AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course at Ymir Lodge



Season
January and February
Nearest city
Nelson, BC, is 20 mins away from the lodge; Spokane, WA, is 3 hours away
Duration
8 days
Skill level
Intermediate to advanced
Immersive AIARE 2 Course combined with the luxuries of a lodge!
Get ready for eight days of helicopter-accessed snowy adventures at the Ymir Lodge!
This AIARE 2 course is designed for skiers, riders and winter alpinists who travel regularly in avalanche terrain. The course will help experienced backcountry users gain new skills necessary to make decisions in complicated situations. Learn how to lead a small travel group, travel in challenging or complex avalanche terrain, and develop a travel plan without adequate resources. At the Ymir Lodge in British Columbia, you’ll create tons of memories of incredible field days, enjoy wonderful food, and experience the magic of lodge living!
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Trip Highlights
Located at the Ymir Mountain at 6,250 ft (1920m) , the lodge offers stunning views of the surrounding snowy peaks of Kootenay Mountain. The lodge provides easy access to a wide variety of bowls and tree skiing — 1000 ft (300m) of alpine bowls above the lodge and 1,000 ft below the lodge with terrain and tours for all levels of skiers. The Kootenays are in the Southern Selkirks and get lots of snow. It is the perfect combination between superlight fluffy Rockies powder and Coastal snow. Wind is the exception rather than the normal conditions.
On Saturday morning, you’ll meet your guides at 8:00 am at Kootenay Valley Helicopters (KVH 250-505-2150). Then, it’s a helicopter ride to the Ymir Lodge, where you’ll get situated and have a safety briefing. Your guides will go through the curriculum and explain the schedule for the week. Each evening your group will discuss goals for the next day. When the day is over, relax in a sauna and enjoy a warm meal prepared by a professional chef!
In the morning, head out for another day of classes and exercises in the field. Some of the things you’ll learn about are gathering field obs, identifying terrain, planning tours, mitigating risk, and making safer decisions in the backcountry. The best thing about this setup is that this is an avy course where you actually get to spend your time skiing… a lot!