Expand your knowledge of stability analysis for improved decision making in the winter backcountry.
Learn from an AMGA Certified Ski Mountaineering Guide
All Peak Mountain Guides avalanche instructors hold AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guide certification, AIARE Level III avalanche certification, and AIARE Level 1 & 2 instructor certification. We are one of the few avalanche course providers that can make this claim. By attending an avalanche course taught by a certified ski mountaineering guide, you will be learning from an instructor with an incredible depth of knowledge and a honed ability to create effective learning opportunities.
Learn to make a stability analysis for improved decision making
At Peak Mountain Guides we offer a 4-day Level 2 course sponsored by the American Institute for Avalanche Research & Education (AIARE). In this course we expand upon the concepts covered in the level 1 and we introduce a framework for making a stability analysis and forecast, a key skill for those who wish to climb and ski in avalanche terrain. Specifically, you will learn and practice the following concepts and skills:
- Recognition of avalanche terrain for routefinding, tracksetting, and observations
- Understanding of snowpack metamorphosis as it pertains to stability analysis
- Understanding of factors that contribute to the spatial variability of the snowpack
- Advanced companion rescue techniques including strategies for multiple burials and deep burials
- Learn guidelines for making and recording snowpack, weather, and avalanche observations
- Learn how to analyze these observations to identify factors that influence or indicate snow stability
- Learn a format for snow stability analysis and a framework for stability forecasting
As with all our avalanche courses, we go to great lengths to facilitate your understanding of these concepts, and in particular, the proper application of them for effective decision making. With this thoughtful instruction and well designed educational format our level 2 course will give you a skill set to identify factors that indicate improving or decreasing stability, and a framework for forecasting and managing hazards in the field.
AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course Description
The level 2 course is a 4-day (40 hour) program that builds from the introductory avalanche hazard management model introduced in the level 1, and adds to it the evaluation of factors critical to making a stability analysis. The course includes the following concepts, skills, and techniques:
- Energy balance and metamorphism of the snowpack
- Faceting and an in-depth look at near surface and near crust faceting
- Formation of surface hoar and persistent weak layers
- Theory and observations associated with skier triggering
- International observation and recording guidelines for weather, snowpack, & avalanches
- Analysis of recorded observations to identify stability concerns
- Site selection for information gathering with consideration for relevancy, spatial variability, and snowpack tests
- Snow profile techniques including full profiles and test profiles
- Snowpack tests including the newly developed Extended Column Test
- Stability ratings and introduction to a stability analysis checklist
- Trip planning and hazard forecasting using maps, photos, & the avalanche bulletin
Forecasting stability and variability over space
- Terrain selection and routefinding emphasizing group management, hazard management, and human factors
- Companion rescue including strategies for multiple burials and deep burials
AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course Sample Itinerary
The course takes place from 8-6 each day, with additional evening sessions on days 2 and 3.
Day 1
We meet at 8:00 am and begin with introductions and an overview of the course. The remaining morning is spent introducing energy balance and metamorphism of the snowpack, near surface faceting and near crust faceting, and formation of surface hoar and persistent weak layers. These classroom presentations include case studies, powerpoint slideshows, and videos to keep everyone engaged and learning. After a one-hour break for lunch, we drive to Red Mtn. Pass for an afternoon field session on advanced companion rescue techniques for multiple burials and deep burials.
Day 2
We meet at 8:00 for a morning classroom session. The day's topics include avalanche release and triggering mechanisms, introduction to observation and recording guidelines using the SWAG manual, and a look into your instructor's backpack to see what he/she carries during a day of backcountry touring. After a one-hour break for lunch, we drive to Red Mtn. Pass for a short ski tour to discuss site selection for observations and to practice snow profile techniques including a full profile. We'll return to the classroom for an evening session to debrief our tour, record our observations, and for one more classroom session on stability ratings and the stability analysis checklist.
Day 3
We meet at 8:00 for a morning classroom session. Using our observations from the previous day along with maps, photos, and the avalanche bulletin we will form an opinion about stability and the spatial variability of it. We’ll then pick a reasonable tour given the conditions and we’ll create a tour plan for the day. Participants will learn an effective tour planning strategy that includes the use of map, compass, and GPS for establishing a navigation plan and calculating time estimates. On the tour we’ll make more observations of the snowpack, we’ll practice group management and hazard management, and we’ll travel through a diversity of terrain that will enable group members to practice decision making with valuable coaching and feedback from the instructor. We'll return to the classroom in the late afternoon to debrief our tour and to formulate a fresh stability analysis based on our new observations.
Day 4
We will meet at 8:00 am to review the morning avalanche bulletin, create a stability forecast for the day, and create a tour plan. We’ll then embark on a full day tour that will be led by the participants of the class. We want to make sure participants are actually applying and practicing the skills that have been discussed in the previous days of the program, so we go out of our way to select an appropriate tour and we build in hands-on learning opportunities along the way. This thoughtful program design and dedication to learning will help participants develop their snow sense, terrain recognition skills, and overall decision making ability. Upon completion of the tour we’ll meet back in the classroom to debrief the tour, answer any final questions, and to present each participant with an AIARE Level 2 certificate. |
