The AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course is traditionally the entry-level professional course for ski guides, patrollers and forecasters, but has been redesigned to meet the needs of advanced recreational students who are looking to advance their decision-making skills in a more complex terrain and situations. You’ll develop your forecasting skills, work on appropriate terrain selection and avalanche hazard identification, utilizing simple risk management strategies while developing leadership skills in the field. Come join your guide in Lake Tahoe and bolster your backcountry knowledge!
Learn from the best and develop essential backcountry safety skills
Excellent terrain variety provides great avalanche simulation opportunities
Enjoy picturesque views and amazing powder of the world-famous Lake Tahoe area
The two-day comprehensive intermediate AIARE 2 course takes off where the AIARE 1 ends, adding to your avalanche hazard management toolbox with the introduction of critical hazard assessment factors. By describing and discussing weather, snowpack and avalanche processes, you are able to identify how these processes relate to observations and travel within avalanche terrain. After self-paced online classes and two days in the beautiful Lake Tahoe area, you’ll be able to plan and prepare for travel in avalanche terrain and apply effective companion-rescue techniques.
Prerequisite: Participants must have already taken an AIARE 1 course as well as the new AIARE 1 day rescue course to qualify for this course.
The digital component of the new AIARE 2 course will comprise both a self paced version and a live online meeting with your instructor and other students in your class. During the self paced component, you can expect:
Field days are conducted in small groups. On the first day, students can plan to learn about:
Students will also touch on craftsmanship, relevancy, and verification of snow observations. Finally, students will cover risk management in small groups and perform a snowpack test in the field.
The final field day brings us to the subjects of traveling in the field as a small team, field risk management and during action review. The course is capped off with communicating observations to the group, other travelers, and local experts.
You can expect to learn how to:
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re travelling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Lake Tahoe, please refer to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and Government of California websites.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this adventure:
What’s not included:
In order to enjoy this avalanche course, you need to have an excellent level of fitness. Skiers must be able to hike for many hours at a time while carrying a small pack.
Prerequisite: Participants must have already taken an AIARE 1 course as well as the new AIARE 1 day rescue course to qualify for this course.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
Group sizes and pricing:
If you’d like to take a private course with just an instructor and your own group, AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course in Lake Tahoe can be customized to your group’s specific needs. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If you plan to take the course with anyone under the age of 18, please contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Lake Tahoe, most people fly into Reno-Tahoe International Airport. From there, you can rent a car or take a shuttle service, such as the South Tahoe Airporter. It is a one-hour drive to the Lake Tahoe area.
Prior to departure, each group will meet at the Alpenglow office located in Olympic Valley. Field sessions will take place in the backcountry near Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. Location may change depending on snow conditions. Classroom sessions that once took place at our headquarters in the beautiful Olympic Valley, California will now be held completely online.
