW flow continues.