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AIARE Level I- Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain
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- Planning and preparing for smart travel in avalanche terrain
- Recognizing avalanche terrain
- Practicing safe travel techniques
- Basic framework for making decisions in avalanche terrain
- Learning and applying effective companion rescue
Do you spend time backcountry skiing or snowboarding, winter hiking, mountaineering or ice climbing? It doesn’t matter if you’re staying in the Northeast or heading out West, you owe it to yourself and your companions to learn all you can about avalanche hazard management. This 3 day/24 hour introductory course will provide you with a basic understanding of avalanches.
The American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Level I Certification Course is a 3-day program that combines classroom work with field experience to provide a solid basis for decision-making in avalanche terrain. We’ll cover such topics as recognizing avalanche-prone slopes, assessing avalanche hazards on-site, route-finding and travel techniques, and skills and equipment for companion rescue.
Students must be able to travel in mountainous winter terrain. Alpine Touring or Telemark Skis with skins are the preferred mode of travel, but hikers with snowshoes or snowboarders can be accommodated.
The AIARE Level I course is a 3 day/24 hour introduction to avalanche hazard management.
The course is expected to:
Provide a basic understanding of avalanches
Describe a framework for decision making and risk management in avalanche terrain
Focus on identifying the right questions, rather than on providing “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, to understand basic decision making while in the field, and to learn rescue techniques required to find and dig up a buried person (if an avalanche occurs and someone in the party is caught).
A final debrief includes a knowledge quiz to test student comprehension and to give feedback to instructors on instructional tools. Students are encouraged and counseled on how to apply the skills learned and told that no course can fully guarantee safety, either during or after course completion. A link is made to a future AIARE Level II course.
At the end of the Level One 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
Instructional sessions (24 hours including both class and field instruction):
1. Introduction to the Avalanche Phenomena
Types and characteristics of avalanches
Avalanche motion
Size classification
The mountain snowpack: an introduction to metamorphism and layering
2. Observations and Information Gathering
Field observation techniques
Bonding tests: rutschblock, compression test
Avalanche danger factors; “Red Flags”
Observation checklist
Avalanche danger scale
Trip Planning and Preparation
Avalanche terrain recognition, assessment, and selection
Route finding and travel techniques
Decision making and Human Factors
Companion Rescue and Equipment
This is a sanctioned curriculum offered by AIARE-trained instructors, and an AIARE Certificate of Completion is granted to all participants who complete the course.
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Directions for AIARE Level I and II students:
You will be meeting your instructor at Thayer Hall at the Crawford Notch Highland Center complex. Please follow directions below to arrive at the Highland Center. Once you are there, Thayer Hall is the big red building closest to the parking lot. You will follow the main walkway from the parking lot, and Thayer Hall is the first very large red building on the right. Proceed through the first set of double doors to enter a lobby, turn right down a short hallway. Your instructor will meet you there!
Highland Center Front Desk (24 Hours), 603-278-4453, ext. 0 (cell phone service is not reliable in Crawford Notch)
To get to the Highland Center:
From central and south-central New Hampshire (Manchester, Concord, etc.):
- Take Interstate 93 North to Route 3 North (Exit 35).
- Take Route 3 North to Route 302 East (near Twin Mountain).
- Take Route 302 East approximately 10 miles to the Highland Center, located roadside right on Route 302. Continue just past the Highland Center for parking at the Crawford Depot train station.
From eastern and southeastern New Hampshire (Portsmouth, etc.):
- Take Spaulding Turnpike North to Route 16 North.
- Take Route 16 to Route 302 West (in Glen).
- Take Route 302 West approximately 10 miles to the Highland Center, located roadside left on Route 302.
From Boston and its suburbs:
- Take Interstate 93 North to central New Hampshire.
- Follow directions above for central New Hampshire.
From Portland, Maine:
- Take Route 302 West to the Crawford Notch Depot Visitor Center, located roadside left on Route 302.
From Montreal:
- Take Autoroute 10 East to Autoroute 55 South (north of Magog).
- Take Autoroute 55 South to Interstate 91 South (at US/Canada line).
- Take Interstate 91 South to Route 105 East (by Derby, Vt.).
- Take Route 105 East to Route 3 South (in North Stratford, N.H.).
- Take Route 3 South to Route 302 East to (near Twin Mountain).
- Take Route 302 East to the Crawford Notch Depot Visitor Center, located roadside right on Route 302.
From New York City (and Hartford, Conn., or western Massachusetts):
- Take Interstate 95 North (Connecticut Turnpike) to Interstate 91 North (by New Haven, Conn.).
- Take Interstate 91 North to Route 302 East (Exit 17 in Vermont).
- Take Route 302 East to the Crawford Notch Depot Visitor Center, located roadside right on Route 302.
Approximate driving times and mileage to Crawford Notch. Times may vary greatly depending on driving style, traffic, and road conditions. But here are some approximations to offer a bit of guidance:
- From Boston, 160 miles, three hours.
- From New York City, 370 miles, seven hours.
Directions from North Conway:
- Take Rt 16/302 North to Glen, NH. Go straight through the traffic light on Rt 302. Stay on Rt 302 until the Highland Center appears on the left. Approximate driving time from North Conway, 30 minutes. Allow more time in inclement weather.
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Cost:
$325 per person
Dates:
December 29-31
January 7-9, 15-17, 28-30
February 19-21, 25-27
March 11-13, 25-27
Start/End:
8:30am to 5pm
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Includes:
beacon, probe, shovel, ice axe, plastic double boots, crampons, AIARE student manual, and AIARE Field Book
Does Not Include:
lodging, transportation, personal gear and clothing, meals (skis and skins not included but can be rented).
Prerequisite:
none
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