Colorado’s Summit County boasts plenty of powder stashes and thrilling—but never forgiving—backcountry rides. That said, every off-piste enthusiast needs to be able to identify risks and protect themselves while enjoying the winter wilderness. This 3-day Summit County AIARE 1 course will introduce you to how to mitigate the hazards of traveling in avalanche terrain. This includes everything from understanding and using the avalanche safety equipment and reading avalanche forecasts to the basics of route selection and trip planning. There are 3 ways in which this course is operated—you can opt either for hut-based, lift-accessed, or splitboard-specific programs. Choose your program, join your guide, and learn how to stay safe in the backcountry!
I took the Aiare level 1 course. These guy did a great job and made the course fun. I learned a ton and am confident in my new skills. I highly recommend them.
My 16-year-old son and I took an Avalanche 1 course thru CAG. There were many things that were excellent, but the thing that sticks out in my mind is how respectfully the instructors spoke with my young man, it made the experience extra special for him.
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, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in the Summit County, Colorado, please refer to Colorado’s COVID-19 travel guidelines.
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 get the most of this adventure, you need to have a good level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain. All participants should be comfortable traveling in snow off-trail on ungroomed or unmaintained terrain while carrying touring gear. The courses can be taken on alpine touring skis or splitboards: all participants should be familiar with their touring gear and have experience on their setup prior to taking this course.
If you have no prior experience of backcountry skiing, we suggest you check out this beginner-friendly backcountry tour in the Summit County.
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:
Ski rental locations are in Silverthorne, CO and equipment should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements. You can rent your gear package upon booking at a discounted rate.
If you choose the hut-based course, you will either stay in Carner’s Cabin near Fremont Pass or Francie’s Cabin south of Breckenridge.
Carner’s Cabin is a completely off-grid hut nestled on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 11,700 ft. Surrounded by San Isabel National Forest for acres on end, there’s no other structure in sight, providing you with a very remote feeling. Thanks to being deep in the wilderness, wildlife sightings are very common. Regarding the facilities, there’s no electricity or running water (so make sure to bring your own bottled water or melt snow on the wood burning stove), and there are indoor composting toilet facilities. Propane gas cook stove, kitchen utensils and oil lamps are provided. The cabin can sleep 8 students—make sure to bring your own booties, sleeping bag, and pillowcase.
Built in 1994, Francie’s Cabin is the most popular hut in Colorado. Situated near 11,300 ft in the popular Crystal Lakes drainage of the Ten-Mile Range, the cabin books up very quickly. It is equipped with firewood, propane cook tops, cooking and eating utensils, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. Snowmelt is used for a water supply as with most winter huts. Capacity at Francie’s Cabin is 18 students.
Group sizes and pricing:
AIARE 1 courses in Summit County, CO can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Summit County, most people fly into Denver International Airport just under 2 hours away from Summit County. From there, you can rent a car or take a bus.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, you will usually meet your guide at your guiding service’s basecamp in Silverthorne, CO, but you will receive more details in the weeks prior to the course dates that will include the exact meeting time and location, depending on the chosen program/whether you chose the dates with virtual/regular classroom education. The guide will choose the appropriate terrain dependent on conditions and the ability of the group during field session days.
Once the trip is confirmed by the guide, the cancellation policy stated below applies:
An administrative fee of 10% will be assessed for all rescheduling. Rescheduling will be honored 48 hours prior to guided adventures and 14 days prior to any course or camp start date. If you need to reschedule within the two week period, and your guides are able to fill your spot, they will reschedule your booking with a 10% fee. If they cannot fill your spot, they will be unable to reschedule.
Justin and Sunshine at Colorado Adventure Guides were great! My partner and I took the AIARE 1 course with CAG in early December 2019. Both instructors were professional, friendly, knowledgeable and fun to be around. We took the 3 day course; day 1 was a classroom day with the next two as field days. Safety started before even being at the trailhead. Both Justin and Sunshine were able to give us concise comments when practicing in the event of a burial. When searching on the AIARE website, CAG appeared to be the most affordable provider. Overall, great instructors with great attitudes. 10/10 would recommend!