Snowmobile Avalanche Level 1

This special course has been developed specifically for snowmobilers and snow bike riders.

Avalanche Fundamentals

The Level 1 provides a solid foundation in avalanche knowledge and skills.  The AAI Backcountry Avalanche Checklist helps to focus the curriculum around a systematic approach to sorting and prioritizing information in the complex environment of decision-making in the backcountry.  Forty percent of the course is online/classroom based and the other sixty percent is field based. We will travel in the backcountry, in and around avalanche terrain.  Snowmobiles and snow bikes will be used in class to access terrain.  Vehicles not provided.  Must be able to ride off trail in powder and varied snow conditions in mountainous terrain.  Requires intermediate backcountry snowmobile skills.

This course focuses on the following:

• Basic avalanche terminology
• Recognizing avalanche terrain
• Travel procedures in avalanche terrain
• Formation of the mountain snowpack
• How weather changes the snowpack
• Human factors and how they can influence decision-making
• Interpreting the avalanche forecast bulletin
• Ride planning
• Avalanche transceiver use and rescue skills
• Field observations of terrain, snowpack, and weather
• Basic use and interpretation of stability tests
• Use of the Backcountry Avalanche Checklist in the field to provide a system for prioritizing information, working as a team, and minimizing possible human factor traps
• Classroom decision-making scenarios to practice use of the checklist
• Next steps

Prerequisites

• Wyoming snowmobile registration sticker required in class.
• Snowmobile not provided

RECOMMENDED READING

• Snow Sense, Jill Fredston & Doug Fesler
• Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, Bruce Tremper
• Avalanche Essentials, Bruce Tremper

Additional Information

Still have questions? See our frequently asked questions section for details on gear, what’s provided on a course, and more.