There’s important messaging about getting into your AIARE 1 course as soon as possible when you start traveling in the backcountry. But what happens after your first AIARE course? What’s the timeline of your education? Should backcountry travelers ever retake courses? With a dicey snowpack in much of the country right now, these thoughts are hot on our minds. We spoke with Emma Walker from AIARE to learn more about the different programming AIARE offers, and how to keep up with your avalanche education journey.
What’s the AIARE programming?
First off, what’s AIARE? The nice acronym refers to the American Institute for Avalanche Rescue and Education. Their whole mission is to help people travel more safely in the backcountry during winter months. From entry-level avalanche education to teaching the pros the ropes, AIARE is the gold standard for avalanche education in the United States.
Emma told us a little about the different AIARE courses and when to take them. “You’ll want to start with your AIARE 1 or Companion Rescue courses. You can take them in either order, but both are required before you move on to AIARE 2.”
AIARE 1 is the full course with eight hours of classroom time and time in the field. It teaches you group management skills and just requires you to know how to use and travel on your backcountry gear. No prior backcountry skiing experience is really necessary.
“AIARE 1 really tries to apply other skills we have in our lives like communication and teamwork to the backcountry. How to manage group dynamics when making decisions,” Emma told me. “The Companion Rescue Course is focused on building those rescue skills, which you do a little of in AIARE 1, but not as much. You’ll learn how to dial in the rescue process and practice digging, transceiver search, and probing.”
AIARE 2 is when you move to building those skills more deeply and focus more on snow science. More on that below. AIARE also offers the AIARE Pro 1 and Pro 2, for those interested in the professional track. These are often required if you plan on becoming an avalanche specialist, either in forecasting, avalanche mitigation at a resort, or guide operations.
When do I take all of these courses?
The AIARE 1 and Companion Rescue Course can be taken as soon as you know how to walk around on your skis. Personally, I took AIARE 1 first so I could feel more confident about terrain management first and followed up with the rescue course after. The flow worked well for me.
But what about leveling up to AIARE 2? Emma told me AIARE 2 is ideal for those wanting to dive deeper or frankly, go into more complex terrain.
“AIARE 2 is great when you’re ready to jump from a contributing group member to a group leader. Furthering those technical skills, but also group management skills and taking more of the responsibility to make the big decisions on the terrain to ski.” Emma mentioned she’s heard testimonials from some folks moving to AIARE 2 as their crew wants to ski more complex terrain, but doesn’t quite have the depth of knowledge to make those decisions comfortably.
You don’t need an AIARE 2 to be well-equipped for backcountry travel. But if you want to dive deeper into those snow analysis and terrain management skills, feel well-armed with the knowledge to lead a group, or want to travel into more complicated terrain, AIARE 2 is a good way to give your experience some educational backbone.
Emma also recommended AIARE 2 for anyone wanting to move through the professional track, although it is not required before taking a Pro 1.
Do you have to retake courses?
Retaking courses is not required by AIARE. But, Emma explained retaking courses is important for staying up to snuff on important skills and best practices. She recommends retaking the Companion Rescue courses every few seasons or so.
“Search and rescue are perishable skills, so having a formal refresher on that is hugely helpful to staying sharp.” Not to mention, best practices and our understanding of avalanche rescue are evolving still.
Emma explained, “Our understanding of how long someone has if they’re buried in an avalanche has changed in recent years. And while the fundamentals never change, you’ll always want to perform a speedy recovery, we’re certainly still learning how to be at our speediest”
A hot topic these days is the effect of electronics on our avalanche transceivers. “Just in the last year, there are new guidelines on how far away to keep your other electronics away from each other. It’s changing really quick.” Emma told me. Another great reason to get into a formal course.
I thought retaking a full AIARE 1 or 2 would be recommended, but Emma focused on the companion rescue. “If you’re someone who’s in a solid crew and well practiced at debriefing and discussing the day and keeping those communication skills sharp, you may not need to retake that AIARE 1. But, a good time to would be if you’re going on a big hut trip or backcountry trip and it’s been five or so years, it might be worth it to take it with your crew.”
How to keep up with practice on your own?
Let’s talk a little about informal avalanche education. AIARE instructors will always drill in your minds to keep up the practice on your own. Emma was super stoked to talk about practice.
“I think there’s this perception that it needs to be a big part of your day, or that you’ll have to dedicate half a day out to do that. That’s a hard sell, you know? There are only so many off days and time up in the mountains we get. So you don’t have to make it a whole thing. Do it at the beginning or end of your tour. You don’t need that much time.”
I asked Emma for some ideas on how to practice on your own.
“You don’t want to practice avalanche rescue in avalanche terrain. Look for flat, open areas, that aren’t below any avalanche terrain. Trailheads are great, or any open meadow that’s away from runouts. I like to look for a 30×30 area.”
“As for how to practice, it doesn’t need to take long. If every person takes one or two beacon searches, that shakes off the rust. And, you should be searching quickly. So a few minutes for each beacon search doesn’t add up to too much time out of your day out. I know some folks turn this into a fun apres scene–pack a few beers in the bag with the beacon.” (Obviously, don’t have too much fun, that will lower the efficacy of your practice.) Check out the video below from AIARE that runs through this.
Why should I be keeping up with my avalanche education?
Maybe this seems obvious, but traveling in the backcountry during winter months comes with hazards. Staying sharp on your skills is the best way to avoid winding up in a dangerous situation. Whether that’s progressing through the AIARE programming to learn as much as possible, or retaking a companion rescue course to stay sharp. Everyone’s journey looks a little different.
Emma told me before we signed off, “I think the most important thing to impart is the fact no one’s avalanche education is ever finished. You don’t tick boxes and complete it for life. As soon as you start, it’s a lifelong journey of learning more. Every tour and every backcountry outing is an opportunity to learn and gain more experience. So your avalanche education can happen every day you go out.”
