Why Take a Private AIARE Course with Us

• Private AIARE Courses allow you to choose the date, location, format, and group for your course.
• By choosing your group, you’ll be able to learn and practice all your skills with the people that you’ll be skiing or splitboarding in the backcountry with.
• In a private AIARE course, our instructors will customize the course to the what your group is most interested in!
• Learn from trained professionals who are educators and guides alike. With professional avalanche mitigation experience from the backcountry, ski areas, snowcat, and heli skiing operations, both with and without the use of explosives.

Why Take AIARE Courses with Us

• Smaller class sizes

• Highest-caliber instructors with supplemental certifications and experience managing avalanche terrain, i.e. Ski Patrol

• Curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning by skiing laps on tour days and scouting out powder. No snowshoeing.

• Excellent access to terrain and trailheads just 15 minutes from the classroom

• Added resource of the local avalanche center

Course Description

The AIARE Avalanche Level 2 course has been designed specifically to meet the needs of advanced students who have taken an AIARE Level 1 and AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course. 

The American Institute of Avalanche Safety and Education (AIARE) Level 2 is a 3-day/24-hour course that provides backcountry travelers the opportunity to advance their decision-making skills in more complicated situations such as: leading travel in small groups, traveling in more challenging terrain, and developing travel plans with limited resources. 

This course builds on the introductory avalanche hazard management model introduced in the AIARE Level 1 and adds to the evaluation of critical hazard assessment factors. Students will describe and discuss the weather, snowpack, and avalanche processes and identify how these processes relate to observations and travel within avalanche terrain. 

Course Objectives

Students can expect to learn about the following topics:

• Differentiate where specific avalanche hazards exist within the landscape and identify avalanche terrain where consequences may be more severe. 
• Use and interpret weather, snow, and avalanche observations to locate appropriate terrain prior to entering and while in the field. 
• Demonstrate leadership skills within a small team that includes facilitating small group discussion, promoting appropriate terrain selection, and utilizing simple risk management strategies. 
• Implement a basic forecasting framework that can be used in conjunction with or in the absence of local supporting avalanche information. 

Why Take AIARE Courses with Us

• Smaller class sizes

• Highest-caliber instructors with supplemental certifications and experience managing avalanche terrain, i.e. Ski Patrol

• Curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning by skiing laps on tour days and scouting out powder. No snowshoeing.

• Excellent access to terrain and trailheads just 15 minutes from the classroom

• Added resource of the local avalanche center

The AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course is a 1-day, scenario-based course. Practicing avalanche rescue skills is a crucial part of being a reliable backcountry ski partner. This course will provide each participant with the opportunity to receive professional coaching on their rescue skills. 

Why Take AIARE Courses with Us

• Smaller class sizes

• Highest-caliber instructors with supplemental certifications and experience managing avalanche terrain, i.e. Ski Patrol

• Curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning by skiing laps on tour days and scouting out powder. No snowshoeing.

• Excellent access to terrain and trailheads just 15 minutes from the classroom

• Added resource of the local avalanche center

Course Description

This course covers all the information in a standard American Institute for Avalanche Research & Education (AIARE) Level 1 Course, but uses a real backcountry ski hut for a classroom! Class sizes are smaller and more intimate in hut-based courses and you have the added advantage of being able to apply your new knowledge immediately.  

The Maroon and Crystal Huts in Gothic Colorado (located just outside of Crested Butte) is a mellow 4-mile ski from the trailhead. The Maroon Hut has raised the bar for backcountry lodging and includes heat, electricity, running water, and outhouse facilities.

Course Objectives

Students will come away from the course having learned: 

• How to prepare and plan for a backcountry tour 
• How to analyze an avalanche forecast
• How to identify avalanche terrain & avalanche types
• How to recognize hazardous conditions 
• Basic snowpack understanding 
• Route selection and terrain features
• Snowpack tests and interpretation 
• Educated decision making 
• Basic rescue techniques 
• Group management

Why Take AIARE Courses with Us

• Irwin Guides avalanche education courses utilize up to 4 different drainages out of the Crested Butte basin, all within a ten minute drive from downtown Crested Butte.  If ten minutes is too much and you want the all immersive experience, sign up for one of our hut based courses and ski from the front door! 
• Learn from trained professionals who are educators and guides alike. With professional avalanche mitigation experience from the backcountry, ski areas, snowcat, and heli skiing operations, both with and without the use of explosives.
• Our guides are full-time practitioners who guide year round, around the world, drawing on an array of experiences throughout different snowpacks from around the world, which allows them to customize the teaching to every different group. 
• AIARE Avalanche education began here in the Gunnison Valley, and the founders can still be seen around skiing, in turn influencing the quality and progression of Irwin Guides products. 
• Unlike many AIARE providers, Irwin Guides limits course sizes to offer more personalized learning for each student, and ensure that each course is staffed by the highest quality instructors.

Ouray and Lake City have developed their own ice parks as a global destination for ice enthusiasts. These user-friendly parks feature ice routes for all abilities and levels. Whether learning ice-climbing basics or taking a step further with a multi-day, intensive teaching progression to improve skills and climbing efficiency, Irwin Guides will curate a fun and safe experience with professional guides.