BACKCOUNTRY HAZARD RECOGNITION AND TECHNIQUES FOR SAFE TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN

We offer the following safety courses for you to choose from:

- Recreational Avalanche Awareness Course
- Level I Avalanche Certification Program
- Level II Avalanche Certification Program
- Advanced Training for Avalanche Professionals and Guides

We also present a number of FREE information clinics for you to sample our programs
These avalanche courses are most useful for backcountry recreationalists and aspiring guides, including skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, and climbers (who frequent winter and spring mountain terrain).
 
The Avalanche Awareness & Recreational/Level I courses are finely tuned to the maritime and intermountain meteorology and snowpacks most common in the Cascade and Olympic ranges - since field trips will study those snowpacks and students are most likely to visit these areas. Lecture materials and case studies provide a bridge to the study of dangerous weak layers; only occasionally found in this region, but more common in inland areas. The new Level II course addresses, with emphasis, these weak layers and the rapidly evolving body of knowledge concerning such layering.
 
To attend the Level II course, students must have completed a basic Level I or Recreational Avalanche Course or our Avalanche Awareness Course (or equivilent)
There are four factors that define qualitatively a course’s effectiveness:

1. The experience of the instructors in terms of avalanche knowledge, regional terrain and snowpack familiarity
2. The professional commitment of the instructors in keeping abreast of current teaching standards and updating skills
3. Teaching experience and familiarity with presented materials
4. The Organizational and Presentation skills.

Although it may be hard to understand at first glance, it is often not the material presented but how it is presented that is most important in getting the message across to students. Human errors in judgement and skill application are significant factors in most avalanche accidents. In the final measure, a course is effective if students learn to modify their behavior and as a consequence avoid becoming avalanche victims.
 
A balanced perspective and an effective presentation to get that perspective accross to students is a strong suit of Gary’s courses. It comes from a long term commitment to avalanche education, active and ongoing field experience, and a corresponding depth of knowledge of regional terrain and snowpack combined with technical expertise.
 
Each year, our staff individually review some 100 snow pits with students and choose field locations to maximize the teaching value for the students' benefit. The arrangement of the schedule of our basic Avalanche Awareness & Rrecreational / Level I class is convenient for locals with busy lives. Field trip flexibility provides the same benefit.
 
The lecture and field trip schedule gives students sufficient time to read, review, and be prepared for field trips or subsequent lectures. Student feedback tells us that when a course is compressed into a narrow time frame most students feel overloaded with information, lessening the effectiveness and depth of understanding. We also find that most students like to have access to instructors after field sessions to better refine their understanding.
 
Most of our Avalanche Awareness field trips are scheduled before the final lecture. Another advantage lies in the flexible scheduling for Advanced Optional Field Trips to complete Recreational / Level I. Not only can these extra field days be taken on a very flexible schedule, but we make our best effort to separate participants by ability level for the student's benefit.
 
The extra field days can even be taken separately for the purpose of review for previous students. We feel this flexibility is a great advantage to students and allows the course to be affordable, and best fit the needs of participants. (The field trips are the costliest part of the course).
 
All of the materials presented in the lectures and the text book utilized in the Avalanche Awareness & Recreatioanl / Level I course were created by Gary Brill, and 95% of the photos in the Power Point lectures were taken by him, so his familiarity of presented materials is complete. This may not be the case in some competing courses. The ongoing effort to continually improve and update this course resulted in the change to digital format in recent years, this effort alone requiring some 1100 hours revising and improving the original slide format for the Recreational / Level I course. The Level II course required a similar commitment. The balance and quality of the current lectures reflects this effort.
 
Powerful and effective case studies are an integral part of the lectures (and in the accompanying text for the Avalanche Awareness & Recreational/Level I course) and bring home in no uncertain way key points about snowpacks and decision-making dynamics. Gary’s passion for backcountry skiing and alpine climbing over the past 35 years has given him a well-balanced understanding of what is required for longevity in these sports. He brings experience, perspective, and enthusiasm to the Avalanche Awareness & Recreational/Level I and Level II courses.