Quality outdoor adventure since 1978
Specializing in custom itineraries, we tailor every trip to your unique needs, from your experience level to group size and mountain comfort.
Avalanche Education Courses
This 24-hour course is an introduction to managing avalanche hazard. You will learn how to use a repeatable process to manage your risk and learn from your experiences in the backcountry. You will also practice preparing for and carrying out a backcountry trip, keeping track of, communicating, and making decisions about hazards while in the backcountry, and learn rescue techniques if an avalanche occurs and someone is caught. Students should be able to travel off-trail on ungroomed or unmaintained terrain and bring appropriate equipment for traveling on snow, but there are no other prerequisites for this course.
Availability
Jan – March
Activity
Avalanche Education
Difficulty
Intermediate
Trips starting at (USD):
$595 base fee
What’s Included
- Small class size with hands-on instruction from our knowledgeable guides
- Avalanche Terrain Identification: Learn to assess and identify avalanche-prone areas.
- Companion Rescue Skills: Practice beacon, probe, and shovel rescue techniques.
- Safe Travel Practices: Master safe travel and group management in avalanche terrain.
4 Student minimum for course to run.
Upcoming Avalanche Courses
Your most important backcountry skill will always be education. Let the Vail Valley’s original guiding service educate you on how to safely navigate the hazards of the winter snowpack with AIARE Avalanche Courses.
what’s included
Understanding Avalanche Terrain
Learn to identify and evaluate avalanche-prone terrain, understand snowpack conditions, and apply the AIARE decision-making framework to assess risk in the backcountry.
Companion Rescue Skills
Develop essential avalanche rescue techniques, including how to use a beacon, probe, and shovel effectively to locate and recover a buried person in an emergency situation.
Route Finding and Travel Techniques
Gain practical knowledge on safe travel practices in avalanche terrain, including group management, route selection, and how to avoid triggering avalanches.
Rental Discount
Private tours receive a 15% discount on rentals. Our demo fleet of alpine touring equipment features top of the line offerings from Dynafit, Black Crows, Tecnica and Blizzard.
what participants are saying
We have been hunting for the freshest tracks for years on resorts and decided to try the Backcountry. Henry H. guided us up to the best views and deep fluffy stuff. He knew the area really well and also catered to our fitness level and equipment (my split board was a bit slower). Henry’s knowledge and tips were very helpful. He also shared some cool details and stories about the area. Our first time in the backcountry was perfect, thanks Henry. We will be back!!
Justin
