AIARE Rescue Course – Breckenridge/Vail CO

$295

Location - Colorado, Breckenridge

Dates
December 11, 2021 - December 12, 2021
February 5, 2022 - February 6, 2022
February 12, 2022 - February 13, 2022
February 18, 2022 -

Overview

Are you fully prepared to act swiftly in the unfortunate case of an avalanche accident? When is the last time that you and your touring partners practiced your rescue skills? With coaching from our instructors in realistic scenarios, you will develop and refresh essential rescue skills while also lowering your response time. In this course you will practice using your own avalanche rescue gear and learn about the most current advancements in the field. It’s important to practice, practice, practice, honing your skills to be an excellent, well-prepared backcountry touring partner.

AIARE Avalanche Rescue is an 8 hour course that we’ve adapted into two parts with a 2 hour online evening session followed by an all day field day for hands-on practice with rescue gear and techniques. This course is excellent for both new and experienced backcountry travelers and is designed to be taken on a regular basis as techniques in avalanche rescue are continually evolving with new technology and research. In this course you learn the basics of companion rescue including efficient search strategies with your beacon, strategic shoveling, and effective probing. You will practice responding in realistic scenarios with regular instructor feedback and support. Experienced participants are challenged with advanced topics, multiple burial techniques, and leading scenarios. This course is a great refresher and preparation for the backcountry touring season. Bring your regular ski partners to get ready as a group, or connect with a group of women who are as keen on avalanche safety as you are!

AIARE Rescue pairs well with AIARE Level 1 and is a requirement for AIARE Level 2.

Duration: 1 Online Evening Session, 1 Field Day
Activity Level: Moderate
Required Skill Level: Students must be able to travel short distances in the backcountry and bring appropriate equipment for traveling on snow and staying warm in inclement winter weather.

Course Dates:

Dec 11th Online Evening Session and Dec 12th Field Day

Feb 5th Online Evening Session and Feb 6th Field Day

Feb 12th Online Evening Session and Feb 13th Field Day

Feb 18th Online Evening Session and Feb 19th Field Day – COED

AIARE rescue course womens backcountry touring south lake tahoe

6:00pm - 8:00pm

Our online evening session is an introduction to rescue techniques including equipment, packing list, and an overview of the step by step AIARE Rescue checklist. Learn about any updates to the Rescue Process and improved technology.

The following day we’ll run multiple scenarios outside so you can practice skills and develop muscle memory. The ultimate goal is to increase rescue skills in order to increase a teammate’s likelihood of survival if caught in an avalanche.

This course is a 1 evening, 1 field day specifically dedicated to practicing rescue skills to reduce response time. It is an addition to AIARE Level 1 to learn how to travel in avalanche terrain and use deliberate decision making to avoid avalanche accidents, and a prerequisite to AIARE Level 2.

8:00am - 4:00pm

If you’re new to avalanche rescue, today’s focus is to learn important rescue skills and practice them as many times as possible while building their complexity. These skills include assessing the scene, leadership, using a transceiver effectively and efficiently, up to date probing methodologies, and effective and speedy shoveling techniques. If you are an avalanche rescue veteran this course will review the basics and beyond, introducing more complex and advanced techniques and practicing them as a group or individuals.

What to Expect

Comfortable and fun learning atmosphere
Course tailored specifically to the experience level of the group
Attentive, experienced, & professional AIARE qualified instructors. Your instructor team may include women and men who support our mission of women becoming leaders in their backcountry pursuits
Realistic scenarios with feedback from AIARE instructors
Get your rescue skills up-to-par to be the best backcountry partner you can be
Gain your AIARE Rescue Certificate
Be ready and fulfill this requirement for your AIARE Level 2 Course

Gear Needed

Backcountry skis or splitboard (or snowshoes, cross-country skis, anything to move on snow), ski poles, ski or snowboard boots, climbing skins, avalanche beacon, avalanche probe, avalanche shovel, backcountry backpack, and proper outerwear and warm layers for field time. You can rent a beacon/shovel/probe backpack from us online. We also recommend our friends at Mountain Outfitters in Breck if you need to rent gear, or Alpine Quest if you are coming from the Edwards/Vail, Colorado Area.

Field Time

Classroom Time

Getting There

FLY: To Denver or Vail/Eagle airport in Colorado.

DRIVE: To our trailheads in the Breckenridge/ Vail area. Our touring locations include Mt Baldy, Loveland Pass, Hoosier Pass, Vail Pass, Meadow Mountain or another of our USFS permitted locations. If you are looking to book lodging, Dillon, Frisco, and Breck are all fairly central to the majority of our touring locations. Exact touring location is weather and condition dependent. You will receive location information from your instructor or the office prior to your course start.

Backcountry Babes is an equal opportunity service provider and employer. Backcountry Babes operates under special use permit from the USDA Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest Ranger District and Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District.

Instructors

AIARE Rescue Course – Breckenridge/Vail CO

Testimonials

“This course was great for basic backcountry knowledge. Becoming familiar with using beacon and probe, digging pits and learning more about the types of snow and layers of snow. Learning skills that could keep you ALIVE in certain situations.”
Jenny A.Breckenridge, CO AIARE Avalanche Course

“I feel like I learned some good decision making strategies and red-flag things to watch out for. Very helpful to do the field sessions and get feedback in the field.”
Jenny M.AIARE Avalanche Course

“Great info and very well presented – classroom then practicing and applying the info in the field. Hearing personal experiences and thought process of the instructors was helpful as well as the student-instructor ratio.”
Rachel B., Lakewood, COAIARE Avalanche Course

“I appreciated the balance of classroom education and field application. All of the instructors were AWESOME. Approachable, allowing for all of us to ask any question.”
Trent KDenver, CO

“This course was beneficial in so many ways – We lived backcountry touring for a couple of days and got to go through the motions of trip planning, avalanche observations, and terrain management. I have a great framework moving forward. Our instructors Kirsten, Casey, and Janine did a great job working together. I really liked hearing different perspectives, experiences and styles.”
Nathan LLittleton, CO

“There is an incredibly positive and high energy stoke level of the female-empowered AND co-ed classroom environment. It is cool to hear our students discuss the value of the learning environment–enjoying growth through our women’s empowerment focus and recognizing the reality that future teamwork will consist of co-ed teams in the backcountry.”
Anne St. ClairLead Instructor

“This co-ed setup is so cool, as it allows couples to take an AIARE class together in a stigma-free environment where both partners can feel empowered instead of the “token” female among males or vice versa taking an avalanche course. It really flows well with what AIARE tries to accomplish and I think everyone in the group really enjoyed this format and how well the group dynamics worked.”
Mike BortnowskiAIARE Avalanche Level 1 Instructor

AIARE Rescue Course – Breckenridge/Vail CO

$295

Overview